Candidates listed in order they appear on ballot. These responses were not edited for grammar, punctuation, or spelling and were truncated if they exceeded the specified word count.
Email: heathercloninger@puttingd20kidsfirst.com Website: http://puttingd20kidsfirst.com/ Education: Some College Occupation: El Paso Co Field Rep for Scholastic Book Fairs
I attended public school from kindergarten to 12th grade. I attended BYU, UVSC, Towson State and BYU Pathways online. My own children have been in ASD20 for the past 10 years. As far as the most pressing matters, I will address those as they come. With a growing district we have many challenges. We will need to remain intentional concerning our budget. With a new Superintendent it is important to gain clarity of his vision of the district.
I have been part of committees that have watched over this exact scenario. I believe we have done well in this district to watch out for and maintain our schools, as well as build new ones. We need to continue to make intentional decisions concerning our budget which will allow for healthy growth of this district as we continue to be innovative in our thinking and in our curriculum. Our parents are able to make smart choices as to which programs best suits the needs of their child(ren).
I believe in choice when it comes to schools. I have been in a position to review a charter school application that wanted to come into our district. I think when it comes to charter schools, it’s important that they offer something more than what the district is already providing. That said, I also think charter schools can be risky. They take funding that would already be allocated to our already established schools. I think we need to offer good programs within our schools to allow options for parents.
It’s our job to educate ALL students. We need to be more inclusive of everyone within our district. We need to teach our children to accept one another and the differences we each have. I have issue with HB19-1032 creating a program that is regulated by the state, negating our local control of decisions which are constitutionally ours to make. As far as the content of what this bill wants to teach, I personally feel we should keep these programs more about science and maturation, which would allow us to not exclude anyone.
We need to give opportunity for our students to be as well rounded as they can be. We need to offer programs that are innovative and current. D20 just built a state of the art CTE (Career Technical Education) at Liberty High School. Each extracurricular activity, and program deserves to be a part of this district allowing our students to thrive and be workforce ready when they graduate.
We need to be constantly considering the social emotional health of our children. We need to be proactive about considering the reasons for the issues they face today. We need to make sure the people who are teaching our students have good help to meet their social emotional needs as well. This is a big concern to me and I would like to look more closely at the counseling and other options we can and do offer to our students.
I feel the best things we can teach our children is tolerance for the differences we each have. We need to instill our children with the understanding that each bring their own unique qualities to their communities. We can live with each other and not all think, look and act exactly the same.
Email: me@aaronsalt.org Website: aaronsalt.org Phone: 719-445-9202 Education: BA Psychology, Masters of Social Work Occupation: Self-employed - Business Consulting, Operations
I have been involved in choice education since I moved to Colorado 8 years ago. I have been a substitute teacher in 2 districts, and I joined a board to found a charter school nearly 4 years ago. One of the biggest issues I’ve encountered is a lack of parental involvement in the classroom. Some schools don’t want parents involved, and some parents don’t want to be involved. I want to find a way for our schools to partner with parents, both in and out of the classroom. This is one of the biggest predictors of academic success.
I believe every child has the ability to succeed. Equity among schools is about meeting the needs of the students in the school. As a district, we must take on the responsibility for finding out what resources a student needs and how best to provide those resources. Identifying these requirements is the first step. The next step is to ensure funding is available to procure the resources needed and making sure the funding flows accordingly. It’s imperative to find ways to maximize the dollars going into the classrooms instead of being funneled to overhead costs.
When evaluating a charter school application, I would look at 3 main criteria: 1) how well will the charter meet the needs of our students in regards to curriculum, special education, etc. 2) is there sufficient leadership to positively lead/govern the charter school 3) is there enough interest from the parents and community to warrant approving the charter school. District 20, with their site-based model, is a district of school choice. It’s critical that parents have options to ensure their children’s needs are being met and thriving. Changing enrollment forces the district stay on top of the curve.
I believe that schools should be teaching students to respect other people, cultures, and backgrounds. We should ensure students learn how to interact with kindness. HB19-1032 misses the mark it intended to hit and ended up being a constitutional violation. As such, I don’t intend to implement any changes. District 20 is already providing a strong sexual education curriculum to its students. As stated previously, we should focus on long-term, universal values for creating a safe and respectful learning environment. To be clear, I am opposed to ANY bill that violates and undermines the authority of local, district control
A school’s role should be to educate students so they can become productive members in society. American society is losing its place as a leader in innovation. To restore our place, we must teach more than reading, writing, and arithmetic. The arts have been shown to increase academic performance, promote creativity, and support emotional healing. STEM and workforce training prepare students in a technical sense for our ever-changing world. The district must prioritize these programs, as it’s our role to educate for the future. As these are academically driven, they must be prioritized in the budget ahead of supplemental programs.
According to mental health professionals, parental involvement is a key to reducing suicide. Engagement from teachers and staff, showing students that they matter, can do wonders for students’ self-esteem. I believe there should also be access to counselors for students to discuss issues privately. This needs to be paired with universal virtues of respect, benevolence, kindness, etc. Instilling these virtues in our students will create a safe culture for all.
Religious freedom is foundational to our society. Students and teachers should have the ability to express themselves, within the confines of policy. If one icon is allowed, all should be allowed. If one icon is prohibited, all should be prohibited. Regarding curriculum, it’s the objective of the school to educate students. With that said, students should be exposed to different religions, beliefs, and cultures from an objective standpoint. We as society have lost the ability to disagree without division. Educating from a point of understanding, tied in with the aforementioned virtues, is one step in bringing us back to decorum.
Email: willtemby4d20@gmail.com Website: www.willtemby4d20.com Phone: 303-945-9876 Education: B.S., Isenberg School of Management, University of Massachusetts-Amherst Occupation: Managing Partner and Owner, Apprentice Personnel
I am the parent of five children who attended or still attend D20 schools. My involvement includes: Current Chair of the District Accountability Committee, Co-Chaired in 2016 the successful $230 million bond campaign, Growth and Capital Needs Committee, Superintendent’s Communication Council, Certified Performance Evaluation Council and School Accountability Committees at Rampart HS and Mountain Ridge Middle School. To address pressing issues, I will rely on my excellent relationships with parents, educators and administrators to identify ever-changing pressing issues, listen to all stakeholders, and do what is best for the district and its 26,300 students and their families.
The allocation of the D20 budget is proportional to the enrollment of each school. The bond issue that passed in 2016 addressed the age and condition of every school to include its enrollment to direct resources to the schools most in need. As Chair of the District Accountability Committee for the past two years, our work includes reviewing the strategic (site) plan of every D20 school as compared to its academic performance to include minority students, kids on free and reduced lunch programs, English Language Learners, students with disabilities and special needs, etc. We ensure that inequities are addressed.
I am supportive of charter schools if they: meet a substantially unmet need in a district, their mission and curriculum is truly unique and highly differentiated, they have considerable and proven enrollment demand, and they are well-funded and well-governed. Colorado is a choice state. D20 students have choice preference over out-of-district choice students. By statute, D20 must accommodate choice students if classroom seats are available. D20’s growth and demographic changes makes it difficult for administrators to accurately project open seats. Every school district is budget challenged to maximize its enrollment, as per pupil funding from the state follows each child.
D20 is a progressive and welcoming school district. My five children who have attended and currently attend D20 schools generally believe that all individuals should be and are treated and accepted equally. The learning environment is already inclusive. If any student has individual educational needs, then the district addresses those needs formally through IEP’s and other programs. I believe in local control and that school districts and municipalities know what is best for their respective populations. D20, an inclusive district, will respect HB-1032 intentions and discern what is the best curriculum for human sexuality education for its 26,300 students.
Studies have proven that students who are involved in the arts and extracurricular activities such as athletics perform better on standardized tests than those who do not get involved. My children have been involved in athletics and several programs to include band, drama and art competitions. STEM is part of every school’s curriculum and there are STEM magnet schools in D20. Funding for vocational training and an expansion of Liberty HS for vocational programs was part of the 2016 bond issue. I am a former Chair of the PP Workforce Development Board. D20 values and provides resources to these programs.
Sadly, D20 has had to cope with the tragedy of youth suicides. Like many districts, it has programs is place such as Safe 2 Tell and Signs of Suicide but knew more needed to be done. In 2017, D20 implemented a program called “Sources of Strength” that focuses on “upstream” prevention that involves school faculty and peers in the process. This program has been recognized by several national organizations to include the Suicide Prevention Resource Center and American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. More resources must be directed to hiring mental health professionals, and this serious issue is important to me.
Having the perspective of being an involved parent of five kids for the past 25 consecutive years, I believe D20 does an excellent job of understanding and practicing the separation of church and state. Further, my experience since 1995 is that the district recognizes and is sensitive to the backgrounds and beliefs of its diverse population of nearly 26,300 students.
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