Written by: Donna Li, Steering Committee Vice Chair Dear D'Evelyn Community,
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Jodi Haller Teacher Candidate A proud faculty member at D’Evelyn since 1996, I was hired to teach the only art course offered, simply called “Art"--we've come a long way! In 2001, I was involved with opening the new DHS building, overseeing the equipment of our art studios, and developing our expanding art program. | David Goldstein Parent Candidate I am a proud husband and the father of three great kids, a D’Evelyn sophomore, 8th grader, and a fifth grader who will be coming to D’Evelyn soon. We joined the D’Evelyn community two years ago. Since then, we have been nothing but impressed with the quality of education, the dedication of the teachers, and the well-constructed curriculum that has given our school some of the best test scores in Colorado. | Greg Holland Parent Candidate My name is Greg Holland and I am a candidate for the D’Evelyn Steering Committee. I have two girls at D’Evelyn, Maggie, a sophomore, and Alex, an 8th grader. My wife, Deb Holland, has been teaching at D’Evelyn as a history teacher since 1997. | Jeff London Parent Candidate I’m Dr. Jeff London, but everyone just calls me Jeff. I received my doctoral degree from the University of Colorado. Shortly after that, I began working at MSU Denver. I am a Professor of Criminology. I am also a member of the Colorado Department of Higher Education's General Education Council. |
A proud faculty member at D’Evelyn since 1996, I was hired to teach the only art course offered, simply called “Art"--we've come a long way! In 2001, I was involved with opening the new DHS building, overseeing the equipment of our art studios, and developing our expanding art program. Currently, I am so fortunate to teach both junior high art and all levels of high school ceramics, jewelry, and drawing classes. Over the years, I have served as department manager of the Electives department and on many hiring, curricular review, and textbook committees. Additionally, I've worked on district level art advisory and curriculum writing committees at different times in my Jeffco career.
After graduating from Arvada West High School, I attended Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, earning a B.F.A. in Fine Art (Fibers) with a minor in English. I then went on to graduate school in Michigan, attending Cranbrook Academy of Art, earning an M.F.A in Fibers. Following several years working as a textile instructor and visiting artist all over the country, I earned teaching credentials from Metropolitan State College in Denver. Professionally, I have taught at Arizona State University, Littleton High School, Green Gables Elementary, and D’Evelyn.
D'Evelyn has been a huge, vital part of my life for many years. I met my husband, Brian Haller, here at my first "back to school" faculty meeting--best meeting ever! I am a very proud parent of a 2018 DHS graduate. Additionally, we have a daughter who is a sophomore at Denver East High School, our neighborhood high school. Deeply committed to the D'Evelyn program for most of my teaching career, I am looking forward to continuing our good work and vision as a member of the Steering Committee.
Jodi Haller, Teacher Candidate Statement
I think that the most important objective for D'Evelyn to accomplish in the next year is a successful launch of our new 6th grade program. This is a broad, significant program change with many complex moving parts that is requiring a huge amount of planning both in terms of curriculum, staffing, and facility use. My hope is that we are highly successful in smoothly integrating the 6th graders into our world here by this time next year! In the next five years, I want to see the 6th Grade Program fully enrolled, the new facility completed and the ship ticking along smoothly.
In the course of the next school year, I also hope that the CU-06 policy will be resolved. It has cast a dark shadow of conflict over our school community that I sincerely hope can be resolved to uphold the spirit of the founding philosophy and restore a sense of unity in our educational community.
We have done great--no, excellent--work educating students and launching them into their post-secondary education over the last 25 years. My hope is to see this good work continue through our commitment to our strong, liberal arts curriculum and the rigorous expectations we ask of students. Except for a successful launching of 6th grade, I really don't want to see big program changes. Our strength lies in what we have worked so hard to implement.
That said, one school atmosphere element I would love to see in the next 5-10 years is a shift in student attitude. I have noticed over the years a problematic spirit of complaining. This seems to be so difficult to change. Perhaps it is the nature of being a student, I don't know, but students complain about so many things here. They have too much homework, the work is too much, they can't leave campus, the dress code is too stringent, some students cheat because it is too hard. Some students seem to have forgotten that D'Evelyn is a choice school! They also seem to not realize that high achieving students are working hard and experiencing stress at many other schools, all over the place. The grass is always greener .... I do not know what the solution to this is, but I would love for there to be a more positive culture and attitude about work here, a greater sense of pride in the rigor of the school's program.
David Goldstein, Parent Candidate Biography
I am a proud husband and the father of three great kids, a D’Evelyn sophomore, 8th grader, and a fifth grader who will be coming to D’Evelyn soon. We joined the D’Evelyn community two years ago. Since then, we have been nothing but impressed with the quality of education, the dedication of the teachers, and the well-constructed curriculum that has given our school some of the best test scores in Colorado.
Our family will be at D’Evelyn for nearly a decade, and we hope to do our small part to make this good school even better for all students. In the past two years, I have served on the Accountability Committee, on several subcommittees with the Steering Committee, and directly with Principal Griffin with a goal of building a united community and supporting our kids in their journey to lead and contribute in the ways the Founding Document envisioned.
I am an engineer by training and own a small technology company that provides satellite communications in support of infrastructure, government, and scientific customers. Through this experience I have learned that the people who share a vision are more important than anything, and that building relationships of trust that allow alignment towards a common goal can create amazing results. As the owner and founder, my job is to make things happen- I wear a lot of hats from sales to accounting to chief janitor to engineering to shipping clerk. It is rewarding to dig into the details and see good things happen on the other side.
I grew up in Virginia, outside DC, and attended a relatively intense public High School similar to D’Evelyn focused on Science and Technology. From there, I went to Brown University for Mechanical Engineering and joined a small aerospace firm in Boston. After a few years I went back to graduate school for International Development Policy at the Kennedy School. That adventure took me to the World Bank in DC for a few years, where I did work in Eastern Europe and India. It was a fascinating experience, but I missed being an engineer, so I returned to aerospace in Virginia and then in Colorado.
In 2007 our growing family moved to Evergreen, where we enjoyed the elk, the snow, and the great quality of life. We spent some time living overseas since then, but for the most part have enjoyed being a part of the Colorado community.
In this unusual time, I spend my time working from home along with my wife who works at Colorado Children’s Hospital and supporting our three kids in their remote schooling. We try to walk for an hour each day, cook together, and use the new pace of life to connect virtually where we can with family and friends. In more regular times, I enjoy snowboarding with my kids, biking around Denver, watching good movies, home improvement, and traveling.
I look forward to supporting the school and our kids to build on the great foundation we have already here at D’Evelyn.
David Goldstein, Parent Candidate Statement
I am looking forward to working openly with everyone in our community to make D’Evelyn an even better place for our kids than it is already. In the coming year (2020-2021), the D’Evelyn community has three major challenges to navigate.
- Building deeper trust, engagement, and open communication among the different stakeholders in our community, including parents, students, teachers, the Administration, and the Steering Committee, as a foundation for further growth and positive change at D’Evelyn.
- Integrating 6th grade into the D’Evelyn program, ensuring that it is done thoughtfully and shares the benefits of D’Evelyn and of being part of middle school with the new students as a stepping stone to further achievement and growth, and in a way that is faithful to the philosophy of the school and respects the new students.
- Resolving the outstanding issues with the honors designation and GPA change policy and subsequent decisions about implementation.
- Interdisciplinary richness of curriculum. The term “the Complex Thinker” is used in the D’Evelyn Founding Document; one of the keys identified in that document is using “…concepts and skills from distinct subject areas, recognizing their interdependence.” This interdisciplinary view- synthesizing lessons from one discipline with those from others to create more complex judgements and conclusions- will help create a student body “…capable of deliberating and passing intelligent judgements on national issues…”
- Increased elective options. The Founders of D’Evelyn envisioned a wide variety of challenging electives, explicitly allowing for the addition of new elective options. They also discussed effective communication skills which speak to options such as Debate and Persuasive Speaking. There may be ways to further enhance the elective options at D’Evelyn to achieve another goal of the philosophy of the school, which is to create independent thinkers and learners.
- D’Evelyn Values—who are we and what do we want our students to embody when they graduate? They are not just high achievers and hard workers, but the future leaders of our communities, our state, our country, and our world. What are the values that we hope to instill in them as second nature as they venture into the world? We have the power to talk about them, reflect them in what we do, and build our community around those values explicitly, such that our students venture into their future with a vision for who they are and what is possible.
- Further exposure to the University community so that students can further expand their horizons to a national and a global stage. D’Evelyn is the top HS in the State of Colorado, and as such deserves to be at the top of the list for every University admissions officer in the country. In five years I would like to see D’Evelyn High School firmly on the radar screens of every top institution nationwide so that our students are even more sought after.
Greg Holland, Parent Candidate Biography
My name is Greg Holland and I am a candidate for the D’Evelyn Steering Committee. I have two girls at D’Evelyn, Maggie, a sophomore, and Alex, an 8th grader. My wife, Deb Holland, has been teaching at D’Evelyn as a history teacher since 1997. We have a son, Nate, who is 4 years old and in preschool at Hutchinson.
I am a native of Colorado and grew up on a farm in Monte Vista in the San Luis Valley. I graduated from Sargent High School (in the very large graduating class of 27!) and then went on to graduate from Western State College with a degree in business, while also biking and skiing. I later earned a secondary teaching certificate for social studies education. I taught for five years in Gallup, New Mexico where I also coached cross country and track. I then moved back to Colorado to teach and coach in Walsenburg, and then moved to Golden to teach and coach at Golden High School. Deb and I got married in 2000, and after Maggie was born in 2003 and Alex in 2005, Deb took three years off to be at home with the girls. In 2006, I left Golden High School to stay at home with the girls. I went back to school to become a massage therapist so I could be self-employed and have more flexibility to be with the kids. Since 2006 I have been a part-time therapist, stay-at-home-dad, recreational cyclist and jack-of-all-trades.
Currently I find myself wanting to be even more involved with the girls’ education and serve at their school. I am running for the Steering Committee to give back to D’Evelyn and support the great community with which I have been involved, formally and informally, for over 20 years. Since Nate is only 4, I have 14 more years to go!
Greg Holland, Parent Candidate Statement
One of the more obvious goals in the next year will be to add a 6th grade. This will entail numerous logistics from student drop-off, lunch scheduling, and crowd control to the details of temporary classrooms, construction of a new wing, and developing a sound curriculum that smoothly transitions these students into D’Evelyn. This will take time, but a good five-year goal would be to have a fully integrated 6-12 grade school, functioning as one body of similar intent and philosophy. In ten years, I will have my last child beginning his journey at D’Evelyn. Hopefully D’Evelyn will still be following the timeless educational philosophy that has made it the successful school that it is today. The horizontally and vertically aligned curriculum that supports the school philosophy will hopefully still be implemented with the necessary technological advances, student support and administrative needs as well.
Jeff London, Parent Candidate Biography
I’m Dr. Jeff London, but everyone just calls me Jeff. I received my doctoral degree from the University of Colorado. Shortly after that, I began working at MSU Denver. I am a Professor of Criminology. I am also a member of the Colorado Department of Higher Education's General Education Council. In addition, I am the Interim Chair to the Colorado Faculty Advisory Council, and a member of the MSU-Denver Faculty Senate. As a rule, I am happiest when I am spending time with my wife and daughter. Our daughter was fortunate enough to win the D'Evelyn lottery. Since then, my wife and I have been committed to giving back to the school as much as we can.
During our daughter’s first year at D’Evelyn, I served as a member of the D’Evelyn Counseling Advisory Committee. During my daughter’s second and third year at D’Evelyn, I served the students and parents of D’Evelyn by establishing and implementing D’Evelyn’s CyberPatriot Program (CP-XI and CP-XII). Since then, I soon learned about opportunities to volunteer for the following Steering and Accountability subcommittees: SC 6th Grade PE Curriculum Subcommittee, SC 6th Grade SCIENCE Textbook Subcommittee, SC 6th Grade SCIENCE Curriculum Subcommittee, and AC 6th Grade Transition Subcommittee.
Through my involvement with the above subcommittees, I now understand the way by which parents collaboratively and cooperatively interact with the administration, faculty and staff of D’Evelyn (via SC and AC). I am fortunate to have witnessed the way parents, teachers, and administrators work together to put the best interest of D'Evelyn student body first. Overtime, I realized that the institutional strength of D’Evelyn is in this collaborative and cooperative spirit.
Currently our daughter is a ninth grade student at D’Evelyn who loves classes in art and foreign language, as well as swimming and tennis. My wife, Lizzie, is also a Jeffco teacher. She teaches first grade at Parmelee Elementary. She has been working for the Jeffco School District for more than 20 years.
As a family, we are happy and blessed to be part of the D’Evelyn community.
Jeff London, Parent Candidate Statement
For me, D'Evelyn embodies the goal of raising ALL students up to a higher standard. While some schools focus on accelerated or IB students, D'Eveyin's curriculum challenges all students to find and exceed educational expectations, Public education at D'Evelyn lives up to the promise of delivering a traditional liberal arts curriculum with enthusiasm and fidelity. D'Evelyn's challenging curriculum benefits all children, not just the gifted and talented.
Next year, I want to see D'Evelyn retain its number one publicly funded high school ranking. In five years, I want D'Evelyn to be viewed as the preeminent publicly funded high school in s, I want D'Evelyn to be viewed as the preeminent publicly funded high school in the Mountain West region. I do not think D'Evelyn should focus on recruiting children with incredibly high IQ scores. I think D'Evelyn should continue to bring in all different types of students from all different types of backgrounds, consistently raising ALL students up to a higher standard.
I do not think bigger is better or that larger student enrollment equals more successful outcomes for D'Evelyn students. I believe D'Evelyn's past record of success can be sustained into the future by continually attracting enthusiastic teachers that "buy into" D'Evelyn's liberal arts curriculum. If D'Evelyn does not value excellence in teaching, D'Evelyn's excellent teachers will leave and go elsewhere. Over the last quarter of a century D'Evelyn has established a traditional, tried-and-true, systematic approach for student success. A healthy working environment for students and teachers is extremely important to foster and sustain excellence. Building and maintaining a community of students, parents, teachers, staff, and administrators requires all stakeholders to work in concert with each other in an environment of mutual respect.
Public commentary: Since it will be difficult to have our normal public commentary, please email any comments to [email protected] no later than 3:00 pm on the day of the meeting. We will read up to the first 5 minutes of your comment out loud during the public commentary time. As always, public commentary may be limited to a total of 20 minutes, which could further limit the length of the reading of your comment, though SC members will read them on their own in their entirety. Shorter, more concise comments will have the advantage of a full read out loud during the meeting.
Contested Election of parent SC members: Please see the article about the election process as well as information about our candidates in Jaguar Tracks.
Thank you for your patience during this ever-changing time. We wish you good health!
The D'Evelyn Steering Committee
The Steering Committee invites families and staff members to become acquainted with our election process. There are three Steering Committee positions that will be open for three-year terms beginning July 1, 2020. Two of the positions are for parents and one for a teacher. There is one teacher candidate for the one teacher position; however, there currently are three parent candidates for only two parent positions. Therefore, the Steering Committee will hold an election this year.
Our procedure for the election described below ensures that voting guidelines from the Steering Committee Bylaws and D’Evelyn SC-06 policy and regulations are met. We will be using SurveyMonkey to electronically facilitate our election. One adult per family will receive one email with a link to vote. This ensures one vote per family as required. The adult in the family who receives the email with the link to vote will be the one who is listed as “Household Priority 1” in Jeffco Connect. If you would like to check and/or change the email you have on file please refer to this Quick Reference Guide for parents/guardians with an existing account. Teachers will receive their link to vote via our distribution list (minus staff members who also have students enrolled). Each family may cast one vote for up to two parents and one teacher candidate. Please see the important dates below.
If you have technical difficulties, please contact Donna Li. [email protected] Any updates for links or further information will be posted to this document.
To assist voters in making an informed decision, a biography and essay regarding goals for the Steering Committee are included in Jaguar Tracks. Additionally, the community is invited to the Candidate Forum via video conference during which the candidates will respond to questions from Steering Committee members and the community. Please use the link below to join. Thank you for your thoughtful consideration and subsequent vote for the people you would like to see serve in this important role crucial for the governance of our school!
Sincerely,
The D’Evelyn Steering Committee
Important Upcoming Dates
April 8
April 8 Email from Lisa Porter to verify “Household Priority 1” family email address as noted in Campus. Subject: Steering Committee Election Test Email
April 14 6:45 p.m.
Steering Committee Candidate Forum Streaming link: https://stream.meet.google.com/stream/33e2d716-d9a9-4730-b400-ce5bd055cbf2
April 17
Email with link for voting will be sent in the morning and voting will remain open until 11:59 p.m. on April 18
The Steering Committee is the governing board of the school and establishes policies designed to maintain and enhance its liberal arts philosophy. The Steering Committee appoints Directors to the Board of the D'Evelyn Education Foundation.
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