By: Brock Gustafson, Steering Committee Vice Chair
Pursuant to The D’Evelyn Steering Committee election process, qualified candidates for election to the Steering Committee will attend a public forum on April 12th at 5pm (prior to the Accountability Committee Meeting). Ariahn Knoedler is our qualified parent candidate for election for the next term starting next semester. Below is Ariahn’s bio and a response to a question from the application. Please plan on attending the candidate forum on the 12th if you wish to ask Ariahn any questions prior to her approval to be added to the steering committee during our May meeting. Ariahn Knoedler was raised in Boulder, Colorado and graduated from the University of Colorado with a bachelor's degree in Spanish Literature. She married her best friend from high school, Matt, and worked in the financial industry for 10 years. After her second child, Ariahn chose to switch careers and focus on caring for her family while working as a pianist. Ariahn plays piano for several Catholic churches in the western suburbs, and for the children’s choir at Academia Ana Marie Sandoval in Denver. She volunteers regularly and served a term as president of the Dennison Elementary PTA. Matt and Ariahn have four girls, Ciara (Sophomore), Aida (Freshman), and twins, Bethany and Sadie who will be in 6th grade at D’Evelyn next year. In her free time, she enjoys road biking with her husband and friends, hiking with her daughters, making pies, and reading. She is thrilled all four of her children will be at D’Evelyn next year and is looking forward to supporting the excellence of our great school. Application Question: What general goals do you want D’Evelyn to accomplish in the course of the next year? What would you like D‘Evelyn to look like in five years? What is your vision for D’Evelyn ten years from today? In short, my hope for D’evelyn 5, 10, or 25 years down the line, is that many things remain the same. Anyone who has chosen to be at this school, whether a teacher, an administrator, a parent, or a student must know in the core of their being that this is a special place. We are special not only because of our academic excellence. In fact, our exemplary test scores are symptomatic of something much more important, something much more enduring. The excellent teaching and learning that takes place in this school is the result of a quiet determination, a counter-cultural grit, an unyielding desire for all of us to try and try again until we all have achieved our very best as teachers, administrators, parents, and students. The D’Evelyn model is an alternative educational environment that holds paramount that all students “should be held to rigorous academic and behavioral standards” and that “all students can achieve in a challenging program.” But these are not the values held paramount by Jefferson County Board of Education nor in the general education philosophy of our time. Because what we do is against the grain, it is natural that there would be tension. In fact, there is tremendous pressure for D’Evelyn to conform to the norms in education in the present time. But to choose to modify our core tenants to align with these norms would be to choose the mediocrity that exists all around us. It is critical that our Steering Committee, the Administration, Parents, and Students find unity in our common purpose. We must tread cautiously when considering any potential change to behavioral or academic standards, for it is these very standards that have produced the consistent and unmatched academic results and have prepared thousands of students to be effective participants in their communities.” Comments are closed.
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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. Archives
March 2023
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