By: Keith Beams, D'Evelyn Teacher
The conversation went basically like this: My mom: “There’s a new high school opening up that has strong academics and only includes 7th through 9th grades. It’s called D’Evelyn. You can go there or to Wheatridge.“ Me (in my mind): Only 7th through 9th grades??!! That means I won’t have to deal with older students… I don’t want to be around older students… I’m too awkward to deal with that… Me (out loud): “I’ll take the new school.” Yep, that’s the extent of my 14-year-old decision-making process back in 1994. Look, sometimes we don’t make choices out of any deep set of well-thought-out reasons. Sometimes we just go with a quick decision with faulty logic that feels good to us at the time. Nonetheless, I’m thankful to say that my mom laid out the situation just right to make me jump at D’Evelyn. I think that the most meaningful part of being at D’Evelyn as a student and as a teacher (now for 16ish years) is the sense of belonging to something that I’m proud to fight for. I began at D’Evelyn in the school’s first year (1994) and it was definitely a work in progress. The vision was set, but many of the logistics had to be hammered out. Case in point: our boys soccer team that first fall had all of 11 players (no subs), our uniforms were gray T-shirts that had D’Evelyn written on them in rainbow colors with what may have been black electrical tape numbers on the back, and before our first game we were instructed to bring rakes so that we could rake out the goatheads from the baseball infield that took up a sizeable chunk of one of the corners of the field. But we played; we played hard; and we played proud. D’Evelyn was an outsider underdog even as I was an outsider underdog. At D’Evelyn I could be a part of the school: the soccer team, the musical, the debate team, even though I wasn’t particularly good at any of those things. I still had a place. I had a place in school dances and in the Historic Gaming Club and, wonder-of-wonders, you could be a gamer AND have a social life. I wasn’t lost in the mob; I mattered. D’Evelyn as a school was the same way and we were PROUD to be from D’Evelyn because it was different, because it was challenging, because it welcomed us, and because we had to fight for it. High school was, for me, a long time ago. I’m turning 41 this year and my 20th Class Reunion is in the rear-view mirror. Sometimes something is lost in success and D’Evelyn has had lots of success, year after year after year. I think we begin to feel that success is just a natural neutral process like osmosis - just hang around and it’ll happen. It’s just not true. I wonder if what we’ve lost is that underdog passion, that outsider loyalty for a group that provided belonging, that fierce pride in a unique culture and unique vision. Sometimes we need to spend some time raking out the goatheads, together; something wonderful can happen as we do. I would like to see a way for us to recapture that sense that we are here to play hard and to play proud. I believe that spirit is still here, but it needs to be nurtured. Oh, and mom? Thanks for giving me the choice to come here. Keith Beams D’Evelyn teacher D’Evelyn graduate of 1998 (first class)
Kristen Monzel
2/22/2022 12:40:35 pm
I remember that "First Class" (That was my first year at D'Evelyn as a teacher" You all claimed you took "the road less traveled, and it made all the difference." I agree that the the early groups really felt a strong sense of pride at taking a tougher, but more rewarding path. Thank you for your article. I agree that this is a special school with unique gifts and challenges. Let's nurture that sense of pride from taking a less-traveled road. Comments are closed.
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