AHS Weekly Update- Week of Sept. 27th, 2010

I want to thank all the parents who joined us at last Thursday’s PAC meeting. It was a pleasure spending time with you and hearing your feedback. Remember, the next PAC meeting will be October 25th at 12:30 pm at AHS. Please take a moment to review the following updates:

PSAT/ASVAB Testing
Upcoming Exhibition Events
Staff Digital Portfolios

PSAT/ASVAB Testing

Students who would like to take this year’s PSAT can find information for the test and registration instructions below. Also, information for students wishing to take the ASVAB are also included below. AHS Testing Coordinator, Jeff DiGiacomo is available to answer any testing questions or concerns families may have at jeff.digiacomo@animashighschool.com

PSAT -Registration is now open for the PSAT test which will be given on Saturday, Oct. 16th, 7:45 a.m. - noon at Durango High School. Cost is $20. Students should register with Jenell Walck in the DHS Counseling Office by calling 970-259-1630 (x2309). When you register, you will receive a study guide and a practice test.

ASVAB -Registration is also open for the ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) test, which will also be given on Saturday, Oct. 16th, 7:45-noon. The ASVAB test is free and open to 10th, 11th, and 12th grade students. Students should register with Jenell Walck in the counseling office via the number listed above. For information or questions concerning ASVAB testing, please contact Sarah St. John in the Counseling Office, 970-259-1630 (x 2317).

Upcoming Exhibition Events

Many parents have been inquiring about upcoming Exhibition Events at Animas High. This year, teachers and students are producing class sponsored exhibition events with the entire school participating in a final event in May. Here’s a preview of just some of what’s coming up:

Social Norms and Identity Throughout the Ages- October 7th from 6 to 8 pm, Oak Room -Strater Hotel. Join John Fisher’s 9th Grade Humanities classes as they explore how social norms and personal identity have changed throughout the ages. Timed to coincide with Durango Heritage Days, Mr. Fisher’s students will be contrasting how their socialization in 2010 compares to that of young adults in the Victorian Period.

Freshman Digital Portfolios- Our new 9th graders will have their Digital Portfolios refined and linked on the world wide web by Nov. 22nd, 2010. Stay tuned for more updates on student DPs.

Building a Better Mousetrap- November- Time and Location TBD- Join us for a project that’s sure to make Rue Goldberg proud! 9th Grade Physics students will invent and construct contraptions and mechanical systems that will accomplish everyday tasks. This is one AHS exhibition not to be missed!

Identity Masks Project; Socialization and the Power of Me- October-Exact Dates TBD- AHS Campus Students in Mrs. McCallum’s Humanities classes will display their masks and share their socialization essays at AHS. This exhibit will run throughout first semester and we encourage all visitors to campus to check out this powerful identity project.

What Goes Up, Must Come Down-Spinning wheel, Got to Go Round- Oct.1, 2010- AHS Campus As part of Mrs. Eagen’s Pre-Calculus classes, students will be studying and constructing model Ferris Wheels to demonstrate and solidify key math concepts and skills. Make sure to check out the models and talk to our students about their efforts the next time you’re at AHS!

Human Systems and Function-Web Based Exhibition- November 30th, 2010- Online Mrs. Dunning’s 10th grade Biology students have been studying human systems and their proper function throughout first semester. Log on and check out our Biology student’s websites that demonstrate and reflect their understandings of basic body functions and human systems. Look for a link to the students’ sites off of the AHS homepage.

Genocide and Imperialism- December 7th, 2010 Exact times and Location TBD- As the class of 2013 continues the strong work they began with us last year, our community anxiously awaits the first 10th grade Humanities Exhibition of the year. Students in both Lori and John Fisher’s Humanities classes will be tackling complex ideas and completing independent research related to Imperialism and Genocide. Diving deeply into this challenging content is sure to result in an impactful exhibition event. Please note- Due to the sensitivity of this project and mature content being researched, this may not be an appropriate exhibition event for younger children.

These are just some of the amazing projects and exhibition events our students and staff are working towards. We look forward to updating you with more dates and details as the semester progresses.

Staff Digital Portfolios

Although our website is a work in progress, we are working diligently to update our homepage. In response to our student/parent requests, here is a complete list of links to our Staff’s Digital Portfolios:

Josh Dalley
http://animasmath.blogspot.com/p/homework.html

Colleen Dunning
www.wix.com/cdunning/biology

John Fisher
http://faculty.animashighschool.com/~jfisher/index.html

Lori Fisher
http://lorifisher.blogspot.com/

Dave Heerschap
http://davidheerschap.blogspot.com/

Maria Goodin
http://www.mariagoodin.blogspot.com/

Jessica McCallum
http://freshhumanities.blogspot.com/

Roxy McKnight
http://faculty.animashighschool.com/~rmcknight/

Michael Ackerman
http://www.animashighschool.blogspot.com/

Larger shortfall looms in Colorado budget, and schools are likely to feel the pain

Larger shortfall looms in Colorado budget, and schools are likely to feel the pain
By Tim Hoover The Denver Post

Colorado school districts, already hit with 6 percent cuts in the current fiscal year, could face another reduction after a new budget forecast that shows the state is back in the red.
The potential new cut to schools could come just after districts received federal funding to help offset previous funding decreases.

According to the forecast presented to lawmakers Monday, the state budget is as much as $257 million short in the current fiscal year that ends in June and faces a deficit of almost $1.1 billion in the next fiscal year.

"Get ready," Natalie Mullis, the legislature's chief economist, told lawmakers gathered Monday for the budget briefing. "We're in for a roller-coaster ride."
Mullis said a sluggish economy has resulted in largely flat revenues from sales- and personal income-tax collections.

The sobering news came despite overall improvement in the state's economy.
In total, in order to remain legally balanced in the current, 2010-11 fiscal year, the state will have to fill up to a $256.9 million hole. Gov. Bill Ritter, a Democrat, already filled a nearly $60 million deficit in the current year, relying largely on one-time measures such as tapping cash funds. Now he must bridge an even bigger gap.

"Today's forecasts mean we face even more difficult and unenviable decisions ahead to keep the budget balanced," Ritter said in a statement, "and we'll be making those decisions from a list of options that has grown shorter and shorter since the recession hit."

Colorado's not alone

States across the country have reported shortfalls in the current budget year, collectively facing a cumulative shortfall of $89 billion, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. As of July, 20 states had reported their estimates of personal income were below previous projections.

Todd Saliman, Ritter's budget director, said the governor is likely to roll out the rebalancing plan by the end of October. Though further cuts to education were avoided during the last budget rebalance in August, that will be less likely this time around, Saliman said.

"I think it'd be difficult to address that $257 million shortfall without impacting K-12," Saliman said. "That being said, the governor continues to want to minimize the impact on higher ed and K-12."

Colorado K-12 schools received about $156 million in federal funding for education jobs that Congress approved in August. That money could have helped offset a $260 million net reduction in state aid to schools that lawmakers approved earlier this year.
Now though, the federal funds might have to simply keep schools from slipping further in the current year.

Ken DeLay, executive director of the Colorado Association of School Boards, said the prospect of additional cuts was disheartening.

"We think, of course, the state is already out of compliance with constitutional requirements, namely Amendment 23," DeLay said.

That amendment requires funding for education to increase every year by at least the rate of inflation. However, in making the cuts to schools earlier this year, Ritter and the Democratic-controlled legislature relied on a legal opinion sought years earlier by Republicans that allowed for cuts to education above a base per-pupil funding level.

State support for higher education fell from a $706 million appropriation in 2009-10 to $644.5 million in the current fiscal year. But the state only reached the $706 million level the year before with $382 million in federal stimulus money and then used $89.2 million in stimulus money the next year.

With no stimulus money available for the 2011-12 year, the cuts to higher education also could be steep.

Saliman said that to help fill the new shortfall in the current year, the state also is likely to tap into $40 million in severance-tax funds that Ritter in August ordered not be spent.
Ritter's office must present a 2011-12 spending plan to the legislature's Joint Budget Committee by Nov. 1.

Because caseload growth from Medicaid and other programs that could top $300 million and because $552.7 million in federal stimulus funds and other one-time sources of money will no longer be available, the shortfall for 2011-12 is approaching $1.1 billion, Mullis said.
GOP criticizes spending

Republicans responded to the latest budget forecast by saying Ritter and legislative Democrats must stop an "unsustainable" level of spending.

"It is time we identify and budget to the core functions of government to reduce the cost of government," said state Sen. Scott Renfroe, R-Greeley, who offered no places to cut the budget.
The new budget problems come just as the state's economy, which has been better than the national average throughout the recession, is showing signs of "a slow recovery."

"After two years of job losses, the state's private sector began adding workers in June and July," the economic forecast from legislative analysts said.

Tim Hoover: 303-954-1626 or thoover@denverpost.comRead more: Larger shortfall looms in Colorado budget, and schools are likely to feel the pain - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/legislature/ci_16129515#ixzz10ARRtctZ

Oprah Winfrey gives Denver charter school $1 million

Oprah Winfrey gives Denver charter school $1 million
By Jeremy P. Meyer The Denver Post

The high-performing Denver School of Science & Technology charter school was rewarded with a $1 million check on Monday's "Oprah Winfrey Show."

The big check will help DSST open three new campuses by 2020, but it was also Winfrey's way to promote a documentary that reformers hope will rock America's public education system.
"
Waiting for Superman" by Davis Guggenheim, director of "An Inconvenient Truth," opens Friday in Los Angeles and New York. The film follows five children and their parents as they try to get into high-performing public charter schools.

Advocacy groups hoping the film will spur the kind of social change that "An Inconvenient Truth" and "The Cove" evoked have prepared campaigns to capitalize on the film's emotional message — creating websites that direct people into targeted action, such as electing school board members or pushing controversial legislation.

"The movie is going to strike a national conversation that needs to happen about the fact that we all need to do better to create high performing schools," said Bill Kurtz, DSST's chief executive.
The grant is the second largest to DSST. The school received $1.7 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to start up in 2004.

The film, in Colorado theaters next month, already has inflamed an ongoing debate over education.

In the film, lousy teachers are protected by their unions, producing schools that fail children at an alarming rate; the only hope for the children is to win the enrollment lottery to a good charter school.

DSST now has 500 students on the waiting list to get into its high school. With its new campuses, the school network hopes to have seats for 4,300 within 10 years.

During her show that aired Monday, Winfrey, whose Angel Network also gave $1 million checks to five other U.S. charter school networks to help reduce those waiting lists, called "Waiting for Superman" the "movie that could revolutionize America's schools."
Some believe the film's examination of the country's failed public education system will be as defining as "A Nation at Risk," the 1983 federal study that suggested the country's schools were failing and initiated a wave of reforms.

"What we hope this movie will do is bring this crisis to a wider audience," said Chris Watney, president of the Colorado Children's Campaign, which is hosting Guggenheim at its annual luncheon next month and offering screenings of the film in eight theaters. "This film can raise the level of awareness and it can provide a catalyst to get more people involved."
The Children's Campaign has created a website — coloradokidscantwait.org — that gives people a check list for pushing to fix their schools.

Democrats For Education Reform also is creating a website — donewaiting.org — that will tell people specific actions to take, such as asking people in Colorado to urge lawmakers to support funding for charter school facilities.
Organizers also have recruited national partners such as Stand For Children and The United Way.

"We hope to rent out some theaters so our members could see the film and stimulate a dialogue so we can talk about short-term and long-term action," said Lindsay Neil, director of Colorado's chapter of Stand For Children, an education advocacy group.

Teachers unions, which are portrayed as the enemy, are beginning to push back.
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Teachers Federation, called the film "inaccurate, inconsistent and incomplete — and misses what could have been a unique opportunity to portray the full and accurate story of our public schools."

Angela Engel, a Denver author and former educator, said an insulting message is coming from films like "Waiting for Superman" and another education-related film, "The Lottery."

"I constantly see those people in positions of power telling those people that have none what is in their best interest," she said. "The message they get is to abandon their neighborhood schools,
and teachers are the problem."

Jeremy P. Meyer: 303-954-1367 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com Read more: Oprah Winfrey gives Denver charter school $1 million - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_16129513#ixzz10AQJA2SL

What Makes a School Great

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2016978,00.html

Waiting for "Superman" is a new film about America's malfunctioning education system by Davis Guggenheim, the Academy Award-winning director of An Inconvenient Truth, a movie that took on another mind-numbingly complex issue and, confounding all logic, grossed $50 million worldwide — and changed the way many Americans think about climate change.

Scheduled to be released on Sept. 24, Waiting for "Superman" is a documentary that follows five kids and their parents as they try to escape their neighborhood public schools for higher-performing public charter schools. The movie explains how it could be that the U.S. since 1971 has more than doubled the money it spends per pupil, yet still trails most rich nations in science and math scores. (Read TIME's education cover story: "The Case Against Summer Vacation.")

But the film succeeds because it also lays out the solutions, something no one could credibly attempt to do until very recently. Today, several decades into America's long fight over how to upend the status quo in public education, three remarkable things are happening simultaneously. First, thanks partly to the blunt instruments of No Child Left Behind, we can now track how well individual students are doing from year to year — and figure out which schools are working and which are not. Second, legions of public schools — some charters, some not — are succeeding while others flounder. These schools are altering fundamentals that were for so long untouchable, insisting on great teachers, more class time and higher standards. The third novelty is in Washington, where a Democratic President is standing up to his party's most dysfunctional long-term romantic interest, the teachers' unions. (See photos of summer programs keeping kids' minds sharp.)

President Barack Obama and his Education Secretary, Arne Duncan, have dangled $4.35 billion in stimulus money in front of cash-strapped state legislatures in exchange for rationalizing their systems. Overnight, the White House has become the biggest benefactor in the education world. The competition, known as Race to the Top, is pushing school districts to allow more charter schools, to evaluate teachers based in part on how much their students are learning, to train teachers more effectively — and to remove those who are not cut out for the job. (Read a postcard from Kansas City on efforts to save its schools.)

In response, we are witnessing what may be the beginning of a common-sense revolution. Seven states have enacted laws to remove firewalls between student achievement and teacher evaluations. At least 12 states have passed laws requiring student-progress data to be used in making teacher-evaluation or tenure decisions, a notion that would have been unimaginable five years ago. And 35 states and the District of Columbia have agreed to adopt common standards for what kids should learn at every grade level.

It's worth noting that these are early days. The vast majority of American kids have yet to be affected by any of these changes. But the drumbeat is hard to ignore. We may be on the cusp of running schools — brace yourself — according to what actually works.

Culture of Excellence on Oprah!

A common barometer used when talking about AHS's Culture of Excellence is envisioning a high school environment that is so unique and so inspirational that the school would be featured on the Oprah Winfrey show. Well it appears that Colorado's other High Tech High model school has done just that! Congrats to the Denver School of Science and Technology for their upcoming profile on Oprah and proving to all that high expectations, habits of heart and mind and strong student/staff relationships can definitly create a Culture of Excellence worthy of national attention!

DSST to be featured on the Oprah Show, September 20DSST Public Schools (DSST) will be featured on "Oprah" in conjunction with a show discussing the release of the movie "Waiting for 'Superman,'" a documentary film about the state of public education in the U.S. The documentary focuses on the staggering signs that American children are falling way behind their counterparts in other countries, even as school spending increases. As part of the show, Oprah will make a surprise announcement about DSST. The program will air on Monday, September 20, at 4pm MT on KCNC Channel 4 in the Denver market. Also featured on the show will be Microsoft chairman Bill Gates, documentary director Davis Guggenheim, chancellor of the Washington D.C. public school system Michelle Rhee, and singer/songwriter John Legend.

AHS Weekly Update- Week of Sept. 20th, 2010

It was terrific to see all the friends, families, students and supporters of Animas High School at the Durango Farmer’s Market this past weekend. We appreciate all the support, encouragement and positive feedback! AHS is enjoying a tremendous amount of momentum and we’re so glad folks are taking notice of our success. Please take a moment to review the following updates:

NWEA/CSAP Testing
Adult-World Connections- Biology Students seek Interviews!
AHS Enrollment Continues

NWEA/CSAP Testing

On Tuesday, Sept. 21st, students in AHS’s class of 2013 (the tenth graders) will be receiving their CSAP and NWEA scores from the spring of 2010. If parents do not want this information brought home by their student, please let the main office know by lunch tomorrow.
AHS 9th graders take NWEA testing three times a year; once in the fall, once in the winter, once in the spring. Animas High 10th graders will take NWEA assessments twice their sophomore year; once in the fall and once in the winter. All students participate in CSAP testing in the spring.

AHS Testing Coordinator Jeff DiGiacomo is always available to respond to any and all questions, issues or concerns students or families may have regarding these assessments. Contact him at jeff.digiacomo@animashighschool.com

Also, please review the following list of resource websites related to these assessments:

NWEA Website
http://www.nwea.org/
NWEA State Proficiency Tables
http://www.nwea.org/sites/www.nwea.org/files/support_articles/State_%20Proficiency%20Tables.pdf
NWEA Parent Toolkit
http://www.nwea.org/sites/www.nwea.org/files/resources/Parent%20Toolkit_0.pdf
NWEA Nationwide Population Norm Interactive-
The Kingsbury Center has a small interactive electronic graph that shows how many students are in the “normed population” nationwide. http://www.kingsburycenter.org/our-data/grd-data

CSAP Parent Guide
http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdeassess/documents/parents/CSAP_parentbrochure_2010_FINAL.pdf CDE Link to CSAP disaggregated data
http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdeassess/index_data.html
CDE CSAP OFFICIAL MANUAL
http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdeassess/documents/csap/manuals/2008/20080815_Data_Interpretation_Guidelines.pdf - This manual is intended to provide guidance to district and school personnel as well as parents and other interested stakeholders in the appropriate use of assessment data.

Adult-World Connections- Biology Students seek Interviews!

Calling all medical professionals, specialists, caregivers and patients; our students want to hear from you! Animas High School’s 10th grade Biology students are starting an in depth exploration in the health, function, systems and cycles of the human body. As students ramp up for their first Biology project, AHS is looking for contacts that would be willing to share their experiences with our students. Whether you are an experienced physician or an experienced patient, we want to talk to you! If you’ve got a story, a skill or a specialty to share, we’d love to involve you with our Biology students. Interested? Please contact Mrs. Dunning at colleen.dunning@animashighschool.com We appreciate your participation and assistance in helping us deliver relevant, connected and real-life learning opportunities at AHS!

AHS Enrollment Continues

Our tenth grade is full and we’re down to the final few spots left in the 9th grade. Animas High School enrollment will close on October 8th, 2010. We have limited opening left for the class of 2014 and we want to make sure all students have had a chance to see what AHS is all about. If you know of a family or student who still may want to explore Animas as an option for the 2010-2011 school year, please send them our way. Time (and space) is running out! Interested families/students should contact the Main Office at 970-247-2474

Find us Online at:
http://www.animashighschool.com/
http://www.animashighschool.blogspot.com/www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Animas-High-School/129694133734262?ref=ts

Charter School Institute Board of Directors Opposes Amendments 60, 61 and Proposition 101

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


NEWS RELEASE
September 9, 2010
Contact:
Susan Tillotson
PR Representative
(719) 495-7654 or (760) 415-4032


Charter School Institute Board of Directors Opposes Amendments 60, 61 and Proposition 101

Denver, CO—The Charter School Institute (CSI) Board of Directors unanimously approved a resolution to opposed three measures on the November statewide ballot at its regularly scheduled monthly meeting on August 17, 2010. The Board currently has seven members with two vacancies.

“We believe Proposition 101, and Amendments 60 and 61 are not in the best interest of Colorado students and citizens,” said Wayne Eckerling, chairman of the CSI Board of Directors. “Individually and collectively, these three measures are irresponsible. They would cut funding even further to school districts as well as charter schools and limit the ability of schools to make improvements to its facilities. These measures have the potential to ruin the ability of all schools to make plans and improvements for the future, and to provide parents and students with the quality school options they have come to expect and deserve.”

Although the figures are preliminary and may need further review, it is estimated that these measures would create a $4.2 billion state and local deficit. In addition, a conservative estimate indicates that 8,000 teachers positions statewide will be eliminated which would severely impact the number of students in a classroom.

The passage of these measures, particularly Proposition 101 and Amendment 60 would result in lost revenue that the state would have to replace. Given Colorado’s across-the-board cuts last year, it appears the state will not have the capacity to assist the school districts with this massive shortfall.


Charter School Institute:
The Charter School Institute is a charter school authorizer throughout the state of Colorado focusing its efforts on building high performing public charter schools through authorizing practices that strive to promote a variety of successful and innovative educational models. It currently manages eighteen charters with twenty-one public charter schools including some of its schools that serve at-risk students.


The full text of the resolution approved by the Charter School Institute Board of Directors follows:
COLORADO CHARTER SCHOOL INSTITUTE
Resolution Number: 10-013
Resolution in Opposition to Proposition 101 and Amendments 60 & 61

Whereas, proposition 101and Amendments 60 and 61 are three measures appearing on the November statewide ballot that would significantly damage Colorado’s state and local governments from funding their most basic level of services related to safety, education and transportation, and;

Whereas, these measures would reduce at least $1 billion annually in state taxes, roll back half of all school property taxes statewide and drastically limit government's ability to construct new buildings, and;

Whereas, one of the many components of Proposition 101 reduces the vehicle registration fee (annual license plate fee) drastically compared to prior years, a provision that alone would undermine Colorado's ability to maintain funding to its charter schools, school districts, and general infrastructure, and;

Whereas, Amendment 60 is an amendment to TABOR and includes several major changes in property tax policy, including: a 50% reduction in school district mill levies with a required State back-fill and;

Whereas, one of the many components of Amendment 61 severely limits the means by which state and regional governments are able to make future improvements to its charter schools, brick and mortar public schools, cities and counties, and;

Whereas, the cumulative nature of the three measures make drastic and far reaching changes that will leave the Colorado courts to struggle with these issues for years to come. While this struggle plays out in the courts, these amendments could severely limit the ability of Colorado governments to finance public projects in the capital markets. This will likely ensure that charter schools, and school districts in general will suffer as a result of the inevitable reduction in overall funding available for education;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of the Charter School Institute does hereby oppose the three ballot measures known as Proposition 101, Amendment 60 and Amendment 61 and urge the defeat of these measure at the November 2, 2010 General Election.

AHS Weekly Update- Week of September 13th, 2010

We want to thank everyone who came out Friday afternoon to Edgemont Ranch for our Back to School picnic. Thanks again to the primary event sponsors Advanced Eye Care of Durango and Durango Urgent Care. Thanks also goes out to Albertsons, City Market, Coca Cola, Southwest Ice, Serious Texas BBQ, Wal-Mart, The Badly Bent and our entire Friendraising team! Please take a moment to review the following updates:

Regular Classes/No Special events
Powerschool
Special Guests
Social Networks


Regular Classes/No Special events

AHS will have a regular week of classes with campus opening at 7AM and closing each day at 5 PM. There are no special events or afterschool gatherings this week.

Powerschool

Our administrative staff has been busy importing student schedules into our online student record system, Powerschool. Powerschool will give parents/families/students the ability to remotely access teachers’ grade books, comments and assessments. As soon as we get the green light from CSI in Denver, Animas High will be sending a letter home next week with instructions for log in and password info related to your student’s classes. Stay tuned!

Special Guests

Students will meet with two special guests this week. Senator Bruce Whitehead of Colorado’s 6th District and House of Representatives candidate for the 59th District Brian O’Donnell will join us on campus this week. We are excited to welcome policy makers and those who work hard to represent us up in Denver. With important Charter School bills working through our state’s legislature, it’s great to have a chance to show off all the success and impact a School of Choice is making here in Durango!

Social Networks

Be sure to join Animas High School on FACEBOOK for all the up-to-the second Osprey chatter. Missed an email or announcement, check out our blog at http://www.animashighschool.blogspot.com/

Learning to forgive

*** We are extremly blessed and honored to have Jason, his daughter Alicia (Class of 2013) and their whole family as part of the Animas High community. They continue to be in our thoughts and prayers as they continue on their healing journing. Truely an inspiration for us all! ***

Learning t0 forgive
Family turns to native traditions to heal

by Patrick YoungHerald Staff Writer
Article Last Updated; Sunday, September 12, 2010 12:00AM

Photo by STEVE LEWIS/Herald
Kimberly Armstrong, right, informs her son, Noah Hotchkiss, 12, center, that the red and blue colors of his blanket represent the warrior society as Noah holds onto ceremonial feathers before his recognition by the Gourd Dance Society on Saturday afternoon at the 90th Anniversary Southern Ute Fair Contest Powwow. In back are Noah's father, Jason Hotchkiss, left, and Noah's sister, Alicia Armstrong, 15. Noah lost the use of his legs in an accident that claimed the life of his stepmother, Cassandra Yazzie-Hotchkiss.
STEVE LEWIS/Herald
Alicia teases Noah before his recognition by the Gourd Dance Society.

Courtesy of Jason Hotchkiss

Nine months after his wife was killed in a tragic car wreck, the healing process is far from over for Jason Hotchkiss and his family. But rather than harbor ill feelings toward the driver of the other vehicle, 19-year-old Joseph Montoya, Hotchkiss and his family embarked upon a journey of reconciliation and forgiveness.
Cassandra Yazzie-Hotchkiss, a prominent local Native American activist, was killed Nov. 16, 2009, in a head-on collision with Montoya on Colorado Highway 172 near Oxford. Hotchkiss' 7-year-old son, Dante, and two stepchildren, 9-year-old Amada and 12-year-old Noah, were injured in the wreck. Her oldest son, 13-year-old David, was not in the vehicle. Noah's and Amada's biological mother is Ignacio resident Kimberly Armstrong, who declined to comment for this story.
Amada and Dante both suffered head trauma. Noah's spinal cord injury left him without the use of his legs.
Because the accident took place on Southern Ute tribal lands, the Southern Ute Police Department handled the investigation. Few details of the wreck were released, and the department has not returned calls for comment. But in a recent interview, Jason Hotchkiss shared details of the wreck and the aftermath.
"It is important for people to understand the situation," he said. "A lot of people just don't know what happened, (and) they don't want to ask me, obviously."
Hotchkiss said he doesn't blame the tribe for remaining tight-lipped about the matter.
"Their sovereignty is such an important issue, and it's important for them to protect that," he said.
Hotchkiss said Montoya, who had flu-like symptoms at the time, had just driven his girlfriend to work at the Sky Ute Casino in Ignacio after working a graveyard shift himself. On his way home, Hotchkiss said, Montoya fell asleep behind the wheel of his pickup truck, drifting across the center line and colliding with Cassandra Yazzie-Hotchkiss' Subaru Legacy. Drugs and alcohol were not a factor, he said. Montoya could not be reached for comment.
Montoya pleaded guilty to vehicular assault, but rather than facing jail time, Hotchkiss asked the court to consider taking a different approach.
A good path
Not wanting Montoya's life to be ruined by one mistake, Hotchkiss proposed a plan that borrowed heavily from traditional native customs.
"If it hadn't been us that Joseph had run into, (Cassandra) would have been the first person to try to advocate for a good path for this," Hotchkiss said. "It's what Cassandra would have wanted."
He said Montoya and his mother, also present at the sentencing, immediately agreed to his plan.
"Their counsel had suggested that they don't take it, which is his job, but they heard it, and I think they saw in it a path that was beneficial for everybody," he said. "It was wonderful how supportive the Southern Ute court was. ... If we had been outside of the tribal court system, it would have been difficult to pursue a path like this."
The yearlong process requires Montoya to perform extensive volunteer work for Native American advocacy groups. Cassandra Yazzie-Hotchkiss had been an outspoken advocate for Native American causes, and it is her husband's hope that Montoya's volunteer work will further that mission.
"My greatest hope is that he'll become some great change agent in his life, become a real asset to his community, and take the spirit and enthusiasm Cass had and continue to apply it," Jason Hotchkiss said. "There's a lot of work to be done."
In addition, Montoya must bring livestock to his wife's grandmother.
Throughout the year, Montoya, Hotchkiss and his family will be receiving therapy.
The final phase of the plan will occur next spring when Montoya and his family will travel to Durango and prepare a meal for Cassandra Yazzie-Hotchkiss' family and friends.
"That's the time when we hope (Montoya) is able to walk away feeling forgiven and people who have been impacted and who are harboring anger for whatever reason will be able to walk away from it feeling OK," Jason Hotchkiss said.
Huge adjustment
Even with Hotchkiss' genuine desire to forgive Montoya, he admitted that life has been rough for his family.
In addition to the loss of his wife, the family also is dealing with residual medical problems from the accident.
Amada has some lingering issues as a result of her head injury, and Noah still is without the use of his legs and requires a wheelchair.
"We went to the doctor once every two years to get shots, and now we're at the doctor's office eight, 10 times a week," Hotchkiss said. "It's been a huge adjustment for us, financially, obviously. ... It just is what it is, and we'll make it through."
Through it all, Hotchkiss said there has been a tremendous outpouring of community support.
Within two days of the accident, a group of Native American students from Fort Lewis College, his wife's alma mater, had raised $4,000, which helped pay funeral costs.
Spearheaded by the local ministry Patrick's Crossing, a group of local churches organized to provide the family financial support, which Hotchkiss said has helped him make his mortgage payment, keep the lights on and focus energy on his children.
Durango resident Mark Katz, whom Hotchkiss said he had never met before but once played bluegrass with his uncle, showed up one evening with a "very generous" check for the family.
"It's a testimony to Cass as much as anything - just how powerful a person she was and how many lives she touched," he said.
Shriners International has been providing free medical care for Noah at its Philadelphia-based pediatric hospital dedicated to spinal-cord injury rehabilitation. Hotchkiss is optimistic that stem-cell research someday will yield a cure for Noah and allow him to walk again. Because the organization is funded entirely through private donations, it is not subject to federal restrictions on stem-cell research.
"The Shriners are an incredible organization, and we're so fortunate to have Noah working with them," he said.
'To walk in beauty'
Despite everything, Hotchkiss is optimistic about the future.
"In the Navajo Way, they talk about walking in balance, walking in harmony with our surroundings," Hotchkiss said. "That's what they call the Beauty Way, to walk in beauty, and that's what I'd like to see for my family and especially Noah."
In Noah's case, he uses the word 'walk' literally.
"I want to see him walk again, and that's one of the things we hope for," Hotchkiss said. "But regardless, we're going to roll in beauty if not."
Hotchkiss believes forgiving Montoya is an important step in moving past this tragedy. He knows it is what his wife would have wanted. And whatever the future holds for this family, he has the utmost faith they will persevere.
"I guess mainly I don't want to, and I don't want my kids to harbor hate," Hotchkiss said. "Life is hard. ... Sometimes terrible things happen, and sometimes they happen to us."
pyoung@durangoherald.com
Sunday, September 12, 2010at 4:03:29 PM
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mtnjoy says...
You are beautiful, Jason!! You are a light shining in the darkness.
Sunday, September 12, 2010at 3:08:05 PM
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worried says...
You Jason are a very good hearted person. Cassandra is always going to be with you. To forgive and feel no hatred is above and beyond. Maybe we all can learn by you. My prayers will go out to Noah and that miracle will happen someday.
Sunday, September 12, 2010at 10:37:26 AM
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Tomas Cruz says...
Wow! This is an amazing story. One of defeating adversity, dealing with with the loss of a loved one and most of all forgiveness. Mr Hotchkiss is an amazing man who has taught this community a HUGE lesson. I have a renewed sense of compassion after reading this story. I have a renewed faith in my fellow man. Thank You
Sunday, September 12, 2010at 9:59:29 AM
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humbled says...
This family truly restores faith in just being human, kind, and caring to people. We all have a lot to learn from this tragedy and triumph.
Sunday, September 12, 2010at 8:39:24 AM
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Cheryl says...
What a wonderful, uplifting article to read, first thing in the morning. I have great respect for Mr. Hotchkiss and his family. I hope people will take this lesson to heart and see the good that comes from the Traditional Native People. God Bless all who are involved in this great lesson in life.
Sunday, September 12, 2010at 8:15:48 AM
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Jennifer says...
I see now how this sort of plan can be so beneficial to society & spirit. I am thankful to have read this article this morning. These families will indeed feel recovery from utilizing plans like this and their society benefits as well. Thank you Herald for posting this enlightening and uplifting story of forgiveness & healthy choices being made in our community.
Sunday, September 12, 2010at 7:52:48 AM
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Sara says...
Fatherhood is precious
Sunday, September 12, 2010at 7:46:55 AM
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Local Dude says...
Many Blessings upon this Family. Wonderful to read about a Family with a Hero for a Father, tempered by the incredible sadness of the loss of a beautiful wife. Today, I weep for him and his children.Life is short, but Mr. Hotchkiss is doing it right. Who could deny he is a True Warrior?
Sunday, September 12, 2010at 6:09:06 AM
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Anne says...
Thank you for showing me what it means to be a True human being. Peace and respect to you and your family, and to Montoya and his family too.

Reducing the charter school leader learning curve- CO Charter Schools Examiner

Reducing the charter school leader learning curve
September 2nd, 2010 8:00 am MT
By Doug Hering, Colorado Charter Schools Examiner

In my job, I get to see a lot of charter schools--some are clients, some are friends, some are acquaintances, and some I barely get introduced to. The one thing that I've seen changing in Colorado is a real emphasis on getting charter school founders to understand the pitfalls and challenges before they have their application approved. The process seems to have improved over the past few years.

Still, I meet people who want to found schools with interesting approaches to running a school. Some want to start really small. They value small class sizes and small overall school size. They want to start small so that they can refine their model as they grow. The problem they face is that their start up budgets rarely work. They have to cut and cut to get a break even budget. Often they cut services that I know they need.

Others project student enrollment that is achievable, but a real reach. The problem they face is that if they do not make their enrollment numbers, they struggle because every student not enrolled requires a relatively painful budget cut. If the school ends up 20 students short, the school faces drastic cuts.

In Colorado, the department of education schools of choice unit has done a good job of providing start up schools with information, and the Colorado League of Charter Schools provides a detailed review of applications to try to drive out these weaknesses in initial budget projections. In addition, board members are required to take a series of exams in order for a school to continue to receive federal start up grant funding.

In my recent experience with both young schools and with schools wanting to open, I wonder if founding board members should have to go through that series of exams before they apply for a charter. This would greatly reduce the learning curve that happens after the school opens.

Why school reform is urgent- From CNN International

Why school reform is urgent
By Kathleen McCartney, Special to CNN
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
As new school year starts, debate rages about reforming America's schools
Kathleen McCartney: Students are far behind other nations in educational performance
McCartney says Race to the Top program is prompting movement toward better schools
States, school districts, education schools need to be part of reform effort, she says

Editor's note: Kathleen McCartney is the dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Cambridge, Massachusetts (CNN) -- Across the country, parents have been busy preparing their children for the return to school. They have been buying new backpacks, new school supplies and new clothes.

Their goal is not to stimulate the economy; rather, they are providing incentives to jittery children who are about to trade the halcyon days of summer for homework. Change is hard -- and new sneakers ease the blow.

Education policy is changing, too. Last week, the Department of Education announced the second round of winners of its Race to the Top competition. Nine states and the District of Columbia received $3.4 billion thanks to funds included in the stimulus package.
The winning states are making dramatic changes in how they do business -- adopting common standards and assessments, building data systems that measure student growth and success, retaining effective teachers and principals, and turning around their lowest performing schools.

Critics are already on the attack. They argue that the federal government is micromanaging districts, that states have been force-fed national standards, that the competition is too dependent on union support, that the selection of states was based on politics, and that $3.4 billion is not meaningful, given that education is a $650 billion enterprise nationwide. And yet, 40 states and the District of Columbia applied to Race to the Top in round one, and 35 states and the district applied in round two.

I guess Race to the Top worked as well as new sneakers as an incentive for change.
Opponents also say that Race to the Top is funding unproven policies, like encouraging the growth of charter schools and linking teacher evaluation to student performance. It's a fair point; however, the sad truth is that the knowledge base in education is abysmal.
In contrast with medical research, we haven't invested in education research, so we don't know nearly enough about what works. Failing children can't wait for needed research. Education Secretary Arne Duncan is right to make some best guesses about best practices. The critics don't seem to realize that they are standing in the way of innovation.

The education sector isn't used to competition; it's used to complacency. So, to jump-start reform, the Department of Education has also asked organizations to compete for a share of its Investing in Innovation Fund.

The fund is modest -- $650 million -- designed to accelerate the growth of programs with demonstrated evidence of their effectiveness. Seventeen hundred institutions applied, and the 49 highest-rated applicants must now secure a 20 percent private sector match.
This is a new strategy for the Education Department -- it is willing to change, too. Soon, nonprofits such as Teach For America, districts such as Denver, Colorado, and higher education institutions such as Ohio State and Harvard universities will receive resources to bring good ideas to scale. We need more programs such as this to foster creative thinking in the education sector.

Most policies have unintended consequences, as is the case here. For example, in Burlington, Vermont, a well-regarded principal was fired because her school appeared to be a failure, based on fifth-grade test scores; however, a serious examination would have revealed that 37 of 39 fifth-graders in her school were either refugees or special-ed children.
Firing this principal was wrong, of course. Yet we can't use examples such as this as evidence of policy failure. Instead, as we implement new policies, we need to get smarter about how we evaluate performance at the level of state, district, school and child.

We must resist resistance to change. The status quo in education provides reason enough. Consider three stunning statistics. First, 53 percent of U.S. children in our 50 largest cities graduate from high school. According to research by McKinsey & Co., underperforming students, many of whom are poor, have lower earnings, poorer health and higher rates of incarceration. This costs us money -- the economic equivalent of a permanent national recession year after year, according to McKinsey.

Second, black and Latino students are roughly two to three years behind their white peers on standardized tests. For this reason, education is a social justice issue. Education is the gateway to success -- there is no other. Education cannot be the root of inequity and thereby inequality.

Third, the U.S. no longer has the best public education system in the world -- not even close. Our children performed 25th and 21st in math and science, respectively, on the Program in International Student Assessment, well behind countries such as Finland and Singapore.
Andreas Schleicher, a principal investigator of the Program in International Student Assessment study, has written, "Success will go to those individuals and countries which are swift to adapt, slow to complain, and open to change." We can listen to Schleicher or suffer the consequences. Global competitiveness, scientific discoveries and the very future of our democracy are all at stake.

Race to the Top and the Innovation Fund are not the answer in and of themselves, but they are important next steps in education reform. Already there are early signs of success. For example, both have incentivized school districts and union leaders to work together to improve teacher evaluation systems, a precondition for meaningful classroom innovation.

It is also clear that these policies will turn states and districts into learning laboratories. Then researchers can evaluate the impact of innovation on student achievement. To contribute to this work, schools of education have to make fundamental changes in our approach to research.
Duncan has challenged education schools "to move out of the Ivory Tower and into the schoolhouse." I agree. We need to conduct research that is rigorous and relevant to the pressing problems in education -- not research for scholars that lies fallow in journals.
Education researchers, practitioners and policymakers don't need new sneakers to race to the top -- we only need the courage to change.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Kathleen McCartney.

Forget What You Know About Good Study Habits- New York Times Article

September 6, 2010
Forget What You Know About Good Study Habits
By BENEDICT CAREY
Every September, millions of parents try a kind of psychological witchcraft, to transform their summer-glazed campers into fall students, their video-bugs into bookworms. Advice is cheap and all too familiar: Clear a quiet work space. Stick to a homework schedule. Set goals. Set boundaries. Do not bribe (except in emergencies).
And check out the classroom. Does Junior’s learning style match the new teacher’s approach? Or the school’s philosophy? Maybe the child isn’t “a good fit” for the school.
Such theories have developed in part because of sketchy education research that doesn’t offer clear guidance. Student traits and teaching styles surely interact; so do personalities and at-home rules. The trouble is, no one can predict how.
Yet there are effective approaches to learning, at least for those who are motivated. In recent years, cognitive scientists have shown that a few simple techniques can reliably improve what matters most: how much a student learns from studying.
The findings can help anyone, from a fourth grader doing long division to a retiree taking on a new language. But they directly contradict much of the common wisdom about good study habits, and they have not caught on.
For instance, instead of sticking to one study location, simply alternating the room where a person studies improves retention. So does studying distinct but related skills or concepts in one sitting, rather than focusing intensely on a single thing.
“We have known these principles for some time, and it’s intriguing that schools don’t pick them up, or that people don’t learn them by trial and error,” said Robert A. Bjork, a psychologist at the University of California, Los Angeles. “Instead, we walk around with all sorts of unexamined beliefs about what works that are mistaken.”
Take the notion that children have specific learning styles, that some are “visual learners” and others are auditory; some are “left-brain” students, others “right-brain.” In a recent review of the relevant research, published in the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest, a team of psychologists found almost zero support for such ideas. “The contrast between the enormous popularity of the learning-styles approach within education and the lack of credible evidence for its utility is, in our opinion, striking and disturbing,” the researchers concluded.
Ditto for teaching styles, researchers say. Some excellent instructors caper in front of the blackboard like summer-theater Falstaffs; others are reserved to the point of shyness. “We have yet to identify the common threads between teachers who create a constructive learning atmosphere,” said Daniel T. Willingham, a psychologist at the University of Virginia and author of the book “Why Don’t Students Like School?”
But individual learning is another matter, and psychologists have discovered that some of the most hallowed advice on study habits is flat wrong. For instance, many study skills courses insist that students find a specific place, a study room or a quiet corner of the library, to take their work. The research finds just the opposite. In one classic 1978 experiment, psychologists found that college students who studied a list of 40 vocabulary words in two different rooms — one windowless and cluttered, the other modern, with a view on a courtyard — did far better on a test than students who studied the words twice, in the same room. Later studies have confirmed the finding, for a variety of topics.
The brain makes subtle associations between what it is studying and the background sensations it has at the time, the authors say, regardless of whether those perceptions are conscious. It colors the terms of the Versailles Treaty with the wasted fluorescent glow of the dorm study room, say; or the elements of the Marshall Plan with the jade-curtain shade of the willow tree in the backyard. Forcing the brain to make multiple associations with the same material may, in effect, give that information more neural scaffolding.
“What we think is happening here is that, when the outside context is varied, the information is enriched, and this slows down forgetting,” said Dr. Bjork, the senior author of the two-room experiment.
Varying the type of material studied in a single sitting — alternating, for example, among vocabulary, reading and speaking in a new language — seems to leave a deeper impression on the brain than does concentrating on just one skill at a time. Musicians have known this for years, and their practice sessions often include a mix of scales, musical pieces and rhythmic work. Many athletes, too, routinely mix their workouts with strength, speed and skill drills.
The advantages of this approach to studying can be striking, in some topic areas. In a study recently posted online by the journal Applied Cognitive Psychology, Doug Rohrer and Kelli Taylor of the University of South Florida taught a group of fourth graders four equations, each to calculate a different dimension of a prism. Half of the children learned by studying repeated examples of one equation, say, calculating the number of prism faces when given the number of sides at the base, then moving on to the next type of calculation, studying repeated examples of that. The other half studied mixed problem sets, which included examples of all four types of calculations grouped together. Both groups solved sample problems along the way, as they studied.
A day later, the researchers gave all of the students a test on the material, presenting new problems of the same type. The children who had studied mixed sets did twice as well as the others, outscoring them 77 percent to 38 percent. The researchers have found the same in experiments involving adults and younger children.
“When students see a list of problems, all of the same kind, they know the strategy to use before they even read the problem,” said Dr. Rohrer. “That’s like riding a bike with training wheels.” With mixed practice, he added, “each problem is different from the last one, which means kids must learn how to choose the appropriate procedure — just like they had to do on the test.”
These findings extend well beyond math, even to aesthetic intuitive learning. In an experiment published last month in the journal Psychology and Aging, researchers found that college students and adults of retirement age were better able to distinguish the painting styles of 12 unfamiliar artists after viewing mixed collections (assortments, including works from all 12) than after viewing a dozen works from one artist, all together, then moving on to the next painter.
The finding undermines the common assumption that intensive immersion is the best way to really master a particular genre, or type of creative work, said Nate Kornell, a psychologist at Williams College and the lead author of the study. “What seems to be happening in this case is that the brain is picking up deeper patterns when seeing assortments of paintings; it’s picking up what’s similar and what’s different about them,” often subconsciously.
Cognitive scientists do not deny that honest-to-goodness cramming can lead to a better grade on a given exam. But hurriedly jam-packing a brain is akin to speed-packing a cheap suitcase, as most students quickly learn — it holds its new load for a while, then most everything falls out.
“With many students, it’s not like they can’t remember the material” when they move to a more advanced class, said Henry L. Roediger III, a psychologist at Washington University in St. Louis. “It’s like they’ve never seen it before.”
When the neural suitcase is packed carefully and gradually, it holds its contents for far, far longer. An hour of study tonight, an hour on the weekend, another session a week from now: such so-called spacing improves later recall, without requiring students to put in more overall study effort or pay more attention, dozens of studies have found.
No one knows for sure why. It may be that the brain, when it revisits material at a later time, has to relearn some of what it has absorbed before adding new stuff — and that that process is itself self-reinforcing.
“The idea is that forgetting is the friend of learning,” said Dr. Kornell. “When you forget something, it allows you to relearn, and do so effectively, the next time you see it.”
That’s one reason cognitive scientists see testing itself — or practice tests and quizzes — as a powerful tool of learning, rather than merely assessment. The process of retrieving an idea is not like pulling a book from a shelf; it seems to fundamentally alter the way the information is subsequently stored, making it far more accessible in the future.
Dr. Roediger uses the analogy of the Heisenberg uncertainty principle in physics, which holds that the act of measuring a property of a particle (position, for example) reduces the accuracy with which you can know another property (momentum, for example): “Testing not only measures knowledge but changes it,” he says — and, happily, in the direction of more certainty, not less.
In one of his own experiments, Dr. Roediger and Jeffrey Karpicke, also of Washington University, had college students study science passages from a reading comprehension test, in short study periods. When students studied the same material twice, in back-to-back sessions, they did very well on a test given immediately afterward, then began to forget the material.
But if they studied the passage just once and did a practice test in the second session, they did very well on one test two days later, and another given a week later.
“Testing has such bad connotation; people think of standardized testing or teaching to the test,” Dr. Roediger said. “Maybe we need to call it something else, but this is one of the most powerful learning tools we have.”
Of course, one reason the thought of testing tightens people’s stomachs is that tests are so often hard. Paradoxically, it is just this difficulty that makes them such effective study tools, research suggests. The harder it is to remember something, the harder it is to later forget. This effect, which researchers call “desirable difficulty,” is evident in daily life. The name of the actor who played Linc in “The Mod Squad”? Francie’s brother in “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn”? The name of the co-discoverer, with Newton, of calculus?
The more mental sweat it takes to dig it out, the more securely it will be subsequently anchored.
None of which is to suggest that these techniques — alternating study environments, mixing content, spacing study sessions, self-testing or all the above — will turn a grade-A slacker into a grade-A student. Motivation matters. So do impressing friends, making the hockey team and finding the nerve to text the cute student in social studies.
“In lab experiments, you’re able to control for all factors except the one you’re studying,” said Dr. Willingham. “Not true in the classroom, in real life. All of these things are interacting at the same time.”
But at the very least, the cognitive techniques give parents and students, young and old, something many did not have before: a study plan based on evidence, not schoolyard folk wisdom, or empty theorizing.

Back to School Picnic This Friday!

AHS Weekly Update- Week of Sept. 6th, 2010

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend. As we roll into week three of the 2010-2011 school year, please familiarize yourself with the following updates:

Back to School Picnic
Volunteer Needs
AHS Fashion Guide

Back to School Picnic

Our Back to School Picnic will be this Friday night, September 10th, from 4:30-7:30 p.m. at the Edgemont Picnic Grounds (same location as Day One of student orientation).If you are planning to come, please RSVP to PAC’s email address: PAC@animashighschool.com (if you haven't already done so).

Please remember:

-Bring your favorite side dish

-Bring lawn chairs and picnic blankets-

We will provide Barbecue from Serious Texas

-$5 per person, $20 per family-suggested donation at the door
-volunteers are welcome to come and set up at 2:30 and help with cleanup at 7:30

Get ready to have some fun, get to know other AHS families and teachers, and listen to the fabulous music of the Badly Bent!

Volunteer Needs

The school would like to personally thank all the volunteers who worked so hard this summer helping us get campus ready for the new school year! Your efforts and energy helped us open on time and in great shape for the students’ first week.

Although the summer remodel is behind us, our need for volunteer help persists. How can you help AHS? We are looking for volunteers that can give us an hour or two a week to help us with projects here at school. We ALWAYS need help with keeping our building clean and would love some assistance with our common spaces: i.e. hallways, Commons room, Lodge, etc… We also have the need for more tech labor. We spent the entire summer revamping our network and refining our backend (server room) technology. There still are some more wires to be run and software to be installed so we are looking for tech-minded volunteers as well.

Think you may be able to help out? Please contact Maureen at the Main Office with your interest and availability. Thanks again to everyone who has and continues to volunteer at Animas High!

AHS Fashion Guide

Students were all involved with a presentation on school rules and campus policies as part of their orientation experience. One of the most popular areas we spend time discussing with the student body relates to the AHS Fashion Guide. Our veteran tenth graders can spot a mismatched pair of socks or missing belt from a mile away and they have been invaluable in setting the dress tone this year.

For those of you new to the Animas High School community, please familiarize yourself with the school’s Fashion Guide. (Dress Code)
Parents, you are the first line of remediation when it comes to responsible fashion choices. Please help us by making sure your student leaves the house appropriately attired for the school day!

Animas High School Fashion Guide

The purpose of the AHS Fashion Guide is to foster a professional, safe and respectful environment at school and while participating in AHS programs. The fashion guide is in effect from the time students arrive to school and until they leave. Note that students must be in dress code before school begins if they enter the building before the official start of school. The fashion guide applies to field trips, site visits, academic internships and other school-related activities, unless the supervising adult informs the students otherwise. The fashion guide applies equally to students and staff. Students who participate in sports are always allowed and encouraged to wear their sport’s uniform tops to school on game days. Students are always allowed to change into athletic wear for X-blocks and after school activities.

Professional Dress

— Whenever a student is expected to be presenting their work, they are required to be in professional dress. This includes any and all in-class presentations, formal POL’s (presentations of Learning), power lunches and community events, gallery openings and scheduled exhibitions. Essentially, anytime students will be presenting their work to others they should be dressed professionally. Faculty will always remind students when there exists the expectation of professional dress and we will assist students in planning for these experiences.

• Through our commitment to professional dress, Animas High School looks to teach our students how to better assess and recognize when they should be projecting a professional image through their clothing choices.
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For boys, this means a button-down shirt, a tie, a nice pair of slacks (no jeans), dark socks and shoes (no sneakers.)
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For girls that means a nice top, sweater blouse or button-up shirt, slacks or a skirt, dress shoes (no excessively high heels).

Anytime there is not the expectation of professional dress, the following guidelines shall apply:

Tops

— Boys must wear a short or long-sleeved shirt with a collar or finished neck (Example- Sweater shirt, t-shirt or Henley.) Shirts must be buttoned and/or be long enough to be tucked in. All tops must have sleeves, be free of rips/holes/tears and any offensive prints, pictures or messages.
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Girls may wear collared shirts, sweaters, blouses or shirts with a finished neck line. Shoulders must be covered by a minimum of 2 inches of sleeve and exposed midsections, plunging neck lines and/or exposed backs are not acceptable.
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If a student wears a t-shirt, it must be free of offensive/inappropriate messages, pictures or prints.
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Sweaters and jackets of an appropriate size and length may be worn over, but not in place of an appropriate shirt. Hooded sweatshirts will be allowed at AHS, but hoods are never to be worn in the building. If a student fails to comply with this request, they shall lose the privilege of wearing “hoodies” to school.

Bottoms

— Appropriate school attire includes long pants, shorts or skirts worn with the waistband at the waist. (We will not tolerate students who subject our community to looking at their undergarments!) Excessively baggy pants, athletic wear (including gym shorts), sweat pants and pajamas are not acceptable. Jeans in good repair (no rips or holes) are acceptable. Skirts and shorts must be of acceptable length (mid-thigh or lower- dangling finger rule!).
Other clothing guidelines

Open toed footwear, flips flops and slippers are not allowed at school. (Sandals with toe coverage like the popular KEEN models are acceptable).
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Clothing that displays lettering, symbols and/or pictures depicting the use of or promotion of drugs, alcohol, tobacco, sexual activity, nudity, profanity, vulgarity, gang related themes or racism is not allowed.
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Exposed midsections are never acceptable. Tops must be long enough to cover the abdomen, sides and back of the student.
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Hats, hoods and bandanas are not acceptable. Hats and hoods may be worn outside of the school building.
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Earrings and piercings are allowed but staff may request students remove their jewelry if it poses a safety issue within a specific activity. (Example: No large hoops for trust falls!)
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Appropriate attire for academic internships varies by workplace. Students must remain in dress code at school, until they sign out to leave for academic internships