I Love a Parade! Animas High Joins Snowdown Celebration

Well after another busy week of meetings, paperwork and emails, I really enjoyed the opportunity to participate in Friday evening's SNOWDOWN parade. A last second addition to the event, Animas High was able to assemble a crew of parents and students for the illuminated stroll down Main St. With our banner lit with headlamps, glitter and glowsticks, the Animas gang marched to receptive and enthusiastic shouts of encouragement from the crowd. I want to thank all the kids, parents and board members who came out in support of our new high school. A special thanks goes out to Lavenia and Gina at the Speedy Needle for their generous donation of Animas High T-shirts, oversized to fit over all our warm gear! The shirts and a student designed/constructed float are sure to become a fixture in future Snowdown frolics. The parade left all involved with a strong sense of comraderie and enjoying the positive energy and feelings of accomplishment that resulted from our group's participation. Good job everyone! What a Blast! We look forward to reporting on more experiences out in the community soon.

AHS at SNOWDOWN KID's FOLLIES

A very special thank you to Nancy H and Holly J for all the help setting up at the most recent KIDS FOLLIES performances. AHS was lucky enough to table just inside the door during this most fabulous Snowdown event. We appreciate all the help from parents manning the table and giving out our special candy text messages...

FROM OUR SNOWDOWN HANDOUTS:

IN Da NILE about HIGH SCHOOL?

Well fret no longer! The days of limited school choice in Durango are now ANCIENT HISTORY. Animas High School, opening in the FALL of 2009, looks to provide students with an individualized high school experience that addresses issues as they are found in the real world!

Small Classes
A Rigorous College Prep Curriculum
Real World Connections
A Culture of Excellence

Please join us @ Durango Public Library, February 17th, 2009 at 6:00 PM for more information on AHS, the High Tech High model and a public Q & A session.
Education for the 21st Century
http://www.animashighschool.org/

"Together we can continue to give every student a solid foundation for success in the 21st century..."

A letter drafted to the Editorial Page of the Durango Herald:

I wanted to take a quick second to let the community know how excited I am to be involved with the new Animas High School. AHS, a free public school of choice will be opening in the fall of 2009. Our school is based on the High Tech High School which has successfully served San Diego students since 2000. What excites me most about this project is the opportunity to collaborate with all the great people, educators, businesses and resources found throughout Durango, La Plata county and Southwest Colorado. I want to thank everyone who has helped make my transition to Durango a smooth and welcomed one. It is an exciting time for the young adults in our lives. Along with Animas, there exist many fabulous options for high school students. Wherever students decide to attend high school, the fact is that they now have more options available to them than ever before! Public, private, parochial or charter; isn’t it terrific that we can reach out and find the best spot for every individual? I have enjoyed the chance to meet local superintendents, administrators, board and staff members affiliated with the different districts, youth programs and educational venues. It is inspiring to see the commitment and dedication that these educators, public officials, student mentors and families have for the youth of our community. Together we can continue to give every student a solid foundation for success in the 21st century and help guide our young adults towards an amazing future. Thank you for welcoming me as your neighbor and I look forward to meeting those parents, friends, teachers and coaches who’ve I’ve not connected with yet. The future appears incredibly bright and together we can support our children as they strive to accomplish amazing things.

Respectfully,

Michael Ackerman

Head of School

http://www.animashighschool.org/

Another concerned parent....

9-R denying access to Animas High
Article Last Updated; Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Durango School District 9-R is trying to prevent parents and students from learning about a terrific new education option, Animas High School. The district has used all means at its disposal - letters, e-mail blasts, required assemblies during school hours - as well as considerable district financial resources such as staff salaries, out-of-state travel and marketing expenses, to tout its reaction to Animas High - its "Durango Big Picture High School." Meanwhile, the district has consistently denied Animas High's requests to hold information sessions at the middle schools.


While on the surface Durango Big Picture may seem similar to AHS, it's not at all like Animas High. Big Picture is for kids who don't fit in, who are at risk of not graduating from high school. And Big Picture's staff members are the same teachers of the failed Excel school.
So far, Animas has hired two exceptional teachers with direct experience in the model they are implementing, and they are receiving applications from great teachers around the country every week. Animas High School is college prep for the 21st century - just look at the list of college acceptances.
The school district should be ashamed of itself in its willful neglect to give equal opportunity for Animas High School to present itself to the students and parents of Durango.
Parents and students owe it to themselves to learn about what Animas High School will bring to Durango. This is an incredible opportunity for our students. Please visit www.AnimasHighSchool.org. You'll be excited about what you see.

Kathy Setka, Durango

Helter Smelter- A Crazy but Inspiring First Week...

Well as with most things in life, Timing is everything! When I was contacted by the Board with the news that I was chosen as AHS's Head of School, I was just heading out into the mountains on yet another Outward Bound snowboarding expedition. As I lived in my tent for a week at 12,500 feet, the reality of this new transition began to sink in. Both the powder and my thoughts were deep and the absolutely perfect snow helped distract my racing mind. The timeline for getting settled into my new role was set as "immediate" and I began wondering how I'd make it out of the field while still honoring the course objectives, provide quality and safe instruction to my current charges, wrap things up in AZ and make it to Durango ASAP.

Instead of heading to Telluride for a few days of "down time," I came off course and 12 hours later was on the last flight out of Denver to Phoenix. In 72 hours I managed to hand over the company I had built from scratch which included re-assigning bank accounts, handing over files and cross checking that all my now former responsibilities at Learn Outdoors were covered. Needless to say, we got nearly everything dialed in and as quick as I had arrived back in AZ, I was now off to Colorado again. This time without my dogs and without the majority of my personal belongings. Rachel and I loaded up two vehicles and pushed north across the reservation, into La Plata county and finally onto D-town.

Serendipitous is a great word. It is also how I would describe my first week here in town. Within four days we had secured a home to rent, switched our mail, banking and drivers license information and settled into a routine in our new home town. It is interesting to note that our first few evenings were spent residing at the historic Strater Hotel...an establishment that for many decades served as the local citizenry’s refuge during the winter months.
Upon reflection, I can think of no more fitting a place to start our residency in town than with a small stint in the hotel that historically sheltered Durangoans from the cold.

Steadily, we began to branch out past Main Street and discover more subtle details and secrets about our new home. I began carving a daily routine out of my disjointed situation and soon my day was framed by morning trips to the rec center and nights capped with movies on the laptop. I met more people in those first few days than I have in quite some time and I went about keeping a Name Sheet- kind of like a cheat sheet with all the acquaintances I had recently made and little notes about their identities to keep me honest.

In lieu of an office, I bounced from coffee shop to coffee shop chasing Wifi signals and holding 4 to 5 meetings a day. Although I wanted to take some time and ease into my new scene, time was of the essence and everyone seemed to want a piece of the new guy. It would have been easy to fold under the stress and intensity of this transition. But as I took a therapeutic trek next to the river on my first weekend afternoon off, I realized that all the work, all the rush, all the pressure of getting here and getting established helped cement my new reality. Durango is now home and the opportunity to lead Animas High School as it grows and develops is a dream come true. So even though I'm a little overwhelmed, bleary-eyed and still not sure how I got here so fast, one thing is clear.
Regardless of how quickly it feels that I uprooted myself from my world, this new place, Durango, is where I'm excited to grow and bloom. And strange as it may seem, it took only a few days for this new location to feel like home....

Now, if I could only get some furniture and pictures up on the bare walls....

Lori Fisher to Teach Humanities at Animas High

Lori Fisher - 9th Grade Humanities
Lori Fisher joined the High Tech High educational community in 2007 and currently teaches 10th grade humanities at High Tech High Media Arts. She will be teaching 9th grade humanities for Animas High School.
Lori earned a bachelors degree in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Masters in Education from Stanford University's STEP Program.
Berkeley and Stanford have given me an amazing education, a passion for politics and peace, and a deep belief in the global connections between individuals and societies. Contrary to popular predictions by naysayers, I had no problem at all finding a job with my obscure degree in Peace and Conflict Studies. I worked as a State Coalition Organizer (read grant writer and lobbyist) at YouthBuild USA before deciding to pursue graduate work in education as it became my passion.
Lori naturally brings a global perspective to the design of her humanities projects - including courses in Identity, Globalization and Politics - from study abroad in Chile and work in Thailand where she obtained her SCUBA certification as a dive master. She is leading San Diego 10th graders to Thailand in March during their spring break.
Lori and her husband, John Fisher, who is also a High Tech High teacher, will both play an important role in Animas High’s emergence as a “high tech high” school.
I look forward to working with your new head of school, Michael Ackerman, bringing my expertise and experience with project design to a new context. In addition to my experience with a diverse array of students learning through project-based education, I also bring Animas High my experience mentoring teachers who may be new to this model. John and I are looking forward to moving to Durango!

John Fisher to Teach 9th Grade Humanities

John Fisher to teach 9th grade humanities
John Fisher attained a BA in Philosophy from UC Santa Cruz in 2001, and an MA in Composition and Reading from San Francisco State in 2005, for which he won the departmental distinction award.John was passionately teaching writing to college students before joining the High Tech High faculty on the San Diego campus last fall. Immersed with his students at High Tech High, he is also currently finishing his secondary teaching credential in both English and History from the High Tech High Graduate School of Education. Watch video and learn more about this exciting new program here.
Project based learning is an exciting way to prepare students to excel in a college environment. Writing for real audiences in real contexts changes everything. Having your work on public display creates incentives to reflect and refine like no other context, and that helps to create not only beautiful student work, but beautiful teaching. John brings his varied passions to his students, and enjoys learning from them as much as he enjoys teaching them. Under the larger scope of "the Humanities" John gets his students excited about the connections between past and present - the larger historical trends and what's happening around them today. In teaching the relevance of ancient philosophy to their daily lives, he encourages them to express those relationshiops as "sentence ninjas."John looks forward to the magnificent four season opportunities for exploring the natural world of Southwest Colorado with his wife and co-teacher, Lori Fisher. Between studies and teaching, John has lived and studied in a Hindu ashram in India, worked on a reforestation project in Costa Rica, learned to scuba dive in Bali, and has been a tour manager for the band Dredg.

Education is a Journey, Not a Destination for New Head of Animas High School

Board Hires Michael Ackerman as Head of School



After a national search for its first Head of School, the Animas High Board has selected Michael Ackerman of Prescott, Arizona, from an impressive field of candidates.
“Michael stood out for many reasons. For such a young man, Michael brings a remarkable breadth of experience in educational leadership and business acumen,” said Jim Judge, professor emeritus at Fort Lewis College. “We told him he’d have to hit the ground running and he’s doing exactly that. He is a ball of fire - exactly what’s needed in developing a school as ambitious and ‘out of the box’ as Animas High School will be.”
Michael’s “can do” approach has been forged in the trenches of both public and private education. After earning his Bachelor of Arts from Prescott College, Ackerman was pursuing graduate studies at the University of New Hampshire when he was recruited by the Conway New Hampshire School District to restructure an alternative high school program. Instead of revamping, Michael recommended the creation of an entirely new program which he designed and implemented - The Tributaries Alternative Education Program.
Michael next joined a small group of talented educators in the creation of a college prep boarding school adjacent to the White Mountains National Forest. Wearing the hats of administrator and curriculum designer, he developed a marketing and enrollment plan and oversaw the creation of the four season outdoor adventure program for The Oliverian School, designed for “Bright Students with Lots of Potential.”
Michael returned to Arizona’s sunshine when offered a chance to be Director of Programs at Learn Outdoors in Prescott specializing in experiential education. Quickly rising to be CEO of this entrepreneurial non-profit, Michael developed a business plan based on public and private business partnerships to ensure that schools are able to provide students with outdoor Project Based Learning programs they would otherwise forego because of staff limitations.
All of this adds up to Michael being a perfect fit for our school and our community. We know that he and his wife are a wonderful match for all that Durango has to offer. Michael relaxes by playing in a jazz band and looks forward to sharing his love of music with AHS students. His passion for snowboarding has taken him across North America’s mountains as a professional ski patroller, avalanche educator, sponsored backcountry rider and off-piste guide. His adventure writing and photography have appeared in publications nationwide.

Archived AHS News

School moves ahead
Animas High still seeks a home

by Chuck SlothowerHerald Staff Writer
Article Last Updated; Sunday, January 18, 2009

Animas High School has enrolled 25 students so far, a quarter of its goal, and school organizers announced Friday that they have hired a head of school and two teachers.
Michael Ackerman, executive director of Learn Outdoors, an educational nonprofit in Prescott, Ariz., was named head of school.
Ackerman, 32, was one of two candidates who flew to Durango to be interviewed by Animas High's board. The other was Nigel Whittington, deputy head of the Island Academy in Antigua, West Indies.
"Assuming the leadership of Animas High School is an incredible honor," Ackerman said in a news release.
Time is growing short for Ackerman and the board, as they plan to open the Durango charter school in August with 100 or so ninth-grade students. School officials plan to add a grade each year until Animas High becomes a 400-student, four-year high school during the 2012-2013 academic year.
Animas High is overseen by the Colorado Charter School Institute, the state agency through which the school is chartered and funded. The institute requires the school to meet enrollment benchmarks before it may open.
The school must enroll 50 students by April 1. The benchmark rises to 75 students May 15 and 85 students by June 15.
"I think they're making very good progress," said Randy DeHoff, executive director of the institute.
For any charter school, maintaining adequate enrollment is critical. Durango's two previous charter schools, Community of Learners and Excel Charter School, struggled with low enrollment before closing. Colorado funds its schools on a per-pupil basis, so low enrollment can lead to financial distress and staff cuts.
Gisele Pansze, president of the Animas High board, said all is looking good for the new school.
"We really feel like we're not going to have any issues obtaining our enrollment," she said in an interview.
Pansze urged interested parents to enroll as soon as possible, saying early enrollers will have the best chance of admittance if applications exceed the school's capacity.
One mother who has enrolled her son in Animas High said she was looking for an alternative to traditional public school.
Hollie Dowd moved to Durango from Los Angeles two years ago. She said her son, Zachary, now in eighth grade at Escalante Middle School, thrived in a program for talented and gifted students in L.A.
"It was a wonderful education," she said. "He was always kept challenged."
Dowd said Zachary seemed to prefer project-based education and was less motivated in a traditional public school.
"In all honesty, he has not had a very good experience here," Dowd said. "I enjoyed having him in a smaller atmosphere because he seemed to respond better."
She added: "I don't fault the teachers. I fault public education in general."
Animas High is working to fill its staff. On Friday, school organizers announced they had hired John and Lori Fisher as humanities teachers. The Fishers are coming from High Tech High, the San Diego charter school on which Animas High is modeled.
"With John and Lori as teachers, kids will come home each day eager to talk about what they did in school," Pansze said in a news release.
Ackerman will be charged with hiring two full-time math and science teachers and several electives teachers for the school's opening in August.
Animas High faces one more substantial obstacle: finding a location in time to open the school in August.
"The facility is the high hurdle right now," DeHoff said.
Sue Lawton, a member of the board, said in an e-mail that organizers are "finalizing our temporary location for the first year" and hope to announce the site by early February.
Animas High organizers are looking at several locations in Durango, including Three Springs, DeHoff said. They are working nearly full-time at finding a site, he said.
Charter schools statewide operate in all kinds of facilities, DeHoff said.
"It's all over the place. Schools have started in old warehouses, old supermarkets, office buildings - you know, wherever they can find a space they can afford," he said.
Animas High's curriculum is modeled on that of High Tech High, emphasizing projects and integrating technology.
Dowd, noting Durango's troubled history with charter schools, said she hoped Animas High would adhere closely to High Tech High's example and reject the notion that it must be adapted for Durango.
"If it's not broke, don't fix it," Dowd said. "This program works."

http://www.durangoherald.com/sections/News/2009/01/18/School__moves_ahead/

Charter school to host 2nd candidate
Animas High searching to hire directorby Chuck SlothowerHerald Staff Writer
Article Last Updated; Wednesday, December 03, 2008Animas High School will host a second candidate for head of the school next week.


Nigel Whittington, deputy head of the Island Academy in Antigua, West Indies, will interview for the job of leading Durango's new charter school.
Whittington will participate in a public forum from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Dec. 11 at a location to be determined.
Whittington is the second candidate for head of the school to be interviewed. On Nov. 11, Animas High organizers hosted Michael Ackerman, executive director of Learn Outdoors, an educational nonprofit in Prescott, Ariz.
Animas High's head of school will make about $70,000 to $75,000. School officials hope to have one of the candidates on the job in January.
The school's board of directors invited Whittington to Durango after interviewing him via Skype, a computer-based communications system.
Animas High is scheduled to open in August with about 100 ninth-graders. The school will then add a grade each year until it becomes a four-year high school of about 400 students.
The school is chartered by the state Charter School Institute, not Durango School District 9-R. It is modeled on San Diego's High Tech High, emphasizing project-based learning and student-teacher relationships. The charter school is public and tuition-free.
Two teachers from High Tech High also will interview next week for jobs at Animas High. The teachers, a husband and wife, will participate in a public forum about Animas High School at 5:30 p.m.Dec. 10 at the Durango Arts Center.
As Animas High board members work to hire staff, they also are juggling numerous other issues. They are still considering options for the school's physical location. Gisele Pansze, a board member, said the school's temporary location would not be announced until it is finalized. After that, Animas High will look to build a permanent school building.
Board members also discussed at a meeting Tuesday pursuing grants for the school.
Last month, the Colorado Department of Education awarded Animas High a $450,000, three-year grant. Pansze said Animas High will continue to investigate grants for which it may be eligible.

http://www.durangoherald.com/sections/News/Education/2008/12/03/Charter_school_to_host_2nd_candidate/

Animas High interviews for principal
Michael Ackerman stresses teaching kids in a different wayby Karen BoushHerald Staff Writer
Article Last Updated; Wednesday, November 12, 2008

About 30 kids, parents and educators gathered Tuesday night at Fort Lewis College to meet Michael Ackerman, in town to interview for the job of Animas High School principal.
In October 2007, AHS organizers won a charter from the state Charter School Institute to open an alternative-education school modeled after San Diego's High Tech High, which strives to send all its graduates to college.
Organizers plan to open the school initially to ninth-graders in fall 2009 and are moving forward to hire a principal and find a temporary facility.
Ackerman, 32, currently serves as executive director of Learn Outdoors, an educational nonprofit in Prescott, Ariz., that customizes outdoor programs for a variety of population groups, including elementary students and corporate employees.
He also helped start two alternative-education programs and holds a bachelor of arts degree in adventure/eco-centered education from Prescott College in Prescott.
A self-described "product of alternative education," Ackerman spent an hour answering questions submitted on cards from the audience.
He said that alternative-education programs teach the same core competencies as traditional programs.
"The difference is how we go about achieving them," he said.
As head of AHS, Ackerman said he would create a project-based, collaborative learning environment where students work together to accomplish set objectives.
He also said thematic units, integrated curriculums and evaluation rubrics would be emphasized, allowing administrators and teachers to simultaneously address the needs of students with a variety of academic levels and interests.
Interpersonal communication, problem-solving and conflict-resolution skills also would be stressed.
"We are going to create a toolbox (of skills) that stays with that student," he said.
Eighth-graders Elliott Saslou, Sepp Kuss and James Shahan questioned Ackerman about how learning would be structured at AHS.
Ackerman told the teenagers that studies would be linked across subjects.
"So everything overlaps, and the teachers would talk to one another," responded Saslou.
Asked how he would help teachers to feel involved in making decisions, Ackerman said he favors "an allied, collaborative approach."
"If you're not there collaborating with your people and giving them an equal voice in the direction of the vision, you're turning away resources," he said.
He said he would also give students a voice and inspire them to learn by tapping into their passions.
"You can ask people to achieve greatness or inspire them to achieve it," he said.
In an interview after the event, AHS board member Gisele Pansze said the public will be invited to meet with one additional candidate in December. The board expects to have a principal on the job in January.
The AHS principal will earn an annual salary of between $70,000 and $75,000.
Pansze said that AHS organizers continue to look for a temporary, centrally located facility for the school's first two years of operation.
Durango's two previous charter schools failed because of financial shortfalls brought on by low enrollment.
Ackerman said he would help AHS succeed by working diligently to reach out to the larger community.
"Failure is not an option for this kid," he said
http://www.durangoherald.com/sections/News/2008/11/12/Animas_High_interviews_for_principal/