Animas High still seeks a home
Article Last Updated; Sunday, January 18, 2009
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."
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.
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/
