School News

District Receives New Funds for Programs

While the Lake County School District is on Thanksgiving break this week, they reported the following good news  . . . with gratitude:

As Thanksgiving approaches, the Lake County School District is particularly grateful for several new grants that will fund both new and ongoing initiatives. Several members of the El Pomar Foundation’s High Country Council donated a portion of their discretionary foundation funds to the district. State representative Millie Hamner and former state senator Gail Schwartz both donated $2,500 toward Lake County’s new pre-collegiate program. Pre-collegiate is a collaborative, multi-agency action team that was convened as part of the work of the Lake County Youth Master Plan in service of the goal, “To increase the number of students pursuing post-secondary education or vocational training.” Pre-collegiate program partners include the Lake County School District, Lake County Build a Generation, Full Circle of Lake County, Colorado Mountain College, CU Boulder, and the 21^st Century Community Learning Center / Project Dream. 

El Pomar Check Presentation – Pictured: Front row, L to R: Leslie Cook-Knerr (Lake County Build a Generation), Katie Baldassar (Lake County Build a Generation), Zoe Goodman (El Pomar Foundation); Second row, L to R: Susan Fishman (Lake County School District / Project Dream), Senator Gail Schwartz, Gretchen Scanlon (Advocates of Lake County), Wendy Wyman (Superintendent, LCSD), Representative Millie Hamner, Commissioner Mike Bordogna, Christina Gosselin (Principal, Lake County High School), Karl Remsen (LCSD); Back row: Charles Andrews (El Pomar Foundation)

In addition to the El Pomar funds, the initiative has also received a significant commitment from the Summit Foundation, whose board has pledged $20,000 per year for the next three years in support. CMC has also made a substantial multi-year commitment. The action team’s next step is to hire a full-time pre-collegiate program coordinator who will be housed at Lake County High School. 

The school district also continues to receive funding that supports its improvement efforts and transformation of classroom instruction, curriculum and assessment. The district received a second School Improvement Grant through the Colorado Department of Education in October. This grant, for $47,000, will support the district’s work with Expeditionary Learning at the Lake County Intermediate School. Previously, the district received a School Improvement Grant for West Park Elementary. 

The district’s after-school program for grades 5-12, Project Dream, has also been busy raising funds. Commissioner Mike Bordogna, also a member of the El Pomar High Country Council, donated $4,200 of his discretionary funds to support out-of-school time programming at LCIS and LCHS. Project Dream also received two LiveWell / Youth Master Plan mini grants to support programming in the spring of 2015. Project Dream’s 21^st Century Community Learning Center grant for the middle and upper grades ends in December, but program director Susan Fishman has raised enough funds to support programs through the spring.

Willy Wonka Production Proof in the Pudding

One of the programs which will immediately benefit from these funds is Project Dream.  On Dec. 6, you can see, and support, the dramatic work coming from that program.

See Willy Wonka come alive on stage on Saturday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m. at the high school for only $3!  This half hour adaptation of the children’s book Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl is being performed by the Lake County Intermediate School Project Dream drama club.    

“Willy Wonka Kids” is a scrumdidilyumptious new stage musical guaranteed to delight everyone’s sweet tooth. It is filled will lots of songs that are fun for families with children of all ages.  Make this part of a perfectly magical evening starting with the Parade of Lights downtown and ending with Willy Wonka‘s adventures!  For more information, contact Susan Fishman at 719-293-0115.  Hope to see you in this fantasy ride into the land of pure imagination.

Jazz Up Your Holiday Season with a Live Music Concert

Lake County High School (LCHS) in conjunction with Colorado Mountain College (CMC) will present a live jazz concert on Sunday, Dec. 7 in the LCHS Auditorium starting at 3 p.m. 

The concert will feature the award winning LCHS Cloud City Jazz Band under the direction of Jonathan Cole, and the CMC Jazz Project under the direction of Gary Johnson. 

The high school is at 1000 W 4^th Street in Leadville.  The event is free and open to the public, but donations will be accepted at the door.  Come for an afternoon of great music and fun!

CMC Grant Pays Forward Tuition for Students

Imagine a high school graduate handing his Colorado Mountain College (CMC) tuition checks to a trustworthy source for safekeeping while he earns his associate degree at CMC. At graduation, that same tuition money is paid forward to a four-year college or university to help the student complete his bachelor’s degree. 

CMC makes it affordable and convenient for Leadville students to continue their education beyond high school.

That’s essentially what a grant offered by Colorado Mountain College does. Dick Martin was among those who helped to establish the college and served on CMC’s board of trustees for 14 years. When he retired from the board in 1984, his fellow trustees established the Richard C. Martin Grant in his name to encourage local students to continue their education and earn a bachelor’s degree. 

The catch? Students must apply for the grant during their first semester at Colorado Mountain College.

To be considered for the grant, a student needs to:

• Be a high school graduate from a school within CMC’s six-county district (Garfield, Pitkin, Eagle, Summit, Lake and part of Routt)
• Meet in-district residency requirements
• Start attending CMC within two years of graduation from high school, and complete associate degree requirements at CMC within five years of initially enrolling in the college. 

Colorado Mountain College Staff (left to right) Kelli McCall and Christie Maier at the annual college fair.

Credits earned while the student is in high school are not eligible for factoring in the grant amount, nor are developmental education course fees. But all other paid tuition is included in the amount of funds that are forwarded on to the four-year educational institution, in or out of state, that the student transfers to. The grant can also be applied toward Colorado Mountain College’s bachelor’s degree programs. 

Deb Cutter, financial aid and resource specialist at Colorado Mountain College, said she has never heard of a funding opportunity like the Richard C. Martin Grant. 

“It’s quite unusual,” she said. “And there are no academic prerequisites. The grant reemphasizes our open enrollment status as a community college.” 

To apply for the grant, students must submit an application no later than the end of their first semester at Colorado Mountain College. Students are also encouraged to apply for the grant before they start attending CMC. 

Students currently enrolled in their first semester at Colorado Mountain College must apply for the grant by Dec. 12. For more information, contact Deb Cutter at 970-947-8358 or dcutter@coloradomtn.edu, or go to LINK.