Good
evening students, teachers, staff, and members of our local
community.
Let me begin by sharing how grateful I am to all of you
who have
joined us this evening to celebrate friends both new and
old. Our
annual Friendraiser is a unique chance for us to gather
together,
pause and reflect upon our journey to date and share our
collective
energy and excitement for the future. And although that
future
holds challenges that today, appear daunting, those
challenges
fail to scare me when I gaze out upon the collective talent,
wisdom and
commitment to our children that I see overflowing in this
room this
evening.
If I may take a brief moment, because I’ve been asked so many times
If I may take a brief moment, because I’ve been asked so many times
today and
already many times this evening, to comment on the
impact of
last night’s election results.
The defeat of
Amendment 66 was, to be sure, a set-back
for
Colorado's
public charter schools that are desperately seeking the
dollars
needed to fully fund important educational programs and
reforms.
Over their 20-year
existence, Colorado's charter schools have faced
an uphill battle when it
comes to accessing equitable funding.
Charters are often excluded
from local funding sources such as mill
levy dollars, and as a
result are regularly forced to pay for facilities
costs out of classroom
budgets. Therefore, I understand all too well
the disappointment and
frustration the Colorado public education
community is feeling after
last night's election. However, I’m also
keenly attuned to the
clarity of focus that last night’s results have
brought about.
Specifically, the challenges that lie ahead of AHS are
now crystal clear and
nothing has changed our “can do” attitude or
sense of personal responsibility
in owning and developing solutions
for our children’s future. You know, a
lot of folks don’t understand why Animas High School,
being a
public school, has to fundraise. The
challenge we face as a
public charter school is that every year we must use a
significant
portion of
our state funding, or Per Pupil Revenue (PPR) to pay for
our
facilities. As a result, AHS classrooms operate
on less funding
than those
of traditional public schools, whose facilities are funded
separately
from classroom operations. Couple that
liability with the
commitments
we’ve made to our students and families:
(a
commitment to……)
Offering a
program that embraces the HTH model and demands both scholastic and cultural
excellence.
Keeping
student teacher ratios, which this year are 13:1, significantly lower than our
regional public schools.
Providing
resources and professionals to support programmatic goals like 100% college
admission, a robust Junior Year internship program and facilitating learning
opportunities for all AHS students that go beyond the four walls of the
classroom.
Change
takes change and as we continue to deliver on our promise,
we continue
to navigate a landscape that presents us with decreased
revenues
from the state. In order to supplement those dollars, we are
challenged
to raise $115,000 through our fundraising efforts this
school
year.
Simply put,
Animas High, which is delivering more, operates on less
than other
public schools and we need your help to bridge this gap.
Tonight, we
have $14,000 pledged as matching funds to be given to
Animas
High. (acknowledge Chris and Steph Ribera)
What this
means is if you donate or pledge $500 this evening, an
additional
$500 will be donated through these matching funds.
And if you
make your donation this evening, you will be eligible to win
a fabulous
weekend in Telluride. Check it out at
the donation table. (2night stay/4 two day lift passes and meals!)
And be sure
you’re present for the drawing at 8pm.
So although
we may be tempted to feel negative and disenfranchised
after last
nights results, I’m happy to offer you my personal take on
what’s
happening here in Colorado. My perspective is influenced by a
deep
gratitude to the individuals, students, faculty, parents,
grandparents,
siblings and families who have brought passion and an
undefeatable
spirit to our project- We are motivated. We are change
agents and
we clearly see a future where all of our community’s
young
adults have voice and choice in their education.
Today, I
actually find myself more inspired and more committed to
the road
ahead because of our collective history of doing more with
less. Today
I am more confident than ever that what we are doing on
the ground
here in Durango is visionary, it’s impactful and it will serve
as template
for ed reform throughout our state and our nation.
So when momentum
for comprehensive reform of public education,
gains the traction
that we are so inevitably barreling towards,
Animas High
School stands ready to be a model for all- a rural
beacon of educational
excellence that is the direct result of local
support.
We’ve always relied on the talents, resources and
passion
found right here in this room. It’s been an incredible
journey and
we must be prepared for unforeseen twists and turns that
will
continue to push us forward in our quest for innovative solutions.
I’m
confident in our ability to meet the question marks of the future
with the
same vigor and excitement it took to launch an upstart
charter
school in a remodeled strip mall five years ago. And with your
continued
help, we’ll be ready to share our story of excellence
with the
world.
Again,
thank you for celebrating with us here this evening and thank
you for the
honor and privilege of working with such amazing young
adults each
and every day. We are incredibly appreciative of your
support and
please know that every gift makes a difference and has a
tremendous
impact on our students and staff. We are asking for
100%
participation from all of our families as it’s essential to obtaining
important grant
and foundation opportunities.
There is a
table in the back of the room where you can turn in your
pledge
sheet and let’s be sure to take some time to be inspired by
these
beautiful students who are here to share with us this evening.
Thank you
for coming. Go Ospreys!
