At a special meeting on February 17, after months of thoughtful work and deliberation, the Archuleta School District (ASD) Board of Education, took an historic step and unanimously approved a contract with Pagosa Peak Open School (PPOS) to create the first charter school in Archuleta County.
ASD Board Member Brooks Lindner summarized the process preceding the vote by saying, “Everything that this board and this administration has done throughout the application process for PPOS, has been done to insure the success of PPOS, to nurture our relationship with PPOS, and most important to uphold our mission of doing what’s best for children in Archuleta County. I consider this to be a reflection on how this board has chosen to work together, a reflection on the quality of administrative leadership in ASD, a reflection on the commitment and hard work of ASD’s staff – particularly in this case of the DAC (District Accountability Committee) which provided us with extremely helpful feedback and guidance – and a reflection on the way we engaged the community and listened to it throughout this process.”
Board member Lindner concluded his statement in the following manner: “The ultimate task of the school board is to do what’s best for children in Archuleta County. I believe that this mission is best served by approving the contract for PPOS. I believe that the concerns that remain, be they financial, educational, or governmental, are best answered by working in cooperation with PPOS as partners with a mutual interest in doing what’s best for children in Archuleta County.”
The contract, pending legal review by both the district and charter school counsels and signature by Superintendent Reed, on behalf of the board, will allow the school to begin the process of hiring a head of school and staff members and will also allow them to access Charter School Start-Up grant funds preliminarily awarded to the school through the Colorado Department of Education. The school is slated to begin serving students in grades K-4 in the fall of 2017.
Learn more about the Archuleta School District (ASD) at their website: mypagosaschools.com