Today’s workplace demands highly educated employees who can succeed in an increasingly complex and global economy. As a business leader and parent, I am impressed with the hard work and innovative strategies educators engage in daily to meet the needs of students.

Yet, despite these efforts, I also see that far too many students are not getting the education and skills they need. These skills include problem- solving, critical thinking, navigating ambiguity, collaborating, and communicating with clarity. This is what I look for in new employees. And these are the competencies and skills that Colorado is on the path to helping students attain through the use of the Common Core State Standards.

To read more, click here.

An apple a day just isn’t what it’s cracked up to be.

At the fifth annual Colorado Legacy Foundation luncheon, nearly 1,000 guests watched the debut of the Foundation’s latest awareness-raising video (http://colegacy.org/2013/04/health-wellness-video/). This, their second in the last few months, focuses on the fact that if children are going to do better in school, then we need to help communities understand that healthier school lunches and more jumping jacks in gym class are not going to solve the problems we face on their own.

To read more, click here.

Colorado Legacy Foundation Co-Hosts Bullying Prevention Institute

Educators Gather to learn Strategies to Create Healthy School Climates

DURANGO, CO – Today, the Colorado Legacy Foundation (CLF), in partnership with the Colorado Department of Education (CDE), the Colorado School Safety Resource Center (CSSRC), the Anti-Defamation League, One Colorado, and the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado, co-hosted the Bullying Prevention Institute.  The Institute, part of CLF’s Safe and Welcoming Schools Initiative, aims to increase student achievement by providing all students with a safe and welcoming school environment.

“We know there is a strong and proven link between student achievement and healthy, welcoming schools,” said Dr. Helayne Jones, President and CEO of the Colorado Legacy Foundation. “Students cannot be fully engaged in their learning until they feel safe and secure.  These workshops go a long way to arming educators with effective strategies to prevent bullying.”

The day-long event featured Dr. Dorothy Espelage, a nationally recognized bullying prevention expert and Associate Chair of Educational Psychology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.  Espelage has researched bullying for over 16 years and is the co-editor of the Handbook of Bullying in Schools: An International Perspective. Institute participants learned about creating a positive school climate and employing best practices in bullying prevention.

Additionally, the Bullying Prevention Institute highlighted new bullying prevention legislation and what the changes mean for schools, how to create supportive school environments for diverse students and methods for addressing cyberbullying.

The Colorado Legacy Foundation (CLF) is an independent nonprofit working in partnership with the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) and public education stakeholders to accelerate bold improvements in student achievement through innovation, collaboration, and capacity building.

To learn more about the Colorado Legacy Foundation, please visit www.colegacy.org.

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]]> http://colegacy.org/2013/04/for-immediate-release-colorado-legacy-foundation-co-hosts-bullying-prevention-institute/feed/ 0 http://colegacy.org/2013/04/see-our-work/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=see-our-work http://colegacy.org/2013/04/see-our-work/#comments Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:31:38 +0000 Sarah Paterson http://colegacy.org/?p=8129

Colorado Legacy Foundation Announces Winners of Ignite Innovation Challenge 

Online competition awards dedicated Colorado educators

DENVER, CO –Today, the Colorado Legacy Foundation (CLF) announced the winners of the 2013 Ignite Innovation Challenge, an online award competition to find Colorado’s most innovative approaches to personalized learning.

“We know that innovation is happening in schools throughout Colorado,” said Dr. Helayne Jones, President and CEO of the Colorado Legacy Foundation. “This challenge has created a way for us to capture the landscape of innovation in our state and celebrate those who are employing innovative practices.”

Launched in January 2013, the Ignite Innovation Challenge asked applicants to submit video and written responses to demonstrate how they were dramatically personalizing learning. The winner was chosen out of 33 applicants based on a panel of prestigious judges and online votes.

The winner of the 2013 Ignite Innovation Challenge, Evan Wettengal, is a 2nd grade teacher at Godsman Elementary School in Denver Public Schools.  Wettengal was awarded $1,000 as a reward for his strong alignment to the expanded learning opportunities (ELO) vision. Students in Wettengal’s classroom are responsible for helping each other improve and engaged in technology and digital media to find and share their unique voice.

Wettengal has gone above and beyond in his leadership duties as a part of Colorado’s TIME Collaborative to place students at the center of school redesign and expanded learning time efforts. He is committed to finding innovative solutions for teachers to ‘work smarter, not harder’, to improve educator effectiveness and student outcomes.

“This award meant so much to me because it reminded me that what I do every day makes a difference,” said Evan Wettengal. “It’s not money that matters, it’s not government or policy or technology or even innovation that’s going to change the world – its teachers building relationships with students. That’s what’s going to change the world, and we’re doing it every day. I had people come up to me after the ceremony and say, ‘I have a second grader and I wish she was in your class’, that means more to me than any trophy or check.”

The two runners-ups, each receiving $750, are Caleb Hicks at Fruita Monument High School and Kristie Letter at Peak to Peak Charter School. Five honorable mentions, each receiving $500, are: Owen Cegielski at The STEM School, Daniel Carlson at Fruita Monument High School, Lorena Thompson at Grand Junction High School, Jennifer Derosby at Girls Athletic Leadership School and Barth Quenzer at Brown International Academy.

The Colorado Legacy Foundation (CLF) is an independent nonprofit working in partnership with the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) and public education stakeholders to accelerate bold improvements in student achievement through innovation, collaboration, and capacity building.

To learn more about the Colorado Legacy Foundation, please visit www.colegacy.org.

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