Education

Community reaction to Jeffco Public Schools’ proposed facilities master plan is mixed, based on questionnaire responses from more than 800 community members since the plan was presented at a school board meeting last month.

If dance is a universal language, then Evergreen Middle School students spoke it eloquently during an assembly last month.

Students learned African dance movements from a Boulder-based group called Logo Ligi as the culmination of the Day Without Hate.

“I always say that the best way to get rid of stereotypes and prejudices is to have a relationship with people,” said world languages teacher Kim Parfitt.

This was the fifth time Parfitt brought the group to EMS in the last four years, and she says Logo Ligi is always well received.

If Jeffco Public Schools’ proposed facilities master plan isn’t approved next month, the district will have to consider other solutions to the issue of its aging buildings and the capital needs associated with repairing and replacing those facilities.

According to Superintendent Dan McMinimee, year-round school, a split-shift schedule and a bond issue focused on deferred maintenance all are possibilities.

King-Murphy Elementary parents threatened to pull their children from the school after the Clear Creek school board voted 4-1 Tuesday night not to renew the contract of beloved sixth-grade teacher Beth Cavanaugh for the 2016-17 school year.

About 40 parents and teachers spent more than 60 minutes pleading with the board to keep Cavanaugh at the school. More than 20 people spoke, including three students, all emphasizing that Cavanaugh is a great teacher who sparks excitement for learning.