Education center announces classes
The Durango Education Center, formerly the Durango Adult Education Center, will begin fall GED classes Aug. 26.
Classes will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Thursday and from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday.
English for Speakers of Other Languages classes will start Aug. 26. These classes will be offered from 9 a.m. to noon Monday to Thursday and from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday.
Computer classes will start Sept. 4.
For a class schedule, visit www.durangoaec.org. For more information, call 385-4354.
Learning center offers enrollment to home-schoolers
The Pine River Community Learning Center will offer open enrollment for home-schooling students Aug. 22.
The center’s Family Education Resources Program works directly with families to help home-schooled children excel in their primary and secondary education, especially by offering classes and group activities such as field trips to supplement individual curriculums. The center also provides standardized testing and tutoring.
Retired Ignacio science teacher Danny Jaques will lead the center’s full-day program for middle- and high-school aged students. Jaques will be a home-school coordinator and supervise the Destination Imagination and Knowledge Bowl programs. He has been taking La Plata County students to Space Camp in Huntsville, Ala., since 1992, and will continue to do so.
Home-school coordinator Karen Edmonds will lead a full-day program for kindergarten to fifth-grade students. Edmonds, who has bachelor’s degree in English and a Colorado K-6 teaching license, has taught in a variety of settings and has held numerous volunteer positions during the last 30 years as a youth leader and teacher.
An open house and enrollment will take place at 6 p.m. Aug. 22 on campus at 535 Candelaria Drive in Ignacio (on the hill above Ignacio High School). Pizza will be provided.
For more information, visit www.prclc.org or call 563-0681.
9-R to eliminate academic student fees
Durango School District 9-R announces that the school board has approved the elimination of any student fees related to academic endeavours.
Fees that will now be waived include any academic fees related to required courses that students must take to meet graduation requirements. Recognizing the need to fund these programs, the board allocated additional money for schools to access to ensure that teachers can purchase necessary materials and supplies for their courses.
Some fees related to optional activities and college credit still are in place because of the high cost of such programs; however, the district has procedures in place to support students and their families if financial hardships exist.
For more information, visit www.durangoschools.org.
Durango Cisco Academy to launch new courses
Southwest Colorado Community College announces the launch of a networking skills training academy at its Durango campus in collaboration with Cisco.
The courses are delivered in partnership with Cisco Networking Academy, an education program that helps students prepare for information and communications technology careers such as network security and administration, technical support and health-care IT; professional certifications; and higher education in engineering, computer science, and related fields.
The academy at the college will offer Cisco Network Associate I from Tuesday to Oct. 12, and Cisco Network Associate II from Oct. 14 to Dec. 14. The classes will be offered at the Durango campus, 701 Camino del Rio from 6 to 8 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays.
These courses will be delivered through Cisco NetSpace, Networking Academy’s cloud-based learning and collaboration environment. The online course materials offer features such as network simulation exercises, labs and assessments that provide remedial feedback. The college’s certified instructor, Stan Eubanks, will provide hands-on support in specially equipped labs.
The college plans to partner with local businesses to identify internship and career opportunities for graduates.
For more information, visit www.netacad.com or call 247-2929.
9-R school board seeking candidates
The Durango 9-R School District is seeking candidates to run for six of seven board seats, which will open at the end of the current term.
To be qualified, a candidate must have been a registered elector and a resident of the school district for at least 12 consecutive months before the election, and be a current resident of the director district that they may represent. No one can serve on the school board who has been convicted of an offense against a child.
Elected school board members must have a broad view of the district, be nonpartisan, and possess immediate skills and knowledge about kindergarten to 12th-grade education. Desired candidates are dedicated, trustworthy and fair, and can dedicate the required time to attend events, work sessions and board meetings.
Applications are available at the Administration Building, 201 E. 12th St. All applications and petitions must be turned in by Aug. 30. To obtain the petition as well as other information, visit Jane Schold in the superintendent’s office.
School district’s first day of school is Monday
The first day of school for Durango School District 9-R will be Monday, which also is an early-release day.
Registration is available at the schools from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday.
For more information and registration forms, visit www.durangoschools.org and click “Registration Info” in the Quick Links section.
School District 9-R changes early release to Mondays
The Durango School District 9-R has moved early-release days to Mondays for the 2013-14 school year, and the first day of school is an early release.
Child care options are available on early-release days with the elementary school’s after-school program, Kids’ Camp.
For more information, call Audra Snow at 247-5411.
DHS’s Atlas community will host breakfast
The staff members of Atlas at Durango High School invite all Atlas incoming freshmen and their parents to a “Welcome Back Breakfast” from 7:15 to 8 a.m. Monday.
This will be a continental style breakfast served in the Atlas hall. This is an opportunity for parents to meet Atlas staff members.
For more information, call Rachel Colsman at 903-9556 or email rcolsman@durango.k12.co.us.
9-R school board to meet Tuesday
The Durango School District 9-R School Board will meet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the board room at the Administration Building, 201. E. 12th St.
Animas High School announces programs
Animas High School announces these programs:
Enrollment is open for the upcoming school year. There are a limited number of openings for ninth, 10th and 11th grades. For more information, call 247-2474 or visit www.animashighschool.com.
12th-grade parents are asked to attend an orientation event from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Room 130 of Noble Hall at Fort Lewis College.
The AHS Back to School Picnic will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Sept. 5 in the gazebo at Rotary Park. Ninth-grade parents are asked to bring appetizers or salads; 10th- and 11th-grade parents a main dish; and 12th-grade parents a dessert. Participants will meet advisers and teachers, and hear from Head of School Jake Lauer.
Home-school open house to be held Aug. 22
The Pine River Community Learning Center will host an open house for area home-school students and their families from 6 to 8 p.m. Aug. 22 at its Ignacio campus, 535 Candelaria Drive.
Pizza, refreshments and door prizes will be provided. The home-school program expands and enhances home-schooled students’ education by providing instruction in language arts, financial management and other subjects.
The program also assists parents with skills development and provides resources, teaching aids, support and encouragement to students and parents. The open house will give home-school families an opportunity to meet Karen Edmonds and Danny Jaques, family resource instructors, and to learn about resources available to them during the upcoming 2013/2014 school year.
For more information, call Cathy Calderwell at 563-0681.
Pagosa superintendent joins board association
Mark DeVoti, superintendent of Archuleta School District in Pagosa Springs, has been named associate executive director of the Colorado Association of School Boards.
DeVoti, who has led the school district for more than six years, will join the association Oct. 1. His primary responsibilities will include overseeing the association’s superintendent search service and school board training and development. DeVoti joined the Archuleta School District in 2001, and served as an intermediate school principal and curriculum coordinator before becoming superintendent in February 2007.
In addition to his school district work, DeVoti was appointed in 2012 by Colorado Education Commissioner Robert Hammond to the Global Education Leader’s Program.
He has served on Gov. John Hickenlooper’s Education Leadership Council since 2011.
Aaron Kostyk of Durango named to dean’s list
Aaron Kostyk of Durango was included on the spring 2013 School of Law dean’s list for students of Widener University’s Delaware campus in Wilmington.
Students named to the list earned a grade point average in the top 20 percent of their class and division for the semester
Herald Staff
