Written by: Dan Maas
6/24/2009 

My previous post was about the technological advancements we have seen in LPS. This post is about our people. During a year that saw the closure of two schools and budget cuts in the midst of a terrible financial crisis nationally, our staff have continued to pursue excellence every day. Here are some accomplishments that come to mind:

Karl Fisch, Arapahoe High School, was recognized as the ISTE Technology Leader of the Year for 2009 and will be recognized at the NECC conference next week. We were proud to nominate him and we support his innovative work at the school. His colleagues Anne Smith, Kristin Leclaire, Maura Mortiz, Brian Hatak and others are setting the pace for 21^st Century learning both in the district and around the world. Karl will be a featured speaker at the TIE Conference.

Steven Newell, Sandburg Elementary, was just recognized with the APEX Top Tech Teacher award for his work with technology in robotics, 21^st Century learning, engineering and science lessons. A dynamo and innovator, Steven is supported well by Joe Burnham and their Principal Marj McDonald who routinely brings a full team of teachers to the TIE conference for a summer PLC on 21^st Century learning. Steven and Joe will present at the TIE Conference this week.

Chris Moore and Nikki Vander Velde were finalists for the APEX Top Tech Teacher awards this year meaning LPS had 3 of the 5 finalists in the event. The blogging and wiki work in support of writing happening in their classrooms at East Elementary are exciting examples of 21^st Century learning. Chris and Nikki have held a number of sessions and discussions at the TIE conference sharing their activities with others.

Mike Porter, Assistant Director for Instructional Technology for the district is presenting numerous sessions at this year’s TIE conference. Joined by Mark Lindstone, Assistant Director for Information Technology for a round-table discussion on taking limited resources as far as possible, Mike also presented his work on the Powering Up the Writer’s Workshop project.

Kay Bolerjack, of East Elementary is studying to complete her teaching license, but is already earning high praise for her work. The Morgridge Family Foundation recognized her as a Star Teacher in their 21^st Century Classroom Collaboration using SmartBoard technology and her lessons were showcased during the project Day of Sharing this spring. Kay is also presenting at the TIE conference.

Amy Tharp, Highland Elementary is presenting her work with Dean Jacobs at the TIE Conference in which students have blogged and skyped with Dean while he explored various locations in Africa. The kids contributed to Dean’s project to provide school supplies to impoverished communities and learned about the new classifications of mountain gorillas as Dean documented these fascinating creatures in their natural habitat.

Jim Reiner, who was at Ames this year and now is headed to Centennial Academy of Fine Arts, will present his work with wikis and distance learning at the TIE Conference. Jim’s work has helped LPS build a fledgling program to offer primary online education to students at home.

Kevin Brooks, Littleton High School, will present at the TIE Conference about how to bring reading, writing and science together with technology.

Dana Levesque, Technology Integration Specialist for the district will present at the TIE Conference on her work with online professional development.

Sara Urbanek, Hopkins Elementary will present at the TIE Conference about her use of blogs and wikis with her 5^th grade students giving them a world-wide audience.

Carrie Sheftel, Sandburg Elementary will present at the TIE Conference about her use of wikis to enable global communication.

Carol Boroom, Wilder Elementary, will present at the TIE Conference about her use of Pixie in the classroom K-5.

The TIE sessions are listed here.

This list can go on and on... what unifies these and so many other outstanding LPS educators is their pursuit of educational excellence.  My college track coach recently called me and shared this quote:

Success is about having, but excellence is about being.  While success can be won or lost, excellence is something everyone can pursue and something that nobody can ever take away.
- Joe Vigil, 1984, 1988, 2008 USA Olympic Coach.

These folks embody Coach Vigil's maxim...

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