04/25/2019
Join us on Thursday, May 2, 2019 at 6:30pm the AHS Theater for an LPS Special Board of Education Meeting for Presentation and Public Comment
NEWS RELEASE:
Majority of AHS Survey Respondents Request New Leadership at Arapahoe High School
Apr. 25, 2019
CENTENNIAL - In response to a parent-led community survey, 73% of respondents support changes to staff leadership at Arapahoe High School.
A group of parents, alumni and educators calling themselves the Arapahoe High School Community Coalition (AHSCC) is behind the public survey. It was released for responses April 1, 2019, with community stakeholders allowed to respond for the two-week period ending April 15.
The coalition grew out of concern and frustration of recent years, following the shooting that claimed the life of Claire Davis in December 2013. In the years since, the community has endured more than half a dozen student suicides. In the first three months of 2019, two AHS teachers were arrested separately, charged with s*x assault on AHS students.
AHSCC members are united in frustration after concluding there was a lack of responsiveness to their serious concerns by current Principal Natalie Pramenko, Superintendent Brian Ewert, Director of Secondary Education Clay Alba and/or the LPS Board of Education and found the district’s response - if any - to be inadequate or unsatisfactory.
The survey received 1,169 reliable submissions with the majority of respondents being parents of students.
Multiple responses from parents and students complain of systemic bullying and preferential treatment to 4.0+ students, cheerleaders and football players.
The AHSCC interviewed a recently departed employee who accused Pramenko of violating the district’s open-enrollment policy.
The AHSCC also discovered that four mental-health professionals left AHS in 2017, and when they did, they shared concerns with the district surrounding the difficulties of meeting student needs, as attributed to Pramenko’s leadership style.
As a result of arbitration between the Davis family and the district, a report titled “Lessons Learned” was issued in 2016. The “Lessons Learned” report found, “The evidence of faulty systems thinking within AHS and LPS included a tendency for groupthink, a reluctance to reflect on and admit failure, and the minimization of sincere concern.”
The AHSCC’s current review of the climate and culture at AHS found those same issues prevalent at AHS today.
The AHSCC has made the following recommendations:
1) Conduct an outside-led investigation into the continued lack-of-response pattern by AHS administration.
2) Evaluate the effectiveness, fitness and emotional intelligence (EI) competencies of administrators currently holding key leadership positions, including all AHS administrators and the director of Secondary Education.
3) Create and implement a new districtwide reporting mechanism or tool, *WITH* an educator-whistleblower protection.
4) Implement a proper tracking mechanism to follow up on the effectiveness of the Sources of Strength (SOS) Su***de Prevention Program.
5) Create a task force to continually report back to the Board of Education and superintendent on areas of needed improvement and growth.
6) Require the education of Clarity Commons as a part of each new student's first year on campus.
7) Provide LIVE streaming with reliable camera work and audio of all future Board of Education meetings.
As a result of the Claire Davis School Safety Act, which followed publication of the “Lessons Learned” report, the Governor’s School Safety and Crisis Committee was formed in early 2016 and tasked with creating at least five pieces of legislation.
The AHSCC discovered that not only was it disbanded in fall 2016, but despite multiple efforts to re-create the committee in following legislative sessions, previous committee members have not yet met.
“Our community organizing allowed us to present the LPS district with a large amount of reliable data,” said AHSCC member, alumna and parent Jessica Roe. “We provided the data, some initial analysis and ideal recommendations. It is now up to the district to do the right thing. We are trusting the Board of Education and superintendent to review the information and make any necessary changes.”
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A copy of the AHSCC’s report is attached to this email. Please visit www.FutureOfAHS.org for all raw data from the survey and contact information for the media should interviews be requested. The report can also be downloaded from the following link: http://tinyurl.com/AHSCC2019FinalReport
http://tinyurl.com/AHSCC2019FinalReport
