New Charter School opening

02/08/2007 - Mountain Phoenix Community School, an Arts Based Charter School opening in Coal Creek Canyon, has been approved to continue enrolling students through Feb. 28, 2007. The school’s charter was approved by Jefferson County in November; since then the members of the future community of the school have come together to build enrollment, develop curriculum, identify sites, and work on grants that will benefit the school.

  “There is still much to do before we receive our contract, but there is a lot of momentum building. We still need more families and enrollment; we now must have 44 students by February 28^th, although our goal is to be at 100% by the 23^rd,” says Barry Solway, Interim Governing Board member.

  Mountain Phoenix will be offering a unique curriculum, combining the successful arts based approaches of Waldorf, and the individual pursuits of Montessori. The goal of the school is to teach to the whole child, developing mastery of subject matter by addressing individual student learning styles. “We look forward to addressing each child’s individual needs. In context to our multiage classrooms we will be teaching through integrated theme studies where students will work individually, partner and work in cooperative groups on projects,” says Jenni Halsted, future teacher candidate, who has been working hard developing curriculum. Mountain Phoenix looks forward to providing experiential learning in the areas of Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, Multicultural Learning, Foreign Language, Environmental Education, Fine Art, Music and Movement.

  Maggie Payne, a member of the Interim Governing Board, is impressed with how well things have been coming together: “We have found some excellent candidates for Director and teachers, who have been volunteering time to help the school grow. And then, out of the blue, we were contacted by a gentleman who wants to build us a new school building!” Valerie Wedel, also a member of the board, says, “There is a lot of work ahead of us, but I am really thrilled that community members are stepping forward to help. There is phenomenal talent in our canyon and mountain communities. I am really grateful this talent is supporting our school, and we continue to welcome all volunteer support!”

  Michelle Brandstaedter and Tracy Stebbings have planned a community meeting at the Coal Creek Canyon Community Center on Saturday, February 10^th from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., and at the Gilpin County Library on Tuesday, February 20^th from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. All interested parties are encouraged to attend to learn more about the school, meet future Director and faculty candidates, and see pictures of the site and building plans. If you are interested in the school you can check out their website at www.mountainphoenix.org  or contact interim governing board members Maggie Payne at 303-642-7229 or Valerie Wedel at 303-642-8423.