Colorado School Starts Tenth Year of ‘Where Everybody Belongs’
PEYTON, Colo. – Hundreds of sixth grade students filed into Falcon Middle School for their first time Aug. 3, many showing signs of curiosity, some uneasiness, others withdrawn.
But when they entered the gymnasium and discovered dozens of eighth grade students applauding their first day of school, wearing black T-shirts with “Where Everybody Belongs” printed in bright green and yellow words, nearly everyone smiled.
The eighth graders were selected to ensure the transitioning students feel comfortable throughout their first middle school experience. The school was set to receive 326 former elementary school students Aug. 3, according to Falcon School District 49 enrollment numbers. Continue reading
Colorado Educators Talk With Top Innovation Leader, Author
PEYTON, Colo. – Hundreds of educators from Falcon School District 49 gathered Aug. 1 for a back-to-school message from a leader in innovative education.
Tony Wagner, a pioneering author of ideas about the future of education, spoke remotely with about 700 teachers and principals in District 49, who were seated at Sand Creek High School in Colorado Springs. They were joined by dozens of district support staff and the Board of Education directors.
“Mr. Wagner will assist us in taking this conversation of innovation … down to where it matters most, down to the individual child, down to the next generation of innovators that must succeed,” said Donald Begier, District 49 executive director for education services, ahead of the meeting in the school’s gymnasium. Continue reading
Colorado Students Rally for Fire Evacuees, District Teacher
PEYTON, Colo. – As the Waldo Canyon Fire claimed its first home June 26, 16-year-old Hannah Hildreth watched a drab smoke plume smear across the sky. Her neighborhood swimming pool had closed due to airborne ash laying down and polluting the water.
“Some of my friends were being evacuated and saying how they just wanted to be back home, and breathe fresh air again – and they couldn’t do that,” said Hildreth, who starts 12th grade next month at Sand Creek High School in Falcon School District 49, roughly 15 miles east of the fire.
The wildland fire, burning for its third day, had torched more than 15,000 acres in and west of Colorado Springs, causing the evacuation of more than 30,000 people. It destroyed 347 structures on 34 streets, announced Mayor Steve Bach on June 28, marking it as the most destructive fire in Colorado history. Continue reading
Why People Can’t Talk Politics, Personal Branding
It’s tough to talk politics. Company policies and family requests often forbid it. Recent surveys suggest most people ignore such discussions, while some disenfranchise friendships. In December 1774, American revolutionaries argued over the best reaction, or no reaction, to the East Indian Company receiving a royal monopoly for tea deliveries, along with a special tax. In April 1995, Timothy McVeigh, Michael Fortier and Terry Nichols argued the ethics of exploding a massive bomb near a federal building in downtown Oklahoma City — leaving McVeigh to light the fuse alone, igniting the worst act of homegrown terrorism in the nation’s history. People around the world continue to argue the moralities behind the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, especially when the original premise was never proven true; the nation wasn’t harboring weapons of mass destruction. Today, political opinions are more polarized than any other point in the past 25 years, according to a review of surveys last month by Pew Research Center. What’s happening? Continue reading
Virtual Academy Helps Student Beat Adversity, Earn Degree
PEYTON, Colo. – When David Alfredo Orquiz received his high school diploma in Peyton, Colo., May 25, he felt “ready to take on the world.”
Thirty-five high school seniors were celebrated during Falcon Virtual Academy’s first commencement ceremony at Meridian Point Church. Orquiz, 21, was the oldest and arguably the proudest. Falcon School District 49’s online program had helped end an era of hopelessness that almost killed him.
“In September of 2009, my life changed forever when I was rushed to the emergency room,” says Orquiz, recalling his second month as a high school senior in Artesia, N.M. He started routinely losing consciousness, and waking up with needles in his arms, tubes down his throat, nurses huddled over him. Continue reading
Colorado High School Students Dissect Insect DNA for Wolbachia
PEYTON, Colo. – Students in Colorado wrapped up this school year digging through insect genes for a national project.
Falcon School District 49 high school students rummaged through local grasslands this month, collecting insects. After prodding millions of arthropod cells to analyze the DNA of more than 30 specimens, they found two carried a harmful parasite May 22.
Through a series of labs, called the Wolbachia Project, they assisted scientists with measuring the frequency of destructive bacteria and its impact on biodiversity. Continue reading
Social Businesses, Community Merchants
The broad acceptance of consumer technologies requires a foundation of intuitiveness. For example, if your computer’s mouse buttons sat under the palm of your hand, you’d most likely rely on your keyboard. Social media is a new tool that’s boosting our productivity by fulfilling innate needs. The technology is re-establishing the natural ebb and flow of human communications in commercial activities. Professional success is no longer sustainable by relying on quick transactions and short-term results. Backhanded tactics to close one sale can chop off countless of others. Instead, marketing specialists are mastering online platforms that build and sustain more intimate, long-term relationships. Big businesses are scaling back aggressive sales strategies and promoting hometown-like relations in virtual venues. Continue reading
Put Crisis Planning Into Social Media Policy
Crises tests the integrity of a company’s communication plan. When mistakes seize consumer attention, outcries flood social media channels. External communications on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social platforms instantly transition from routine marketing activities to a significant public relations showdown. A company’s ability to remain proactive and reactive is shoved into a fast-paced, spin cycle. Disappointed communities will wash the brand in emotionally-charged remarks. The reputation that’s left in the aftermath, as comments settle and the brand dries in a breeze of fresh air, is formed by updated perceptions of the organization’s culture. Consumers will continue to recall how the company responded while it soaked in adversity. Continue reading
Social Media Support With a Smile
Consumers praise and promote brands they believe in. They also complain, condemn and criticize as soon as a transaction turns sour. Focusing on the latter issue keeps many companies on the fence about social media. Are the benefits of supporting global, Internet-based discussion systems great enough? Can they offset the risk of openly dealing with troubled customers? Taking the time to fully understand the proper integration of social media into marketing and customer service strategies makes the choice more obvious. After obtaining the appropriate tools and know-how, business owners soon figure out that ignoring social media is clearly the destructive decision. Learn how to support social media and reach out to your customers in their online social spaces. Don’t forget your smile. Continue reading
Millennial Market Coming of Age
Back off Baby Boomers, move over Generation X – clear the aisles for Generation Y, also known as the Millennials. Based on consumer spending trends, they are set to gain a significant amount of purchasing power. In roughly five years, America’s first “always connected” cohort of consumers will start joining Generation X as the nation’s top spenders. The digital natives have always known life with broadband Internet, cell phones and other technical forms of communication – the tools are natural and integral parts of their lives. When they walked into grade school, the World Wide Web was just revving up. During middle school, Palm Pilots and iMacs began filling store shelves. While many attended high school, Napster was battling record companies. As they looked up colleges, it seemed like everyone was sharing music on MP3 players and transferring apps across smartphones. Millennials are a group of networked learners who know the potential of online communities, especially those formed around celebrities, brands, products and services. Continue reading
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“Those who want to grow rich in a day live for a long time in great poverty.”
“I think people have been obsessed with the wrong question, which is, ‘How do we make people pay for music?’ What if we started asking, ‘How do we let people pay for music?'”
Dustin Senger 