Five students from Greeley Central High School have earned academic honors from the College Board National Recognition Programs. 

To be eligible for this recognition, students must have a 3.5 GPA or higher, have excelled on the PSAT/NMSQT or PSAT 10 tests, earned a score of 3 or higher on two or more Advanced Placement exams, and are African American, Hispanic American, Indigenous and/or have attend school in a rural area or small town. These National Recognition Programs grant underrepresented students with academic honors that can be included on college and scholarship applications and connect students with universities across the country, helping them meaningfully connect to colleges and stand out during the admissions process. 

Students are eligible for four awards: National African American Recognition Award, National Hispanic Recognition award, National Rural and Small Town Award and National Indigenous Award. 

The Greeley Central students recognized for this honor are:

• Aven McCall - National Hispanic Recognition Award
• Ayden Mascarenas - National Hispanic Recognition Award
• Daniel Hidalgo - National Hispanic Recognition Award
• Jessika Guerrero - National Hispanic Recognition Award
• Ricardo Garcia Naranjo - National Hispanic Recognition Award

Greeley-Evans School District 6 will host two informational VIP Tours highlighting schools that were constructed or had renovations through the 2019 Bond Issue.

The tours will be held Friday, September 9 and Wednesday, September 14 from 8:30 a.m. to noon and will begin at the District 6 Administration Building, 1025 9th Avenue. Participants will be given a short presentation and then will board a District 6 school bus. The tour will pass by the Jefferson High School/Career and Technical Education Center construction site, the Madison Elementary School construction site, and then visit and tour McAuliffe STEM Academy, the new Tointon Academy of Pre-Engineering and the new Greeley West High School, before returning to the Administration Building. 

Seating is limited and registration is required. Please sign up today at this link: Greeley-Evans School District 6 VIP Tours

The tours will include a significant amount of walking, so participants are encouraged to wear comfortable shoes and clothing. 

Anyone with questions can call District 6 Chief of Communications Theresa Myers at (970) 348-6003 or email tmyers@greeleyschools.org 

The Tointon Academy of Pre-Engineering officially opened to the public Thursday night, August 18,  with a ribbon cutting ceremony and community open house.

The school opened its doors to students on August 11, but Thursday was the first time members of the general public have been invited to view the new school, located on 71^st Avenue between 10^th Street and 4^th Street. The Tointon Academy of Pre-Engineering is the first non-replacement school to open in District 6 in more than two decades.

A naming committee composed of District 6 staff, parents and community members recommended the school be named after Bob and Betty Tointon, long-time Greeley residents and strong supporters of public education. The Tointons have supported blended learning initiatives in the district, as well as starting and supporting the Student Recovery Program. The Tointons have also been strong supporters of the Mill Levy Override and bond issues for District 6.

Bob was born on a Kansas farm during the Great Depression. He graduated from Kansas State University with a degree in civil engineering. After serving in the U.S. Airforce, Bob worked for a construction firm, eventually joining Hensel-Phelps Construction in 1963, helping it grow into one of the largest construction companies in the United States. He and Joseph Phelps would eventually form Phelps-Tointon, which owned several companies and properties in downtown Greeley.

Betty Tointon was also born in Kansas, the daughter of a superintendent of schools. She graduated from Kansas State University with a degree in food and nutrition and a minor in journalism. Her love of antiques encouraged her to open and manage Antiques at Lincoln Park in downtown Greeley for 20 years.Together, Bob and Betty raised two sons, Bill and Bryan. Betty passed away in July of 2020.

Bob, who attended the ceremony with several of his family members, said it is an honor to have the academy carry his family’s name.

“On behalf of my family, I want you to know that we are honored and humbled by the naming of this school,” Tointon said during the ceremony. “I am proud that a legacy of the Tointon family in Greeley, Colorado will be this building and that generations of leaders, teachers and students will benefit from all that will happen inside the walls of this school.”

District 6 Superintendent Dr. Deirdre Pilch thanked Tointon for his support of students and staff in Greeley and Evans, and thanked the community for passing the 2019 Bond Issue that funded the construction of this new school.

“It takes a community to make a strong school system, and I want to thank each and every one of you for supporting us, and supporting this school,” Dr. Pilch said.

The Tointon Academy of Pre-Engineering is a preschool-eighth grade school. This year, the school is preschool through sixth grade. Seventh grade will be added next year and eighth grade the following year.

Project Lead the Way Curriculum will be used to infuse engineering principles across content areas for every grade level. The school has state-of-the-art science and engineering labs, as well as collaborative and outdoor learning spaces.

With a snip of the scissors, a new era officially began Tuesday evening for Greeley West High School, as Greeley-Evans School District 6 officially opened the new school, replacing a 60-year-old building that had numerous challenges and structural issues.

At an official ribbon cutting ceremony Tuesday evening, the speeches were permeated by a common theme of gratitude to the voters of Greeley and Evans for supporting the 2019 Bond Issue that funded the construction of the new Greeley West, and dozens of other construction projects throughout the district.

“We are so fortunate to be supported by this community,” Superintendent Dr. Deirdre Pilch said.

Greeley West Student Body President Sam Providence said the new building matches the strength and character of the students that attend and will attend Greeley West.

“On behalf of my fellow Spartans, I would like to say thank you to everyone who supported this project and advanced our education,” Providence said. “We finally have a building that matches the beauty and integrity of the people inside it.”

The 280,000 square foot building is constructed to educate 1,800 students. It includes a Career and Technical Education wing that houses the agriculture and horticulture program, welding and construction trades, a culinary arts program, business, as well as fine arts. The 650-seat auditorium includes an orchestra pit and state-of-the-art lighting and sound systems.

The old Greeley West High School is still being razed. Late last Spring, additional asbestos was discovered in the layers of the old roof, and had to be abated before the building could be torn down. Once the old building is completely removed, that area will become the main parking lot for the new school.

The Grand Lodge of Colorado Freemasonry also provided a cornerstone and time capsule for the new building on Tuesday.

All students in Greeley-Evans School District 6, including students attending charter schools, can access free breakfast and lunch this school year as a result of the District 6 Board of Education’s unanimous vote on Monday, Aug. 8, to fund school meals for the 2022-2023 school year for all students who do not otherwise qualify.

In order to eat for free, parents must complete the Free and Reduced Meal Application, regardless of the family’s income level. The application is available online at https://www.d6schoolfood.org/school-meal-benefits. 

For more than two years, schools nationally have been providing free meals to all students, regardless of income status, as part of the COVID-19 response. However, federal funding for universal free meals ended at the conclusion of the 2021-2022 school year. The District 6 Board voted to allocate up to $2 million from reserves to pay for the universal meal program this school year. The remaining $10 million to fund the student meal program is covered by federal reimbursements through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

The Board of Education voted to use money from the district’s reserves to extend free meals service for all students in anticipation that next year, the District will qualify for the Community Eligibility Provision, which will designate the district as a low-income area and allow free meals to again be provided under the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

Districts qualify for Community Eligibility Provision when they reach 40 percent of their students qualifying as low income by utilizing Medicaid services and/or qualifying for state or federal food assistance, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Because the Medicaid qualification is just being added next year, it is anticipated District 6 will easily qualify for the federal Community Eligibility Provision next year, said District 6 Nutrition Services Director Danielle Bock.

Bock said under the COVID-19 free meal program, more students accessed school meals than ever before. For the first time, District 6 served over 3 million meals last year, realizing a 20 percent increase in students eating breakfast and a 40 percent increase in students eating lunch. 

“Food is a basic human right,” Bock said. “It is not a privilege.”

Board members voiced support for the one-year allocation, saying access to healthy food is essential to the district’s educational mission. 

“Nutritious food … is absolutely a necessity for all the work of learning and achievement,” said Board Director Natalie Mash. “They are intimately tied together.”

“I support this 100 percent,” said Board Director Rob Norwood, a former Northridge High School teacher. “I have seen kids go on break with anxiety about where their next meal is coming from.”