Greeley-Evans School District 6, in partnership with the Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment and Sunrise Community Health, is hosting several free TDAP immunization clinics for incoming sixth graders.

The TDAP vaccine for tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis is required for entry into sixth grade by Colorado immunization laws.

Here are the scheduled clinics:

• Tuesday, August 6: 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. at Heath Middle School, 2223 16^th Street in Greeley
• Tuesday, August 6: 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. at Franklin Middle School, 818 35^th Avenue in Greeley
• Tuesday, August 6: 8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Prairie Heights Middle School, 3737 65^th Avenue in Evans
• Tuesday, August 13: 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Brentwood Middle School, 2600 24^th Avenue Court in Greeley

A parent or legal guardian must be present to complete required consent forms. Parents and guardians are also asked to bring the most current copy of the student’s immunization record. All District 6 sixth graders are invited to attend, regardless of the school in which they are enrolled.

Several new principals have been hired to lead schools in Greeley-Evans School District 6 for the 2019-20 school year.

• Angie McDowell will take over as principal at Centennial Elementary School in Evans. McDowell worked as the assistant principal at Centennial, and also served in that role at Maplewood Elementary School and the former East Memorial Elementary School in District 6. She replaces Anthony Asmus, who is filling a grant-funded position at the central administration building to help elementary schools improve student achievement and growth.
• Dr. Dawn Hillman, formerly principal at Prairie Heights Middle School, will be the new principal at Heath Middle School, after Principal Blakely Wallace resigned last year to take a principal position in the Cherry Creek School District. Hillman was the principal first at John Evans Middle School beginning in 2010, and then Prairie Heights Middle School when the new school was constructed. Prior to that, she was the assistant principal and taught for 10 years at John Evans.
• Stephanie Knox will step into the role of principal at Prairie Heights Middle School. Knox has served as the assistant principal at Prairie Heights since March of 2015. Prior to that, she was a teacher at Prairie Heights for eight years.
• Ramon Reyes, the former assistant principal at Meeker Elementary School, has been named the new principal at the Greeley-Evans Alternative Program, replacing Dave Schaffer, who retired at the end of June. Reyes came to District 6 in 2015 to serve as the assistant principal at Bella Romero Academy K-3 Campus. He also worked as an assistant principal and high school teacher in Wisconsin.
• Jennifer Behrmann has been hired to serve as the preschool principal for District 6. Behrmann has worked 11 years as a special education teacher. She has also worked as an assistant principal and coordinator of curriculum and instruction in another school district.

Here is a list of new assistant principals and deans at District 6 schools beginning in August. This does not include charter schools:

• Meredith Allen, assistant principal, Greeley-Evans Alternative Program
• Kory Atkinson, assistant principal, Jefferson Junior High School
• Kristi Brown, assistant principal, Heath Middle School
• Geoffrey Chacon, assistant principal, Prairie Heights Middle School
• Alison Ferguson, assistant principal, Meeker Elementary School
• Lisa Green, assistant principal, Jackson Elementary School
• Jenny Henriksen, assistant principal, Scott Elementary School
• Heather Kholif, assistant principal, Dos Rios Elementary School
• Kendra Mueller, assistant principal, Centennial Elementary
• Alan Plaisance, dean, Bella Romero Academy
• Justin Roberts, assistant principal, Billie Martinez Elementary School
• Sean Scribbick, assistant principal/athletic director, Greeley Central High School

New principals and assistant principals started work today, July 15, 2019. Returning principals and assistant principals will officially start back to work on Monday, July 22, 2019. The first day of school for non-charter school District 6 students in grades 1-12 is Thursday, August 15. Kindergarten students start school Tuesday, August 20.

Greeley-Evans School District 6 is seeking volunteers to assist in various roles at the School Kickoff Community Celebration, to be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. August 10 and Island Grove Regional Park in Greeley.

The School Kickoff Community Celebration is annual event that uses sponsorships and donations to purchase backpacks and school supplies that are handed out for free to District 6 students who attend the event. This year, nearly 4,000 backpacks will be distributed.  There are also more than 70 community booths at the event, free immunizations and sports physicals, as well as entertainment including a petting zoo, face painting, student performances and more.

More than 100 volunteers are needed the day of the event. District 6 is especially in need of reliable volunteers who can help set up and clean up after the event. Set up starts at 6:30 a.m. and cleanup begins at 12:30 p.m. and will end about 2 p.m.

Volunteers can sign up at https://forms.gle/KwEWftGXRGX3iCPV6. Those with larger groups who want to volunteer, or anyone with specific questions can call District 6 Community Engagement Specialist Jaime Dale at (970) 348-6223, or email jdale2@greeleyschools.org.

Billie Martinez Elementary School was recognized as a PBL Champion School by the Buck Institute for Education at its PBL World conference in Napa Valley, California on June 20.

Billie Martinez Elementary was the only school in the nation to receive this award.

“Your strategic and ongoing approach to implementing and supporting project-based learning the last few years serve as a valuable example for other schools around the country,” said Brandon Wiley, chief program officer for PBL Works – Buck Institute for Education, in the notification letter for the award.

Billie Martinez began implementing project-based learning in 2017 as part of its Innovation Plan with the Colorado Department of Education. Since implementing, the school’s performance rating has gone from one of the lowest to the highest rating given by the CDE.

“This is the hardest work we have every loved,” said Principal Monica Draper, who accepted the award in California. “Education at Martinez used to be about answering questions. Now, it’s about us asking questions.”

Project-based learning is a hands-on approach to learning and problem solving that is implemented across subjects and grade levels at Billie Martinez Elementary School. It uses technology, science and art-based projects, language and mathematics to help students solve problems and answer questions. It is aligned with the Colorado grade-level standards.

Greeley-Evans School District 6 has been awarded a $1.5 million grant from the state of Colorado through its 2019 School Access for Emergency Response grant program.

The grant will be used to purchase radios and radio towers that will allow school safety teams at all schools, including charter schools, to be in direct radio communication with the Greeley Police Department, Evans Police Department and Weld County Sheriff’s office during an emergency. The grant will also provide training for safety teams and law enforcement agencies on crisis management and use of the radios.

“We are grateful to the state for recognizing the need here in Greeley and Evans to have a coordinated communication system that can be utilized during a crisis,” said John Gates, Chief of Safety and Security for District 6. “This grant will help us work with local law enforcement agencies more effectively and improve our overall crisis management systems.”

District 6 received the largest grant awarded by the SAFER program this year. A total of $4.9 million dollars was awarded to eight school districts this year through the competitive grant program.

University Schools worked in cooperation with the District 6 Office of Safety and Security on this successful grant application.