On Tuesday, August 5, Craver Middle School Principal Jody Pool and FFA teacher Ashley Termaine presented to the Pueblo County School District 70 (D70) Board of Education (BOE) seeking approval for the construction of a greenhouse at Craver Middle School. Termaine successfully applied for and secured a $75,000 grant for the greenhouse, which will benefit the FFA program.
Pool reported that they had reviewed and negotiated bids and recommended awarding the construction contract to Baha Construction, Inc. The new greenhouse is expected to be completed by late October 2025.
During the BOE meeting, Lisa Bales, coach of the Rye color guard teams, announced a $500 donation from San Isabel Electric to the Rye High School Winter Guard. She emphasized that, while uniforms and props are significant expenses for the team, transportation costs to distant contests pose the biggest challenge, and this donation would help cover those expenses.
In other donation news, Javin Baker, Athletic Director at Pueblo West High School, announced a $5,000 donation to the Pueblo West High School Softball program from Leslie and Sheralyn Brown. He also shared a $1,760 donation to the Pueblo West High CTE Construction program from Careers in Construction Colorado, noting that over 100 students received their industry certification through this valuable program last spring.
Superintendent Ronda Rein reported an in-kind donation of over 125 executive chairs, valued at $25,000, from Parker Excavating to Pueblo School District 70. She stated that she had informed principals, secretaries, counselors, and teachers throughout D70 that the chairs were available for pick up.
Rein also announced another in-kind donation of thirteen copies of the book 'A Bushel and a Peck of Pueblo's Best,' authored by Kristi Kwitek and valued at $195, from the Pueblo Historical Society. One copy was placed in each elementary school, and each book contains an insert with information on how to purchase additional copies. This book is aimed at 2nd and 3rd-grade students.
Dr. Anthony Martinez shared the exciting news that the Governor's Distinguished Improvement Award for 2024 has been awarded to both Beulah School of Natural Sciences and Sierra Vista Middle School, while the 2023-24 John Irwing Award was given to the Connect Charter School for its improvements in math and English Language Learner (ELL) scores.
Andy Halverson recognized the accomplishments of ELL staff, highlighting their work with the Flashlight Learning 360 Program. This program serves as a speaking and writing progress monitoring tool that provides multilingual students with a platform to demonstrate their language skills. A total of 170,000 students and over 22,000 teachers are involved in this program nationwide, and four D70 staff members were acknowledged as top 100 performers based on student growth. Notably, one D70 teacher ranked in the top 25 and had the student with the highest ELL growth in the entire nation.
Catherine McGibbon presented the youth opportunities available through the Elks Pueblo Lodge #90, which includes college scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $7,500 per year for a four-year degree. There is also a $4,000 Legacy Award available for students whose parent or grandparent is an Elk, which can be reapplied for every year in college. An emergency education grant is also available for students to apply for.
McGibbon mentioned that there are currently 580 members in the Pueblo Elk Lodge, which sponsors various events, including the return of the hoop shoot after eight years. This event, aimed at 8-13-year-olds, will include regional, state, and national contests. The Elk Lodge also organizes a soccer shoot for students up to age 16, drug awareness programs, a 'catch a calf ' event, and an Americanism essay contest for middle school students.
The BOE approved Jamison Wagner as the new Director of Business Services and approved Javin Baker as the new Principal of Pueblo West High School.
The next D70 Board of Education meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, August 19, 2025, at the Educational Services Center located at 24951 East Highway 50, Pueblo, Colorado, beginning at 6:00 p.m.