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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWINGSHADOW, 1225 REDWOOD STREET - PDP/FDP - 30-02A - REPORTS -'LaSt chance' schools to merge Village students to attend Frontier By STACY NICK, s/4P16 1 5tacyNick@coIoradoan.com A local "last chance" school will mesh with a former Christian alterna- tive -school next fall. On Monday night, the Poudre School District Board of Education unanimously approved closing its alternative junior/senior high school, the Village School, 2540 LaPorte Ave., in favor of sending students to Frontier School. Both schools have a similar "last chance" ap- proach. Students at each often have had difficul- ties at traditional schools; many at the Vil- lage School are about to be or have been expelled. Frontier will discon- tinue its religious cur- riculum in favor of a sec- ular program, said Steve Bolton, co-founder of the nonprofit at -risk youth organization Wingshad- ow, which opened Fron- tier. Frontier is moving from First Christian Church to 1225 Redwood St. in early 2003. The school will grow from 65 students to approximate- ly I10 students next year, including the 25 to 50 stu- dents who attend the Vil- lage School annually. Now, district and Frontier officials will look at blending the two schools, Bolton said. Frontier is a high school, but the Village School has junior and senior high students. But the transition is expected to go well, said Bolton, adding that the combination of pro- grams is a dream come true for Wingshadow. "We're excited beyond words," he said of the board's approval. Board officials echoed those sentiments. With budget cuts looming, combining pro- grams with another agency is a great oppor- tunity, board President Steve Fobes said. Due to state budget cuts, the Village School is losing $375,000 from its annual budget of $558,000, but PSD can send Village students to Frontier for about $150,000 a year. "It's nice to have a vi- able alternative," Fobes said. By STACY NICK 11- b -D'Zian Church, 2700 S. Lemay StacyNick@coloradoan.com Ave., Frontier will be moving Poudre School District into its new site at 1225 Red might close its "last chance" Wood St. in early 2003. In - school in favor of a possible eluding its own anticipated collaboration with a local growth, the 65-student school Christian alternative high would be able to add approx- school. imately 25 I'SD junior and On Monday night, PSD's senior high school students Board of Education discussed to its classrooms next fall. closing the Village School, an "We believe this gives us alternative junior; and senior all the chance to become high school, and sending its something much larger," said students "to Frontier School Steve Bolton, co-founder of beginning as early as fall 2003. Wmgshadow, the nonprofit The school board is expected , organization , for at -risk to vote on the issue during its youths that operates Frontier. regular meeting Dec. 9. The school opened in 1994. Currently at First Christ- The school will discon- School district considers new partner for alternative school tintle its religious curricu- lum in favor of a secular one if the contract is approved, Bolton said. "It's something we are willing to let go of," he said. ,,In reality, what we have re- ally always been about is turning young lives around. We can provide a better ed- ucation by letting go of this." One snag: The move could put some of the Vil- lage School's 10 staff mem- bers out of work. Staff who are past the pro- batio period — six years for certified and four for classified — would be guar- anteed jobs at other schools within the district, said Gary Bamford, PSD assistant su- perintendent of secondary school services. Staff under probation would be guaran- teed job interviews. As for the facility, the site at 2540 LaPorte Ave., would be used for an unknown program. Frontier, which currently has six positions, may pro- vide some opportunities. The school would need an- other four teachers to main- tain its one-to-10 teacher -stu- dent ratio, Frontier Principal Bruce Hallman said. This fall, enrollment is anticipated at more than 100 students. The recommendation to make this move is not about quality, Bamford said. It's about what most things are about these days — money, or rather a lack of it. Due to state budget cuts, the Village School will lose $375,000 in state grants that make up its $558,000 annual budget, he said. Another $1.2 million would be need- ed from bond revenues for renovations to expand the program, but only $500,000 currently is designated for renovations to the site. PSD could send students to Frontier for approximately $150,000 a year, said Jim Sar- chet, PSD assistant superin- tendent of business services. Because the school essentially would become a public insti- tution, it would receive mon- ey from the state based on the number of students enrolled. Several board members voiced support for the rec- ommendation. "It's a unique situation," board Vice President Jana Ley said. "We'll need to pave our own way, but that's OK_ We're up to the challenge." Future home enables Frontier to expand its youth programs By STACY NICK 1l/11/c.-.cost another $500,000, — on the same site b StacyNick@coloradoan.com are expected to begin independent of each o After years of talking about moving Frontier High School to a larger location, the dream will soon become a reality. In early February, Wingshadow, a Fort Collins organization ded- icated to at -risk youths, is relocating the school, now housed at First Christian Church, 2700 S. Lemay Ave., to the for- mer Diamond Crest As- sisted Living Home, 1225 Redwood St. The facility was pur- chased for $1 million, and renovations, which will this week as soon as the group has the green light from the city of Fort Collins, said Annette Zacharias -Piper, Wing - shadow development di- rector. Funding for the school came from dona- tions and grants. The 21,000-square- foot site is perfect, Zacharias -Piper said. "It was affordable, but it also has lots of poten- tial," she said. "The lay- out makes it a facility where we can do it all — the school, the shelter and the child-care center ut th- er at same time." In addition to increas- ing the student capacity from 65 to 110, Frontier's child-care center will in- crease from 16 to 40 chil- dren and the new crisis center also will open. The center will act as a temporary shelter for teens who need help, something that has sore- ly been lacking in the community, said Steve Bolton, who co-founded Wingshadow with his wife, Shirley. See FRONTIER/Page 84 V. Richard Haro/The Coloradoan SHARING CHORES: Frontier High School students, from left, Nicole Lombardo, 17, Kas- sandra Cano, 17, and Lindsey Carlson, 16, work in the kitchen at the school's future home at 1225 Redwood St. The school hopes to be completely moved in by February. i1..�L•1• it . n �1•-s_7 �...... Frontier Continued from Page B1 "We have (homeless) facili- ties for families and adults but this will be the first just for teens," he said. Youths will be able to stay at the shelter, which has beds for 12 boys and six girls, for as long as 90 days, Bolton said. "Some kids have an argument with parents and just need a place to stay overnight to cool off," he said. "Others have been put out by their parents." The shelter will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week with an on -duty therapist and a consulting psychiatrist, Bolton said. The school, which has been bursting at the seams for years, also will add two grades — sev- enth and eighth — to its current ninth through 12th grade pro- Idemded? To find out more about Frontier High School's new facility, the community is in- vited to attend weekly tours of the school. Each week for an indefinite period of time, Wingshadow will provide a tour of the new facility, locat- ed at 1225 Redwood St., at 8 a.m. Thursdays. Registration for the free tour is not necessary. For more information, call An- nette Zacharias -Piper at 419- 3252. m gra. "It just amazes me to see this is happening," Bolton said. "The reason is because of the support we've had here and the people who work with us. It's much greater than anything Shirley or I could have done by ourselves."