School News: Commissioner Robert Hammond Congratulates Two CDE Employees For National Recognitions

Students at Landmark academy at reunion celebrate first annual latin culture week

Landmark Academy at Reunion , a tuition-free public charter school, recently hosted their First Annual Latin Culture Week, a week focused on educating students on the various aspects of Latin culture, from music and art to sports and celebrities, through unique activities. During the week-long celebration, students were able to step into the lives of the Aztecs, Incas and Mayans with Latin culture lessons through piñata making, cultural crafts, songs, traditional foods and more. Students made maracas and learned a traditional Mexican Hat Dance; created Aztec suns working with metal tooling; and studied different countries in Mexico , Central America and South America . Aztec dancers from the Colorado Folk Arts Council also visited with students and educated them on the spiritual and traditional aspects of Aztec culture through dance. “We reside in a community with strong Latin and Hispanic roots,” said Matt Carlton, principal of Landmark Academy at Reunion . “Our community culture is important to us at Landmark. By providing unique ways for our students to learn the various backgrounds of our diverse community they are able to understand and appreciate different cultures.” For more information about Landmark Academy at Reunion , please visit www.landmarkacademy.org.

April 18, 2011

Commissioner Robert Hammond Congratulates Two CDE Employees For National Recognitions

Commissioner Robert Hammond today offered congratulations to two Colorado Department of Education employees who recently received national recognition for their work with and service to students.

“The department is proud to have Charles Dukes and Kathleen Patrick on our staff. These are two outstanding employees who have been recognized nationally for their dedication and pursuit of excellence on behalf of Colorado’s school children,” said Commissioner Hammond. “They both exhibit a great deal of heart and commitment to their work because they know their work impacts students every day. Congratulations to both. These awards are very well deserved.”

Charles Dukes

The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) named Dukes as the “Advocate of the Year,” an honor presented annually to “a person who has demonstrated belief in and support of school counseling programs that have had an impact on school counselors and students at the local, state or national level.” Dukes is a senior consultant for high school initiatives in the CDE’s Office of Dropout Prevention and Student Engagement.

The ASCA award recipients will be honored at the recognition dinner at the annual conference, June 25–28, 2011, in Seattle. Founded in 1952, ASCA supports school counselors’ efforts to help students focus on academic, personal/social and career development so they not only achieve success in school but are prepared to lead fulfilling lives as responsible members of society. The association provides professional development, publications and other resources, research and advocacy to more than 24,000 professional school counselors around the globe.

For more information about ASCA, contact Kathleen Rakestraw at 703-683-ASCA (2722) or krakestraw@schoolcounselor.org.

Kathleen Patrick

Kathleen Patrick, assistant director of health and wellness at CDE, was named recently as a member of the National Academy of School Nursing, the highest honor the organization can bestow on its professional members.

Membership in the academy is for those who have made “significant, unique, and extraordinary achievements that have had broad influence in contributing to the advancement of the specialty practice of school nursing and NASN,” according to the organization.

Patrick is the fourth Coloradoan to be inducted into the academy since it was started 20 years ago. She will be honored at the NASN’s 43rd Annual Conference in Washington, DC, on July 2, 2011.

After working as a Public Health Nurse, Patrick began work as school nurse in 1994. She served in Jeffco Schools for over 12 years and started work at CDE in 2006. She has been active at the state and national levels with the Colorado Association of School Nurses and National Association of School Nurses, including in a number of board positions.