Pagosa Charter School Announces School Director Finalist

Pagosa Peak Open School, the community’s newly authorized charter school that will open for grades K-4 this coming September, has announced its finalist for the School Director position: educator James Lewicki, currently the Executive Director of the T.R. Paul Academy of Arts & Knowledge in Fort Collins, Colorado.

According to the charter contract between the Archuleta School District and the board of the non-profit school, the school district requested that Pagosa Peak’s School Director have “at least 2 years experience with PBL [Project Based Learning]” or alternately, that at least 50% of our teachers have PBL experience. Although Pagosa Peak received eight total applications for the School Director position, James Lewicki was the only applicant that met the district’s suggested requirements for PBL experience. His background and philosophy also align well with the mission and vision of Pagosa Peak Open School.

To learn more about Project Based Learning, please visit the ‘Philosophy & Culture’ section of the Pagosa Peak website.

At the school’s March 31 board meeting, two of the Pagosa Peak board members — board president Ursala Hudson and board treasurer Chenni Hammon — were authorized to negotiate a contract with Mr. Lewicki. The charter school expects to sign the contract with Mr. Lewicki, on or about April 18.

You can learn more about James Lewicki at his website.

Also at that March 31 board meeting, Archuleta School District Assistant Superintendent David Hamilton spoke during the “public comment” part of the meeting, and voiced the district’s support for Mr. Lewicki as a suitable candidate for Pagosa Peak’s School Director.

The school currently has full enrollment in its Kindergarten and 1st Grades; enrollment is still available for Grades 2-4. As a publicly-funded charter school, Pagosa Peak is open to all Archuleta County families, and does not charge tuition.