Pagosa Peak Open School, the community’s only district-authorized charter school, has announced three finalists for its School Director position. The finalists are Angela Reali Crossland, Emily Murphy and Sarah Luna.
The candidates are anticipated to be attending the PPOS’s next regular board meeting, on Monday, April 1 at 5:00pm. All regular PPOS board meetings are open to the public, and anyone interested in meeting the candidates are welcome to attend.
The intentionally-small K-5 school operates in the Parelli Building in Aspen Village, near the Walmart store, and embraces a “Project-Based Learning” educational model. It opened its doors in September 2017, with plans to eventually grow into a K-8 school, by adding an additional grade level each year. Current School Director James Lewicki, who has guided the school since the charter contract approval by the Archuleta School District, announced his pending resignation in January.
The Finalists are:
Angela Reali Crossland, from Durango, Colorado, has a Master’s in Teaching Secondary Science from the University of Phoenix, a Bachelor’s in Natural Resource Management and Environmental Education, and holds a State of Colorado Professional Teacher License-Secondary Science Endorsement.
Angela is the Instructional Guide, Grant Coordinator and Assessment Coordinator at Mountain Middle School, a project-based learning school in Durango. She has worked as an Advanced Physics Teacher at Animas High School, Science Teacher at Pikes Peak School of Expeditionary Learning, and Lead Science Teacher at James Irwin Charter High School.
Angela has contributed to the high achievement of Mountain Middle School, and helps promote their culture of excellence, growth mindset, and positive learning.
Emily Murphy from Pagosa Springs, Colorado, holds a Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Phoenix, Early Childhood Center Director Qualifications from Colorado State University, Post-Bachelor Early Childhood Education Teaching License Program from Rio Salado College, and a Bachelor’s in Journalism and Mass Communications from Arizona State University.
Emily is Pagosa Peak Open School’s current Food Security and Project-Based Learning Advisor. Previously, she was the Human Development and Family Studies Instructor at Colorado State University’s Early Childhood Center and the Pre-K and Kindergarten Teacher at the Awakening Seed School in Phoenix.
Emily has a love for project-based learning education, a dedication to the Pagosa Springs community, and a belief that PPOS is a place meant for youth to discover passions and make positive impacts in our world.
Sarah Luna from Tulsa, Oklahoma has a Master’s in Education from Concordia University in Portland, Oregon and a Bachelor’s in Elementary Education from the University of Oklahoma.
Sarah presently is the Manager of Teacher Leadership for America in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She has also held the positions of Principal, Assistant Principal, Teacher Lead Fellow, and Pre-K and Kindergarten Teacher at Tulsa Legacy Charter School and Lead Pre-K Teacher at Day Schools Early Childhood Development Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
In her career, Sarah has planned and established a positive school culture and climate that supports the whole student, and developed rigorous and thought-provoking lessons that challenges scholars to be critical thinkers.
Charter schools are publicly-funded, tuition-free schools typically founded by teachers or community members with the goal of developing innovative or alternative instructional methods. They’ve been seen as an important segment of Colorado’s education landscape ever since the General Assembly passed the Colorado Charter School Act in 1993. The state’s first two charter schools — Academy Charter School in Castle Rock and The Connect School in Pueblo — opened their doors in 1994. Also in 1994, the Colorado League of Charter Schools was founded to provide advocacy and support services to the fast growing charter school community. The League was instrumental in supporting the creation of Pagosa Peak Open School.
PPOS is open to all Archuleta County families, free of charge. (The school does assess certain activity fees, but payment of these fees is optional, based on family income.)
The PPOS Board of Directors received over 30 applications for the School Director position, to start by or before the 2019-2020 school year. The School Accountability Committee reviewed the applications and resumes, compared qualifications to the school’s opening conditions from the charter contract between the school district and PPOS, and presented the hiring committee with a shortened list of 13 qualified applicants, including two internal candidates. The nine top-ranked candidates were invited to interview, with seven accepting the invite.
After two rounds of online interviews, the top three candidates were selected and have been invited for a two-day school visit and a third interview opportunity on April 1 and 2. The final interview panel will consist of two PPOS Board members, two PPOS staff members, two community stakeholders (parents or community members), and two PPOS students. The PPOS Board of Directors will review the final interview panel’s recommendation during a special board meeting to be held within three days of the final interviews. At that time, the Board will decide which of the finalists will receive a job offer.