Posted February 8, 2024
| Dear Parents and Families, During the month of love we want to take this opportunity to tell you how much we adore your children and appreciate our partnership with you. Thank you for all you do to make SKCEE a magical place. It has been said, “the only constant in life is change.” I want to take this opportunity to share with you some shifts that you will see at SKCEE in the 2024-25 school year. I recently completed my budget process with the Collaborative School Committee and School Leadership Team for next year, and it was the most challenging budget I’ve managed in my eight years as a principal. Denver Public Schools received large amounts of federal and state funding during and after Covid, and that money has run out. Universal Preschool has also changed funding for early childhood education, and this all influences the budget. Unfortunately SKCEE is not the only school facing budget cuts in DPS, and sadly it will impact people we deeply care about at Stephen Knight. We were grateful to receive budget assistance to fund an assistant principal for two years, and a dean of operations this year. Unfortunately, those two positions will not be funded at SKCEE next school year. I know this news is difficult to hear, and we will greatly miss the individuals in these positions: Aimee Justice-Lundt and Leslie Kaplan. They positively impact our school community in immeasurable ways, and for this we are grateful. We will also be reducing our health tech aide hours, but are able to continue funding Art and PE full time. We will continue to benefit from our special service providers, including our full-time Psychologist Mr. Derek. Another decision that was made at the central office level was to reduce one full classroom of three year old seat offers for the 24-25 school year. The SKCEE personnel committee will be conducting a process for this, and will know which teacher this impacts by mid-February. This is a difficult time for our school as we stay present and continue to provide a safe and joyful experience for our students and families, while dealing with some uncertainty about the future and what it may bring. What I do know is that each and every one of our staff brings valuable gifts to our school, and that losing any of our butterflies is hard. While SKCEE will continue to change and adapt and grow, we will always put your children first and do everything to accompany them through their early learning years. Thanks for your trust in us, In partnership, Principal Shelley I want to personally express my gratitude to Aimee Justice-Lundt who you all know and love. She has been a fearless partner in this work with me and her absence, sooner than planned, will be felt. Please read her message below: It is with a heart full of gratitude and a whole bunch of sadness that I share that my last day at SKCEE will be in a few weeks. As you are aware, the school’s budget, the district’s budget, and truthfully, the state’s budget for public education are not adequately funded. One impact of this budget shortfall is that several positions at SKCEE have been cut for the upcoming school year. Yesterday, I was offered a position, similar to the one I have here, in Aurora Public Schools, building a new ECE center scheduled to open this fall. It is an amazing opportunity to do something I have never done before, to continue to grow my leadership skills, and to use my passion for early childhood, creating something special in another community. It was not my intention to leave here in the middle of the year, or ever actually, but the odds of finding another role like mine in DPS aren’t great. I did not make this decision lightly. I know my choice impacts others and for that I am truly sorry. It has been an honor and a privilege to work at Knight. Shelley’s mentorship has been invaluable and I have gained many leadership tools. I am more than grateful that I had the chance to be here, with our staff, with your children and you. I have never before worked at a school with such a dedicated community of parents and families. Stephen Knight is a special place to be sure. I take with me all the love you have shared, the lessons I have learned, and so many memories of your beautiful children. 💜Aimee |
DPS Choice!
School Choice Round One closes on February 12th at 4:00pm! Please remember that each student currently in ECE 3 needs to apply for both DPS School Choice and UPK. There is more information about the process on our website linked here. If your child is in ECE 4 and entering kindergarten in the fall, you also need to apply for School Choice. We have 11 full day ECE classrooms and only 3 kindergarten classrooms. Our kindergarten is actually part of Cory Elementary school and the primary way to attend kindergarten here is to live in the Cory boundary area.
How Sick is Too Sick?
We have had multiple illnesses this winter, and we wanted to send this reminder about when to keep your children home from school and how long they must stay home if they have a fever or have vomited. Please review these guidelines from the CDPHE, and thank you in advance for helping us keep our school healthy.
Free guinea pigs!
Two boys, about two years old, are available to a loving home. First one has a white face and is named Cucumber and Dash is long haired. They have to be together. They get very antsy and nervous when they are separated, especially Dash. Talk to Principal Shelley if you are interested. To be clear…these are NOT our beloved Patrick and David.
Next PTA Meeting – Thursday, February 15th
The next PTA meeting will be on Thursday, February 15th in the PD room. Note this is a week later than usual.
Stock the Lounge – Group 3 – Wednesday, February 21st
February’s Stock the Lounge will be on Wednesday, February 21st for Group 3: Phuong, Schmidt, Havenar, Perez, Mathiebe, C. Gurule. Please bring in non-perishable snacks and drinks for the teachers and other staff to enjoy. There will be PTA volunteers and donation boxes outside of the front office, at the kinder kiss-n-go line, and at the Cory bus stop.
Book Fair Volunteers
If you are interested in volunteering for the SKCEE Book Fair, scheduled for this April, please reach out to Melissa Viola – melissaquinlan@gmail.com.
ECE Pets Unit!
Now that we have completed the Clothing unit in ECE, we are about to learn about pets! If you have any pictures of your children with your pets, please bring a copy of the photo to the office so we can add it to our photo display of staff pets. We will be hosting the Denver Dumb Friends League on February 21, 22 and 29, and we’d love to send them back with donations to support their work with animals. Please find the link here and click on the supplies tab for ideas of items to donate, and look for the boxes in the lobby next week.