Inspiration: Marcy reminded us the four way test is not always the easiest to follow. How can the 4 way test help us navigate the challenges in our lives? She reminds us to see the gray areas exist but world wide we use these questions to try to make our best decisions in a complex world. Our shared humanity is bigger than our differences. We continue to try to be a force for good in our corners of the world as Rotarians.
IDEA Quote The thing that lies at the foundation of positive change, the way I see it, is service to a fellow human being. -- Lech Walesa
Upcoming Programs: please see the side panel for upcoming speakers and be sure to invite your friends!
Guests: Bob Shaffer – Speaker, Founder of Liberty Common Charter School Aaron Carlson – guest of Wilton Lyles Raju Jairam – Rotary After Work Jeaneen Kappell – Repeat guest of Diane Knight Saira Hafeez – CSU Rotaract
PROGRAM: Bob Schaffer, Liberty Common School, Fort Collins ⦁ Liberty CS is a charter school system that has been a top performing school in the state for may years. It is currently one school with 4 campuses in FoCo. ⦁ Bob served 3 terms in congress among other education related political positions over the years ⦁ Bob and his wife founded LCS in the 1990s after realizing there was no defined curriculum, no phonics, little parent involvement and no school choice. They joined with other parents who had similar concerns. ⦁ They proposed an alternative to PSD in the mid 1980s that allowed for parental choice, core curiculum with well defined content and skills education, teaching of values of a democratic society and school-based management. ⦁ It started in 1993 as Washington Core Knowledge school with 125 students. It was nearly immediately popular. It had a parent board. In 1995 is moved to the old FCHS building that is now on the CSU campus. ⦁ The charter school act passed on 1994. In 1995, they applied to be a charter school which was opposed by PSD. Ultimately the State Board of Education sided with the parents seeking charter and PSD was compelled to sign the charter contract by 1997. ⦁ LCS opened in the Sharp Point Drive location (K-7th) in 1997. About half of the families helped to start Traut Core Knowledge in the fall of 1997. Due to the large waiting list, Ridgeview Classical Schools also opened by 2001 as a sister school (also core knowledge). ⦁ LCS opened their high school in 2010. Bob helped to open the high school. It opened on a separate location in mid town in the old Pioneer High School building. ⦁ In August of 2022 LCS opened an expanded elementary campus on W. Horsetooth Road to serve >250 students. (Aristotle Campus). They expect to have 525 students by 2029. ⦁ They are currently in the process of building a separate junior high school near the Specht Point Drive locations. They funded it with bond sales. It should be completed by fall 2026. ⦁ Deputy Headmast is Sandy Stoltzfus ⦁ Bob reports the success of LCS is due to autonomy; charter schools are more nimble with fewer rules for managing staff and students and parent involvement.
Announcements:
The Rendezvous Trail Clean up has been postponed until April 18. This will allow more $10k Raffle Sales and for trash to accumulate.
Raju from the After Work Rotary invited Rotarians for a fun evening of dinner and bingo. RSVP by March 29 at fcblacktiebingo.com
Marcy Woodland assumed the Meals on Wheels coordination responsibilities from Catherine Varra Nelson and needs help April 1. Call Marcy at 518-524-1558 to learn how to be qualified to help
Sara Murphy would like to know the Tuesday before each meeting if you are bringing a guest to ensure we have enough breakfast meals available
Curt Bear is soliciting silent auction items that will fit in a 3 gallon Think Tank jug to be auctioned to raise funds for Mathews House and Turning Point.
JJ Shaw is asking Rotarians to respond to the email if they are attending the $10K drawing
Saira Hafeez invited Rotarians to attend a CSU Rotaract Club fundraiser on April 2 from 5-800 pm at Avogadro’s Numbers 605 S. Mason St. Bands, Bingo Prizes, Food and Drinks. $25 at the door
Good News: Dan St. John will be sworn in at his investiture ceremony as 8th Judicial District Court Judge on March 27. Joe McCarthy was happy to harvest 5 stocks of asparagus so early Phil Murphy was grateful for help with setting up Zoom this morning Mike Griffith was pleased to get a thank you note from Veterans Plaza for the grant Community Service Committee made to support their Memorial Day event. Connie Sheltren was inspired after attending a North American Youth Exchange Conference in Houston with best practices and powerful programs to transform the lives of students
United for Good: Diane Knight shared how she attended a RYLA camp with 40 boys in Texas in 1991 to help her father who was a founder of the RYLA camp in Dallas. Diane is appreciative of all the Rotarians who have sacrificed sleep, consumed canned corn, cared enough to listened to students
