News Release

 

August 4, 2006

Community Council Set To Begin Its Work Shaping The New Manual HS

The Manual High School Advisory Committee, led by Denver District 8 Councilwoman Elbra Wedgeworth and Denver Public Schools Board President Theresa Peña, recently announced the members of the Community Council and delivered their charge for overseeing the process of re-shaping and re-opening Manual High School in the fall of 2007.

"Our thinking behind the creation of the Community Council was to bring together a broad array of community stakeholders who would be willing to play key roles in helping us involve the greater Manual community," said Theresa Peña, school board president. "At the end of the day, we wanted to gather a strong and diverse group that would help us explore the question of "what's possible" for Manual High School."

The role of the Council will be to provide guiding principles and make recommendations to the Superintendent around:

The Council will consist of approximately 40 members and will be led by: Councilman Michael Hancock, Charles Malek, Jórge Mérida, and Simone Williams (student).

Councilman Michael Hancock
Councilman Michael Hancock is the Denver City Council representative for District 11. Recently voted as council president, Hancock is a Manual graduate and is well know for his community involvement.

Charles Malek
Charles Malek is president of the Friends of Manual (alumni association). He is a Manual graduate and has been very involved in various support programs at the school.

Jórge Mario Mérida
Jórge Mérida is a northeast Denver parent activist and a member of the newly formed Northeast Community Congress for Education.

Simone Williams
Simone Williams is a former Manual student now attending Thomas Jefferson High School. She is a current member of the Manual Academic Resource Center (MARC) youth leadership and was instrumental in the start-up of the resource center.

Membership to-date includes: Claudia Abernethy, Ron Ausmus, Darnell Brooks, Danielle Brooks, Darrick Brown, Candi C de Baca, Cathy Calder, Rafael Castillo, Roger Cobb, Loralie Cole, Stephanie Cross, Karen Fernandez, Cynthia Flores, Zerina Flores, Julissa Flores, Alan Gottlieb, Brian Greer, Angel Gutierrez, Councilman Michael Hancock, Rich Harrison, Rev. Reginald Holmes, Venita Lewis, Paul Lopez, Carla Madison, Charles Malek, Raquel Martinez, Ron McKinney, Jórge Mérida, Enrique Orozco, Lorie Pena-Helm, Michael Ramirez, Deb Schmuck, Janice Spearman, Dean Steckline, Michael Talley, Asia Taylor, Jamie Torres, Ted Travis, Dixie Trimble, Simone Williams, Estella Valles.

About The Manual Renewal Process The Denver Public Schools (DPS) Board voted in February 2006 to temporarily close Manual High School for a year because of low academic performance, declining enrollment, and high attrition. Manual will re-open in 2007 with a 9th grade class only and add a grade-level each subsequent year. The Manual Renewal Team will be working with the community over the next several months to provide guiding principals and recommendations to the superintendent on a shared vision for the new school, qualities and attributes of a new school leader, and elements/principles of a new school program. All Manual stakeholders will have the opportunity to participate in this process and will be kept informed as the work develops.

For more information contact Wil Alston at 303-321-7441 or wil@theprshop.net.

General Calendar of Meetings:

PHASE 1: OVERVIEW/BRIDGE TO THE FUTURE

PHASE 2: INFORMATION GATHERING

PHASE 3: VISION, LEADERSHIP, SCHOOL DESIGN/PROGRAM