The Montezuma-Cortez High School Accountability Committee will host its next meeting on March 10, emphasizing a set schedule to help “create the high school you want for your teen.”
The meeting will start at 5 p.m.
After March 10, the meetings, dubbed Parents as Partners, will occur the second Monday of every month at 5 p.m. at the MCHS library, 418 S. Sligo St.
Though the Colorado Department of Education recommends that all schools have a school accountability committee, the group is steering away from the traditional name. Tegan Lewis, who leads the committee, explained how the new name, Parents as Partners, came to be.
“A lot of times, they call them SAC like how the district accountability committee is the DAC,” Lewis told The Journal. “Oftentimes, those titles might feel daunting or something that a parent might not want to participate in, so we are trying to make it more appealing to people in the community. Our hope is that the group will be partnering with the school to support the needs of students.”
The group is seeking parents, guardians, community members, teachers and even students to participate. According to Lewis, the CDE recommends that a parent run the committee.
“I think it would be great to have some students participate in this group,” Lewis said. “We do have some teachers that participate, and community members are welcome. I think anyone who cares about education should be coming to these meetings. The school system is the central piece of our community, and if the school isn’t doing well, our community is not going to be doing good as well.”
Lewis noted that those who are interested in attending don’t have to formally join or pledge to be members, but can merely show up to participate. About 20 people attended the last meeting.
“Obviously, the more often you show up, the stronger the community is and the more action we could take if we had an item we wanted to focus on,” Lewis said.
While attendees are more than welcome to bring their complaints to the meetings, Lewis said she hopes people will also bring their solutions and ideas.
“We do want parents and participants to bring their concerns, but we also want people to be coming with solutions and ideas and a willingness to participate and discuss ways that we can support the school or support solutions to any challenges that they might be facing,” Lewis said. “It is a group that we hope will be a positive influence in the high school and bring support to the work that’s being done there.”
