On Tuesday, January 28, 2025, Susana Córdova, Commissioner of Education for the State of Colorado, visited the Holyoke School District to learn about the unique work being done for students. Joining Córdova were elected officials Karla Esser and Kathy Plomer from the State Board of Education, staff members of the Colorado Department of Education (CDE), and Rebecca Holmes, President and CEO of the Colorado Education Initiative (CEI). Also joining the group of distinguished visitors were staff from Northeast BOCES and administrators from select BOCES schools, with the total number of visitors exceeding twenty education leaders.
Kyle Stumpf, superintendent, along with the counselors and the dean of students from Holyoke Junior/Senior High School, highlighted the work that the administration, staff, and students have done over the last seven years with CEI as part of the Homegrown Talent Initiative (HTI). Through HTI, Holyoke students participate in career exploration, internships, and student-focused activities designed to equip each student with the necessary skills to achieve success in life.
A panel of students—five seniors and one junior—presented their experiences with HTI, school, career exploration, and preparation for life after high school. They focused on how the work they do in their internships and the certifications they receive provide them with opportunities to hit the ground running on the first day after graduation and, in some cases, even before graduation.
One student mentioned how he interns at a local farm to understand all the different aspects of farming better, from the type of seeds to plant, to the fertilizer used and how much, to the marketing and selling of farm products. Because he was able to obtain his CDL through a class and a partnership with the school and Northeastern Junior College, he can spend some of his internship hours hauling corn to the ethanol plant in Sterling, Colorado. Another young lady mentioned that she wanted to be a lawyer; however, after interning at a law office, she quickly determined that it was not what she wanted to do as a career after high school. Finally, another student stated that she wants to be an agricultural educator but is excited to obtain her CDL and intern at CHS to learn more about Ag Business and make positive connections so she can be more marketable and a better teacher in the future.
Teachers were given the opportunity to present their perspectives on the HTI grant work and its impact on their daily jobs. Agricultural teacher Shauna Strecker mentioned that she had been part of the HTI process from the beginning, noting that it is often viewed as easier to find HTI connections in her agriculture class offerings. However, she recognized that the connections between agriculture and the rest of the community are real and essential. Heather Bieber, an English teacher, pointed out that while helping students meet the State Content Standards is critical, it is important to note that the traditional classroom curriculum is not the only way to help students master those standards. For instance, Holyoke now offers an Everyday English course that teaches students how to write memos, send emails, and read technical manuals, among other critical skills needed in the workplace.
Stumpf pointed out that the Holyoke Graduate Profile, created by students, staff, and business leaders, helps direct curriculum work, including the capstone that all students present to a school board member as a graduation requirement.
Business leaders like Evan Fust from CHS Grainland, school board president Jon Kleve, school board vice-president Justin Clayton, and past board member and business owner Dusty Sprauge spoke about the benefits of HTI, Rural Coaction, and Opportunity Now Grants for the Holyoke School District and the entire Holyoke community. They cited many of the same points that students and teachers had already mentioned but also shared the role that the Holyoke School Board has played over the past seven years and what they each personally learned after grading Capstone presentations over the past four years. Fust highlighted the opportunities the school offers through HTI that he never had as a student growing up. He also expressed his excitement regarding students learning about what is available to them throughout the entire community and mentioned that he enjoys every opportunity he has been given to be in the school presenting various jobs and opportunities that CHS has to offer young adults who may want to consider their options after graduation or after attending college or trade school and wish to return to the area.
Tamara Durbin, BOCES Executive Director, and the BOCES team presented how they have taken the work done in the Holyoke School District and used grant funds from Rural Coaction and Opportunity Now, totaling $3.7 million, to implement similar initiatives in each of the other eleven BOCES School Districts throughout NE Colorado. Durbin discussed the challenges of funding these programs once the grant funds run out but noted that BOCES has already submitted another grant application for an additional $750,000 to help extend the work that has been initiated.
Alan Nall, BOCES Director of Secondary Support Services, talked about the pathways students can choose and how different schools specialize and cooperate in those programs. For example, the school districts in Akron and Holyoke partnered with NJC to offer CDL classes. Students from other BOCES schools are participating in the CDL classes either at Akron or Holyoke schools, in addition to attending classes at NJC. Transportation is one career pathway BOCES has created for students using the HTI model and leveraging the grant funds they have received. Further discussions on the pathways were to be held after lunch.
The Holyoke Catering students were asked and were happy to provide desserts with lunch. Their teacher, Karen Ortner, explained how all of her students receive Food Safe certification as part of the class. She also explained how the class goes beyond learning how to cook and incorporates the business side of food, including pricing, presentation, and more.
Following lunch, Levi Kramer, the superintendent from Wray; Dianna Chrisman, the superintendent from Yuma; Shawn Randel, the high school principal from Akron; and Sharon Seger and Holly Kelley, the counselor and CTE FACS teacher from Haxtun, spoke about the work they are striving to implement in career pathways. These pathways include Visual and Food Service, Computer Science and Technology, Healthcare, Transportation, Skilled Trades, and Education and Early Childhood.
Randel spoke about Akron’s work in transportation and skilled trades. He highlighted the high demand among his students to participate in the CDL program and the community-building nature of the skilled trades program. Among the many projects his students have engaged in, he was proud of the partnership with the Town of Akron, as his students helped to build the welcome signs on Highway.
Seger and Kelley discussed the history of their teacher cadet program. This program, established before HTI, was dormant for a few years, but thanks to partnerships with BOCES, they were able to resurrect it. They now have a strong program that has produced a number of teacher candidates. They also acknowledged the importance of the teacher cadet program. There is a teacher shortage, and as the program can produce homegrown teachers, the pool of potential teachers for the area will only grow.
Chrisman touted her school’s partnership with NJC and praised the junior college for its investment in a satellite campus building for nursing across the street from the high school in Yuma. The state-of-the-art facilities allow students to take CNA classes as well as study phlebotomy.
State Board members expressed interest in the programs and pathways; however, they were concerned about the sustainability of funding this type of education through grants. All administrators in the room and BOCES staff agreed that offering these types of programs and opportunities strictly based on grant funding is not sustainable. They are always looking for and advocating for the state funding formula to help rural districts maintain and grow these types of programs.
Chrisman expressed that a student's location and the community in which they live should not dictate the quality and types of education they receive. These programs and opportunities should be funded by the state education system, regardless of whether one lives in rural Colorado or an urban city. Kramer pointed out that each school is a little different regarding this work because each district is unique, and that is a positive thing. Districts were able to start with an area of focus that they were already doing well or in an area that they felt they wanted to expand. Additionally, he expressed that if there is a passionate teacher involved in one of these programs, it is easy to give them the freedom to run with it, thereby growing and expanding opportunities for students with excitement and passion.
Chrisman pointed out that students are engaged in educational activities because they have many opportunities. Kramer added that their students participate in all sports, activities, and events outside of school, and they still make time to engage in the new programs offered by the grants. Stumpf noted that students today are part of the digital age; they know technology and are not afraid to experiment with it or use it in general. They are also growing up in an era of instant gratification and expect that on a daily basis. From ordering lunch at McDonald's to buying clothing and shoes, schools need to adjust, adapt, and be more creative in delivering education and educational opportunities for students to learn. We must adapt how we teach to shorter snippets and meet them where they are, being unafraid to adjust instruction accordingly. Chrisman, Kramer, and Stumpf also noted that their school, as well as all BOCES schools, competes in many areas, from athletics to teacher hires. However, if one school is doing something well and it benefits a student or group of students, these competitive schools are partnering and sharing information across district boundaries because we are all educators.
After the meeting at the Junior/Senior High School, the group adjourned to the Elementary School. They were led on a tour by Elementary Principal Andrea Kammer and even had the chance to visit with some sixth-grade students. They were shown some of the challenges facing a 70-year-old building, and Kammer pointed out that the school district is hopeful of earning a BEST grant in the next cycle and pairing that with the recently passed 5K for Kids Bond to erect a new elementary school just south of the Junior/Senior High School.
It was an informative day, providing an opportunity for the school district, BOCES, and other BOCES member schools to showcase their work to influential educational decision-makers. The school administration and BOCES staff felt heard and now have new advocates at the state level for many of the issues facing rural education. The Holyoke administration provided each visiting member with a Dragon Coin to demonstrate their interest and commitment to learning more about not only the Holyoke School District but also education in Northeast Colorado. As a coin holder, Stumpf informed them that they were now part of the Dragon family. He invited them to remember Holyoke each time they felt the weight of the coin and to read the words on both sides of the coin when they returned to their daily jobs and duties. Stumpf echoed his plea a second time to remember the Holyoke students, staff, community, and the entire BOCES as they advocate for positive changes in public education.
As a point of reference, the last time the Commissioner of Education for the State of Colorado visited the Holyoke School District was Dwight Jones in the spring of 2008.
