Education

I believe that I have the most wonderful job in the world. The job I have is that of the principal, and oh yes, the founder, of Challenges, Choices and Images Charter School, a Denver Public School charter established in 2000. It's a wonderful job because I work with some of the brightest, most creative, and caring young people in the world.

Challenges, Choices and Images Charter School (CCI) is the fulfillment of my dream and it grew from a strong belief that children of color (particularly African American, children of low income families, and children who had experienced limited success in regular public schools, for whatever reasons) could become academically and socially successful in school. For too many years I endured fellow colleagues, members of the community, and the media defining the lives of these children in less than positive terms. For far too many people, these were the children whom society felt would become dropouts, criminals, a drain on society, or at the very least dead-beat dads and uncaring, unfit mothers. These negative images of our children were totally unacceptable to me, and so I took on the challenge of changing these negative images through offering children positive choices.

Students choose to come to CCI and I find it interesting that they come despite the rules and norms that they consider "strict", particularly the dress code which requires a uniform. It is not uncommon to overhear a current CCI student saying to a new student "Yeah! at this 'ole' school you have to wear a uniform, and boys can't wear earrings and sagging pants; and girls can't show off their belly or wear low-cut tops or short skirts, but this school is different, this is a place where learning is happening!". The vast majority of students is present on a daily basis, get to classes on time, complete their assignments, do homework, and are respectful of peers and adults. They easily confront fellow classmates who, as they put it, "Don't quite get it!" letting them know that at CCI we study. In January, at the end of first semester, one-third of the entire student body was on the honor roll, and at the end of the current semester the percentage had risen to forty-five percent.

Drop-out rates at CCI are low and graduation rates are high. Beginning with the first graduating class in 2001 to the present, over 90% of the graduating seniors have been accepted into college, and for three years 100% were accepted into college with over half receiving full-ride scholarships. For three consecutive years our 3^rd grade scores on the CSAP ranged from 85% to100% proficiency in reading and writing. These academic efforts were recognized as we received the Governors' Distinguished Improvement Award in 2005 and in 2004 the Gains Maker Award from the Colorado Department of Education.

The students at CCI are also very aware of the negative images being cast upon them and are determined to change them. The students have aspirations of becoming doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, artists, and yes, even some entertainers of the rap variety. They see a future through the attainment of a good education, and every year they remain at CCI because they known they can get the education they need and want. Students come to know that CCI brings into their lives a brighter academic future allowing them to see greater possibility, hope, and a chance to reach their potential and career dreams.

This does not mean that students attending CCI miraculously stop being African American, stop coming from low-income families (some are from very middle class families), or no longer face academic challenges. They are still who they are. They still listen to rap music, have friends who are in trouble, and know far too many of their peers who have dropped out of school. Many still have very serious academic challenges that will take time to fix, as witnessed by our fluctuating CSAP scores especially at the middle and high school levels.

But, what many students, staff, and parents have come to realize is that while CSAP is important it is not the entire story. We strive for all students to reach the CSAP goals, and our rigorous curriculum and high expectations vouch for that, but realistically, filling in academic gaps takes time and is a slow process. However, as we go about closing the gaps, we also expose our students to other educational experiences that extend beyond the school house door. And our efforts to expand our student's horizons and broaden their experiences have borne much good fruit.

Through extensive fund raising by parents and students, and donations, the school has taken students to Paris, France (the first time any of them had been on a plane or to a foreign country). In France they learned to speak French, visited the Louve, saw the Mona Lisa, and discovered the French countryside. Others were taken to the continent of Africa where they visited small villages and attended a World Youth Conference discussing world issues. On a yearly basis high school students have taken school sponsored trips to Washington D.C. visiting the Nations' Capital, the White House, and meeting with Congressional delegations. They have spent time in New York visiting museums and experienced their first Broadway play.

Every year the school takes a bus load of high school students who meet school GPA requirements, on our annual HBCU tour (Historically Black Colleges and Universities). On this tour students meet with school officials, tour the college campus and meet with school counselors who describe college life and what is required to gain admittance to a college of their choice. This is a life-changing event, and we have found that upon returning to school our students are much more focused on their grades, and are self motivated to doing well in school. Middle school students take a yearly ski trip (where many ski for the first time) and the elementary students visit such places as the Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde and the Sand Duns of New Mexico. These opportunities broaden their knowledge-base and expose them to a world that many never knew existed.

Other opportunities include programs such as Operation Hope established by John Hope Franklin, an African American entrepreneur who travels across the country teaching inner city students the value of money - how to save it, what to spend it on, and setting financial goals that will help them realize life goals. Through this program, students who complete the entire series of classes, receive a $25.00 certificate for deposit in a bank account.

Through their travels and experiences, and our strong social studies and business classes, our students have also become very astute observers of the political process. Twice they put together a panel of political candidates, asked pointed questions of them, and worked hard in the community to get out the vote. The high school students also organized an AIDS awareness campaign that raised awareness among the students and staff, but also significantly increased community awareness of this devastating disease and its impact particularly on African American girls and women.

One thing that we at CCI are particularly proud of is our parental involvement. I do not know of any school that has more parent involvement than ours. Every month there is a parent-meeting and the school auditorium is filled with parents from so many different ethnic groups that it looks like a delegation from the United Nations (many of our students are bi-racial and their parents reflect this). Parent night topics range from guest speakers on topics of interest, student presentations, and small group discussions that sometimes evolve into woman's and men's groups where a little gender bonding is a welcomed outcome. It is not uncommon for parent meetings to get somewhat spiritual as a parent tears up seeing, for the first time ever, their child perform before an audience, or have a piece of art work prominently displayed in the halls for all to see.

Parents also love coming to Saturday parenting classes where they learn, not only how to be a more effective parent, but how to love themselves. Many of our parents work more than one job, are single parents, and never have time to take care of themselves. During the classes, parents share ideas, learn new more effective parenting strategies, and enjoy outings together. The parenting class serves as a support system, often where none existed before, and allows parents to see that meeting some of their own needs is as important as meeting the needs of their children. The family gets stronger as the parent becomes stronger.

The students at CCI know they are loved. Not just a teacher kind of love, but a surrogate parent kind of love. The staff are called 'Brother or Sister', sometimes "Auntie or Uncle", and sometimes "Grandma, Grandpa, Mom or Dad". These titles are welcome as they demonstrate the family-type relationships that are so necessary in educating children of African American heritage and also students from Latino cultural backgrounds. Fostering family-type relationships enhances students' desires to achieve at higher levels, creates a higher level of respect among students and staff and allows teachers to view their role as teachers as being more than just a teacher, but as life-long guides helping light the path for young people to follow.

CCI is not just a school - it is a village. Through this village effort, which includes our many friends in high and low places, we are now realizing our long awaited dream - to have a school large enough to house 600-800 K-12 students and 200 CCI Montessori Child Development infants, toddlers and youth. Our new facility sits on 13 acres of land that includes the old Samsonite Corporate Headquarters building. This new site pays tribute to the brilliant, hard-working CCI students, their supportive parents, and the dedicated CCI staff.

Those who have been at CCI from the beginning know of the long hard journey we have traveled to get to this place. We have always had to 'make-do'. We 'made-do' as we moved into our original facility located in a high drug, gang and crime area. This turned into a wonderful experience as it taught us that when surrounded by bad you can also find good. In this neighborhood, CCI nurtured the good "law-abiding" neighbors, sharing our facility, delivering home-baked cookies during Christmas holidays, and developing good friends, who looked out for our building when we were not in school. We also 'made-do' by turning a worn-out parking lot into a blacktop playground. In return, good neighbors such as CBeyond (a Colorado-based computer firm) built another playground area for our primary children using their own funding and their own employees as volunteers who worked hard over a long holiday weekend.

We have truly been blessed - blessed with a new building, a new future to build, and new students and parents to meet. Part of the blessing has been lessons learned, and all of the lessons learned in this journey to a new school, we have purposefully shared with our students. They know the frustrations, fears and obstacles we faced and overcame, and they also have shared in the joy of seeing our dream come to fruition. They have a great sense of what it takes to build a dream and we hope that they will never forget it. Dream building truly takes a village (many different kinds of people) pulling together, to actualize a dream and more importantly to keep the dream alive. Dream-building requires much faith, lots of hard work, and perseverance, but sustaining the dream requires even more hard work. Dream building and dream sustaining are torches we pass to our student, both current and future.

Carolyn R. Jones is a veteran educator serving as a teacher, counselor, district administrator, and school principal. She earned a Ph.D. from the University of Denver, School of Education where she also worked as an adjunct professor. In addition to her career as an educator, she is also a certified Marriage and Family therapist and had a private practice for over 18 years.