But I spoke with a parent today and she has a junior at DCC and she was saying her student her students on an IEP but she is not able to get a parah to help her. And the um parent understands that teachers can't give every student that precise one-on-one attention. When I taught health class at Pine Creek, there was no way you could work with every single student one-on-one. It's not possible. So, we need to be able to get more paras into the school to help those students. And another thing we talked about was shifting the block sessions just a little bit. And I have a plan here, but not time to go over it, where you can squeeze out a little bit of a study hall. At Pine Creek, it used to be called seminar. There were times where they could go to a teacher for help or they could go to a school club or something along those lines.
There has to be a way for students to get help during school because not every student can stay after school or get to school early. So, those are some things I'd want to focus on if I were elected to the board. Thank you. Mr. Brian Cororum.
Good evening everyone. Thanks for being here again tonight. Um, my name is Brian Cororm and I'm excited for this opportunity to run for the District 20 School Board. I myself am a product of District 20. I started in Frontier Elementary, went through Timberview Middle School, graduated from Liberty High School, and fun fact, because I haven't said it before, and I figured we should change these up some a little bit, I also met my wife in high school, so my high school sweetheart's also here, too. Um, my background has primarily been in mental health and counseling. I graduated with a bachelor's degree in psychology. I have a master's degree in family studies in with an emphasis in youth development and a master's degree in school counseling. my own two students, my children go to Discovery Canyon. Um, they're both in middle school. That's a lot of fun.
Um, and it's just been a really great time being here in the district. I intend to serve the children and families of D20 by bringing the concern of emotional well-being to the forefront. Um, recently, one person told me, "I talk about superheroes a lot. If you look at my lapel, I've actually got a Black Widow pin on tonight. I wear a different superhero pin every single day." That's true. I do talk about superheroes a lot. The reason why is because I truly believe that superheroes embody the best of humanity. If you look at superhero teams, we we see the best of sheer determination. We see pure innovation. We see that people figure out that the sum is greater than the parts. That's that's what I'm looking for when I talk about superheroes. That's what I aspire to be. That's what I aspire to teach my children.
That's what I hope to encourage in all of your children and what I truly believe every parent, teacher, stakeholder, and student is capable of becoming. My goal is simple. I want to ensure that I bring a well-measured and well-reasoned voice to the board in order to better support all of our children and to set every student up for success following their time in our schools because every child deserves a superhero. Miss Tiana Clark, give me a place to stand and I will move the earth. Every day for four years, this is how I was greeted walking into Liberty High School. The quote was impactful and a motivation for many personal situations over the years, including this candidacy. The irony is not lost on me that I'm now bringing it to rival Rampart stage. Coming from a family with three generations of District 20 students, four if you include extended family, I know what District 20 has been and I'm excited to help continue the tra tradition of excellence into the future.
Working toward our full potential is an ongoing process. addressing learning loss, mental health support, teacher staff compensation, curriculum review, assessing sitebased decisionmaking, accommodating learning differences, focusing on safety, security are just some of the issues that we need to address. In the last week, I've heard from teachers who are handling 60 or more students alone in study hall classes. I have heard of significant support need parish shortages in one instance having only three filled of 11 openings. They are currently backfilled by already overworked teachers. I have parents overwhelmed trying to find the right school for their differently aabled child and feeling helpless of where to turn for their child being bullied. Addressing many of these opportunities largely comes with the budget and how it's allocated and so prioritized. I know this because I've been a member of the D20 subcommittee for seven years, including two as the co-chair.
At a different forum attended last night, one candidate indicated that we should be satisfied with our per people student allocation, knowing it is the lowest allocation of all large schools in Colorado. While our teachers and students cannot be satisfied with this, I'm here to say that I hear you. I am here to get back to the foundation of prioritizing our kids in a nonpartisan manner where we can go toward thriving as a whole. Thank you candidates. And as you all can see from the awesome um sign language applause um that I can see, we we obviously get what we're here for tonight. So, thank you for that audience as well. Um, just a reminder, uh, that some of the positions expressed here should be considered opinions, not facts, agreed to by experts. And we encourage you voters to learn more and do your own research to get factual information.
We're going to begin with our first question, and I believe Mr. Salt, you will get our first question. This is from the first forum. We saved it for this one from those who were there. Um, so if you submitted it, it it was kind of our prepared one from your last forum. So, Mr. Saul, what innovations for learning would you like to see in the future of district 20? You have um for those of you keeping time, they have one minute response times. Again, the question, what innovations for learning would you like to see in the future of district 20? One minute. So there are many many studies out there that show shockingly in-person learning is infinitely better than any sort of a technical interface or non-inperson learning. We've known that for years. Co did nothing but exacerbate that that knowledge base and we know it above and beyond now.
Um so when we start talking about innovations, we don't need to get cute. What we need to do is make sure that we innovate towards that which is effective and not innovate towards that which is interesting. We need to stick to the basics and do exactly what we know works. You know when we innovate we need to innovate in areas like uh our career and technical training. For years we have pushed students towards uh college readiness but what we really need to do is focus on post high school readiness and whatever they're going to be doing afterwards. Thank you. Mr. Riffle, same question. So, innovation is a tricky word. Um, we've all seen the technology coming into the classrooms has done wonders where we've been able to work through co, but that doesn't answer the bill. Like Mr. Salt said, in-person teaching will always be the best way to teach our children.
Um, as I've looked at that, uh, I agree CT& needs to be expanded with within our school. It's a great program. We need to bring concurrent enrollment where kids have an opportunity to graduate out of high school with a college degree. We need to bring in, you know, civilian technology companies to come in and and give forums and teach these kids. Like, we we have huge resources here in Colorado Springs where these companies are here. We need to bring that in so the kids can learn from them. We need to allow them opportunities to go out to those companies and sit in for a little bit. that needs to be allowable and credit towards those children and that's my view for that. Miss Moore, thank you. So, we want all of our students to be able to have access to the best programs and we need to start removing the roadblocks from our students education so that they can excel to the greatest of their ability.
As you know, we have spent the last 18 months with our kids in trauma. We've got to get them off the devices. We've got to get them back in the classroom. We need to focus on their foundational learning principles, reading, math, and science. And then we can add some really fantastic things. We have a school that focuses on STEM learning. And we also need to add back some really fantastic IB programs. We have narrowed down our IB programs to basically poetry. And I feel that if we give our students the chance to shoot for the moon, they will. Thank you. Miss Lesh, innovation in education encourages students and teachers to research, explore, and use all the pedigogy tools available to uncover something new. Innovation involves a different way of looking at problems and solving them. It improves education because it compels students to use a higher level of thinking and solve those complex problems.
For this we need to do some restructuring of learning and promote unconventional thinking and fresh approaches to problems across all content areas. Integrating different subjects and giving hands-on experience. Understand that every student starts at a different spot and we will tailor these to their individual needs. We have this already in our schools and a lot of our schools they do project-based learning and this is one of these hands-on amazing programs that we offer in a number of schools that help students really work on this innovative education and really take it to that next level. We need to continue to offer these programs and expand on them to really involve that higher level learning that our students need. Mr. Valley. Thank you. I I could be wrong, but my sense of this question is is a presupposition that if we just get that that shiny object, that new thing, then student learning is just going to really take off.
And I I don't agree with that. Uh in fact, I tend to be more of a back to basics person. I think most of us probably read those um Civil War soldiers letters. They had an eighth grade education and they were so articulate and they had such beautiful vocabulary and and I'm not a lite. I don't think we should should, you know, go back to slate, uh, you know, and in and chalk, but but I do feel like I I tend to be a back to basics person for elementary school. There's nothing wrong with memorization. I memorized a lot of things as a kid, and I still have those things, and I think they're very good. Uh, that being said, we do have to I I think of my friend in uh and colleague Doug Lundberg who taught advanced biology, and he said, "There's some really new things out there that we need to be teaching our kids." And I think that's great and I think we need to do that.
But I think we need to be careful presupposing that just some new shiny object is going to going to make a difference in our kids' education. I don't believe it will. Thank you, Miss CS. In my mission to return to a focus solely on academic excellence, I'll pursue increasing the frequency for students to participate in annual science fairs, math Olympics, spelling bees, and other scholastic competitions and programs on a school and citywide level. The sky's is the limit when we look at meeting students interests and needs in our district with a well-rounded and challenging curriculum. Primary school students should have yearly study and budgeting and managing checkbooks. High school students should expand on these fiscal lessons to include entrepreneurship, job applications, interviewing and preparation, economics, and trade skills. Building upon existing trade programs, different district high schools should implement technical training for the many exciting fields open to graduates.
Dual dual credit college courses facilitated by high schools are a wonderful way for students to jump ahead in college courses while saving the family much in tuition costs and these should be offered at all of our schools. Mr. Johnson. I think we almost need to take a step back from technology as a few people here have said because when I was teaching health class, we would have discussions and I'd be one of the only teachers who would go out of their way to have a face-to-face discussion. A lot of times they go do discussions on discussion boards and they're not taught how to dis how to disagree with someone politely and face to face. I think that's a lost art that I think we need to teach our students again. And I had once I asked this student a question this like a week and a half ago and and she said she wish she had some more paper textbooks because after a while that screen time with the iPad a lot of those digital textbooks just wears on your eyes differently and she's actually wanted to hold a physical book in her hand.
I think another thing that would be good, which is sort of mentioned more techn or with more technical type things, is to have a day you shadow either a plumber or a butician or a garbage truck driver or a realer or something just to see what your other options are where you don't have to go to four-year school. And I would love it if every student when they graduate or even get out of eighth grade knows how to do cursive. I think that'd be awesome, too. Mr. Cororum. So, one thing I've been able to experience while working in different positions around the city um is the D20 SWAT program. That's the school to work alliance program. The school to work alliance program helps students with disabilities who are looking to get into the workforce. So, it's actually a really great program because what that does is if you have some form of disability, it allows you to mentor with a career that you might be interested in, allows you to learn more about that job.
It allows you to maybe get employed in that position with that person that you're mentoring with. All of those are great things for all of our students. So, when we talk about innovation, I would love to see something like the SWAT program being innovated across the entire student body just to help out all students with that. There are a lot of other things we can do. College, our career and technical education is going to be huge. I think that's great that Liberty has opened up that shop. It was not there when we were in Liberty. It's great now. Um, college and career prep is still very important for students who need to do that if that's the path they want to take. I think it's most important to really focus on what's going to meet the needs of each individual student and try to find a way to do that.
Thank you, Miss Clark. So, district 20 does have extensive um academic and extracurricular options. The innovation opportunity I'd like to explore is how do we expand creating access so that more students can take advantage of what is already offered. Um multiple schools are experiencing declining enrollment numbers. So for example, let's find ways to use the space at our more um established schools in order to attract students uh during those choice windows. Maybe look at SR3 funds uh to eliminate maybe for a few years all course fees for students. um that can be a challenge for some families who don't qualify for Title One assistance. Give teacher incentives to be able to get the required 24 course hours needed so that we can offer more UCCCs dual enrollment classes. Team up with programs like Shinrell Middle School did um with soccer right now where they're using Special Olympic coaches to um include all abilities um of children.
Um, so I think what we already have a lot of the programming there. It's just how can we get it ac across the district, Mr. Silva. So, I'll go back to the devices. Um, a lot of these devices, it's also the apps that these kids are using. It's creating instant gratification and creating consumers. I would like to see more of a STEM program put in place at a kindergarten level where there's other these programs that are out there that will help these kids build their own programs, build their own apps. They also learn how to build all these uh computers and devices and s and such at a very young age. There's a lot of stuff that's out there. That way you're actually not it's giving them instant gratification and a dopamine fix whenever they hear something go out ding on the iPad. You're building these pathways, these neuro neurological pathways that that builds a foundation for these kids to really really expand their thinking and really really, you know, provide them an environment where they can start developing these things on their own rather than relying on becoming consumers with these applications that are just they're in front of all day.
[Music] All right, our next question, Mr. Riffle, you're gonna um go first on this one. Everyone has agreed that low test scores need to be addressed, but nobody has said, "How do you plan on addressing them?" And again, I'm going to read our disclaimer. I'm sorry. I'm supposed to read it after everyone responds. I apologize. Some of the positions expressed here should be considered opinions, not facts, agreed to by experts. And we encourage you, the voters, to learn more and do their own research to get factual information. You would think I'd have that memorized after the three forums that I've done. Anyway, um your question to Mr. Riffle. Everyone has agreed that low test scores need to be addressed, but nobody has said how to do you plan on addressing them. One minute, please. Thank you. Yay. I'm not going to focus on test scores, right?