FAQ

Below is a list of frequently asked questions.

What is the Collaborative School Committee Anyway?

The Collaborative School Committee consists of Edison parent volunteers, teachers, classified staff, and Ms. Christy. The CSC serves at the direction of the Denver Public Schools Board of Education. The School Board empowers and mandates the CSC to work collaboratively with the Edison community to enhance student achievement, provide strategic direction in support of the school's mission and vision, as stated in the School Improvement Plan (SIP), ensure compliance with federal and state laws, including relevant contracts and District policies, offer guidance and evaluation on staffing and budgeting, and participate in the Principal's annual review. The CSC does not get involved in the day-to-day operations of the school or in personnel or individual student issues. The members of the CSC for the 2008-09 school year are as follows: Ann Christy - Principal Larry Nelson - Assistant Principal Robert Hudnall - Teacher Joanne Stroud - Teacher Lesley Turner - Teacher Carol Reed - Teacher Marcia Mason - Paraprofessional Bret Hann - Parent Tina Martinez - Parent Rebecca Valdez - Parent Suzanne Leff - Parent

What about the Mill Levy?

Q: How can they cut the Art Teacher? To which position is the mill levy for arts instruction going? Art teachers cannot be cut because they are funded through the mill levy. The money is not part of the regular school budget.

A: Our understanding is that the Mill levy specifies Art or Music. We know that the CSC decision complied with the requirements of the Mill Levy. Edison has a music teacher and there will be dance and drama next year. Some are part time, some are full time. These issues were very complex. A lot of information about how this decision was made by the CSC and the school is on our website here . It is very complicated, and you will have to read a lot of different meeting notes and letters. Our effort is very young and we are trying to raise a lot of money in a short time. One of the things that should be happening soon is that this information will be rewritten so that it will be clearer. The person rewriting this will be Suzanne Leff, the chair of the CSC for our school, which was responsible for making these decisions. Let us be clear, Art for Edison did not make these decisions. We decided to save Art for Edison.

This needs to be reported…

Q: This needs to be reported to Maruca Salazar, Central Arts Coordinator for DPS!

A: Art for Edison met Maruca Salazar Friday, 3/6/09. She thanked us profusely for what we are doing. Please say hi for us, Maruca is great!

What if we don’t meet the goal?

Q: If we don't raise $60,000, what will happen to the money? Are we looking to re-invigorate the artist in residence program Edison used to have?

A: We are working to raise $60,000. This amount would give us the ultimate flexibility of choosing to create a DPS grant to hire a teacher through DPS with full benefits. This whole project is an out of the box approach. It would be nuts not to use the same approach to develop an amazing Arts experience for all 575 Edison students next year. With whatever money we raise, we will take whatever we have raised and we will leverage it to the fullest extent possible. One way we will do this is in partnership with organizations such as Think 360 Arts. Think 360 Arts is an amazing non profit that works to ensure every Colorado child receives a complete education through the arts. Edison's own Michelle Kilen is working with them to bring a creative writing program into the school next year. Think 360 Arts has offered to work with the Edison Community to develop a plan for sustainable quality arts education in Edison. An unforeseen benefit of Art for Edison that is emerging is that the Edison community is full of artists! We are organizing, energizing, and galvanizing this community around this cause, and we look forward to involving them in the instruction of our children as well. Randy, the Art for Edison founder, has been asked by Ann Christy to sit on the Edison Arts Steering Committee and we are working on a 5 year plan for arts education at Edison.

Who will be the Art teacher?

Q: If you raise $60,000 who will be the Art Teacher next year?

A: Art for Edison's goal is to raise $60,000 by May 28th. Unfortunately this timing does not align with the District's timing for placement of teachers. Our money is currently just a goal, so there is no way for us to be included in the District's plans. Please refer back to the answer above: "This whole project is an out of the box approach. It would be nuts not to use the same approach to develop an amazing Arts experience for all 575 Edison students next year. With whatever money we raise, we will take whatever we have raised and we will leverage it to the fullest extent possible." If this means the best "Teacher" is 8 professional artists and a Para, then that is what we will get!

What if we raise too much money?

Q: What if we raise too much money? (the fact that this is a frequently asked question is very promising...)

A: First, we like the way you think and would like to remind you that we are hiring. If we raise more than $60,000, we will first make sure that all 575 kids at Edison have everything they need for Art next year. We will then put any remaining monies to keeping Art at Edison. We can't lose Art next year, can we?

Where is the money?

Q: Where is the money? Is this a 501(c)3? Is this tax-deductible?

A: Art for Edison, through our relationship with Friends of Edison (FRED), is a 501(c)3. Yes, it is tax-deductible. FRED processes all of your donations. The very few expenses are reimbursed professionally against receipts by FRED. FRED tracks all Art for Edison money separately from any other Edison money, and all the money raised will be used solely for the purpose of providing Art for Edison to all 575 Edison students.

$60,000 by May 28

FAQ