School season ushers in new programs

The new initiatives at Vista Grande High School are student-led. The VGHS 2019-2020 school year will unveil student programs and opportunities. The VGHS leadership team President AnnaLize Duran, Vice President Lily Pickup, Treasurer Victor Medrano, Secretary Raquel Rivera, representatives Santino Aragon and Aiyana Romero and the 9th-graders will elect their representatives when school begins. The leadership team gathered this summer at a retreat center to set social and academic goals for the school year.

Juniors and seniors will be able to take one of three new Leadership classes: Construction Activism, Earth Justice Activism and Social Consciousness Activism. The courses are designed to address student interests that were identified last school year.

Also new are three CTE class options for juniors and seniors: Introduction to Health Sciences, Introduction to Natural Resources and Adobe Builders certification. The Health Sciences pathway program will be a dual credit course as will the Natural Resources pathway. All pathway classes will include a semester of work-based learning.

VGHS teachers have worked together to build a supportive and strong community of educators who care about their students. The strength of VGHS is the strong teaching staff. The returning teaching staff includes Sam Starsiak; Jenny Lewis; Heather McReynolds; Tomas Madrid; Amber Benavidez; Adam Gutierrez; Keaton Karves; and Dawning

Pollen Shorty. The school administrative staff are all returning employees: Yvette Aguilar, Ernestine Chacon and Rachelle Valdez. The building is maintained by David Gutierrez, a cheerful man with a great love for all of the students. School director Isabelle St. Onge is the longest-serving in the position going on her seventh year. The VGHS teachers have been working this summer to write new and studentcentered curriculums.

VGHS welcomes two new teachers to the team: Corbett Wicks who has a master’s degree in education will be leading the Introduction to Natural Resources and the Wilderness Program electives. She is also the internship/mentorship coordinator for the work-based learning programs. Ron Striegel will be the Night Flyers and the Health Sciences teacher. He holds a master’s degree in education and was part of the team at Otero Junior College (La Junta, Colorado) writing the curriculum for the Health Care Navigator certificate program.

The mission at VGHS is to provide a holistic education focused on critical and creative thinking, character and community involvement.

VGHS is enrolling students for the 2019-2020 school year. School begins August 12 at 7:45 a.m. VGHS is located at 213 Paseo del Cañon East, Taos. (575) 758-5100, vistagrandecharter.org

TAOS NEWS FILE PHOTO ABOVE RIGHT: Vista Grande High School students Rafael Cantrell and Nicholas Romero were among a dozen protestors who marched to the Taos County Administration Complex in December 2018 to make their local voices heard about the global issue of climate change.

COURTESY PHOTO LEFT: In April during Earth Day at Taos Pueblo, Vista Grande High School students Raquel, Dominica and Carolyn taught other students and community members the importance of not using styrofoam containers.