📣Innovation Alert
I spend most of my time supporting superintendents and their academic and schools' teams. Regardless of the overall focus of the work, two topics come up in almost every conversation: what matters most to improve social and economic mobility for the most marginalized students and teacher recruitment and retention.
I am really excited to share that in my work with MIRIAM MONDRAGON, Superintendent of CRIPPLE CREEK-VICTOR SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. RE-1, we are working together on a solution to support economic and social mobility for the Cripple Creek-Victor Community and teacher recruitment and retention in service of improving academic outcomes.
To understand the level of innovation involved, you must first understand the context. Cripple Creek-Victor School District RE-1 is a rural district with a total enrollment of approximately 400 students in preschool through twelfth grade. The median home price in Cripple Creek is $530K and the average rent is $2500 a month. The main industries in Cripple Creek-Victor are mining, hospitality/gaming, and education. There are limited options for affordable housing for families and for teachers.
Miriam’s solution is taking on the housing shortage. She knows the students are talented and hungry to acquire durable skills including carpentry, plumbing, and design, maintenance, and repair of power systems. She also knows that to attract talent to staff the schools, there needs to be affordable housing available for teachers. So, Cripple Creek-Victor students will be learning how to construct homes from their teachers and folks working in the industry, on land acquired by the district, to provide affordable housing options for district employees.
What does Phase 1 look like:
☑ Getting buy-in from community leaders. The mayors of Cripple Creek and Victor are both teachers in the district.
☑ Get Local Board approval. The Board President is leading the charge to find the land.
☑ Build a construction shop.
☑ Hire teachers with the experience needed to instruct the students.
☑ Acquire land.
☑ Get students interested in the course work.
☑ Find industry partners.
Get permits to build on the land.
Break ground.
The goal is to break ground in Spring/Summer 2025. Stay tuned for updates! If you are interested in learning more or want to support the effort, please reach out! #ruralschools #communityschools #mytntp
Director of Business Development for Arizona at Tolin Mechanical
6moSuch a stand out company and group of people! Congrats on the success, Barry Chase, & team!👏👏