Editor:

Education of the complete person: This is what happens at the Aspen Community School (ACS). Come see for yourself. Please join us at our weekly all-school Friday morning meeting on any of these dates: Nov. 30, Dec. 7 and Dec. 14. The meetings start at 8:15 a.m. This will be a great opportunity for you to meet the students and staff of the school, and to get a behind the scenes look at our plans for a new campus of your K-8 public charter school.

Aspen Community School is one of Colorado’s highest-performing schools housed in one of the state’s lowest-performing buildings. Nevertheless, we have defied the odds and, in this compromised facility, educated, guided, and graduated an amazing array of talented and exceptional students. You probably know some of them. The diversity and the accomplishments of the students, both in the past and currently, is stunning. ACS has been a public charter school of the Aspen School District since 1995 and it is an important part of what makes Aspen a place to live and not just to visit.

The students don’t just tolerate the school, they love it. They love the educators and they love the individual attention that comes from having a smaller class size. And, along with all of us parents, they love the fact that this is a public school, offering equal and tuition-free access to high quality education for all.

The kids love the building too, but the place is falling apart. The roof is failing. The plumbing is just about dead, the windows leak, power comes and goes, and it is just not adequate for our children anymore. We are going to fix this.

The state of Colorado supports us in this effort. That says a lot. They have pledged $4.2 million if we are able to raise $4.9 million from our community by May 1, 2013. Clearly they think that it’s important and we hope you do too. We believe that our community of businesses, foundations, families, and friends will work with us to achieve this goal.

If we don’t, Aspen could sacrifice one of it’s greatest assets, unique to us here — an exceptional school that provides an excellent education that can adapt to the specific needs of the children it serves. A school that consistently produces well-educated, bright, curious, creative and engaged citizens — whatever their backgrounds or talents. This is the option that ACS offers our community. This creates a better future for every one of us.

I believe you, the residents of the Roaring Fork Valley, will join us as we make the Aspen Community School a campus that consists of facilities that inspire energy-efficient, 21st century learning.

I believe you will check out www.ibelieveACS.org [1] to learn more about this community initiative.

I believe you will visit us for one of the upcoming Friday morning meetings.

Cindy Kahn
Carbondale