What does education mean to the community?

What good is a vision?

I can see a time when Salida is recognized nationally for its great schools and approach to education as an overt community-wide value. We can attract families that want a great education for their kids, and the type of people who recognize that great schools are an indicator of a communities character.

I believe Salida can be a regional hub of 21st-century learning.

There I said it.

So, let’s be clear, I’m not talking about “getting our schools back on track.” This is because we ARE on track. We are better poised than any community I have seen in Colorado to step up and make this happen.

Across the state, gyms and auditoriums are being packed with angry or confused citizens, frustrated school boards and administrations with disparate goals. Yet, here in Salida our collective goals represent a longer arc beyond the immediate perceived crisis, and as a parent I feel (infrastructure not withstanding, but this too will change) my kids are in a great environment to learn.

Aside from just being a great little town, with great people, we have some clear and identifiable assets to propel this vision.

Our retirees are a unique lot. The Boomers I know who are retiring here, and frequent the Citizen, are a wonderful mix of smart middle class fun hogs, and active community members willing to bring their wealth of experience to the fold. This observation as it relates to my leading statement is significant, because unlike some areas of the country that attract a different breed of retiree, these folks, based on my informal polls, are here for community, as much as lifestyle. They are active enough civically to recognize that preserving our schools helps attract families, service workers and labor which then sustain the type of community they moved here to be a part of.

“Small town character” is a catch phrase in countless resort towns, and though I am highly biased, I would argue that in Salida, small town character is real and tangible for many reasons. Like other places, we put on parades, host bike races and sell Girl Scout Cookies, but we are thriving, even during the current down turn. We are building and creating. People are arriving from all over the country saying it reminds them of Mayberry.

It’s downright charming.

It’s an oblique claim, I admit. But, as some of you know, I have watched towns change. I have lived in Jackson, Wyoming and The Flathead Valley in Northwest Montana. I have had the opportunity to see those places change radically, and forever. This place has something different. Again, you get it, or you don’t. We are leftover and have been missed by the sweeping changes that so many towns saw in the booms of recent years, and now, thanks to the downturn we have a chance to breath in and look around —and perhaps, if we really care about the preservation of community, and believe it is a value that can be sought, we have a chance.

A Rural Character

Seeking to preserve our rural character has brought out some great people, young and old, natives and transplants, who recognize the importance of working to head off what they don’t like about other “hot spots,” as can be seen on the I-70 corridor and many other places.

Though we’ve been on some Top 10 lists, Salida has a lot of baggage, as do most rural areas that have seen hard times. But, for some reason our schools have taken the biggest hit in terms of reputation. I’ve spoken with new folks to the area (Laura and I moved here with our babies ten years ago) who presume our schools are “not so great,” or feel we could never be on par with a Cherry Creek, or Boulder.

To this I would argue that, for many, our town has an identity crisis that is not backed up by reality. Our facilities are unquestionably in a poor state, but our teachers, staff, administration and school board are excellent, and have gotten progressively better each year since we moved here.

As my own own kids move into high school, and I look back at their formal education since its beginning at Strawberry Door years ago, I can say with confidence that they have had an excellent experience, with many caring teachers that are worldly and up to speed in terms of technique. As recently as last week, two teachers called to discuss details of my son’s learning that stunned me with regard to their insight. Consider that I came out of the Wisconsin Public School System, in Madison, which is (or certainly was) widely respected as one of the best in the country. A college town and state capital, my schools were littered with sons and daughters of professors and it was a bastion of forward thinking citizens bent on who could be the most involved in their kid’s education.

But guess what? Madison had big public schools, and turn over rate  for teachers was high. Additionally because of sheer size, it was impersonal at times. Here in Salida, we run into our teachers at the market, or in the mountains. We are neighbors.

This personalized cocktail of unique progressive small town intangibles, if combined with a collective effort by our community to up the ante, could yield amazing results for our town.

A brand worth talking about

Before anyone jumps on me about the fact that our brand is already THE HEADWATERS OF ADVENTURE, or as some people would like it to be; NOW THIS IS COLORADO, I am simply proposing that we embrace the idea of “a new way to think about Salida.” I’m talking about a brand that we can all hang our hats on, young, old, rich and poor. We could be “An Amazing Place …that has particularly Great Schools.

It serves us all on so many levels. The economic benefits are well known. Who in real estate or when standing at a trailhead hasn’t heard the question, “…but, how are the schools?”  I’m not going to go into a lengthy argument for the economic benefits of good schools as they are well established, I simply want to argue for the idea that schools are a key indicator by which we can gauge success at sustaining the small town character of this place that we love.

How does one monitor that view corridors have been preserved? Well, a Uranium mine on the side of Tenderfoot would be considered a unanimous sign of failure. Clearly some things are easier to identify as problems than others. This obtuse example is meant to show how monitoring change can be easy with some things. But, changes in the fabric of our community are more oblique, and can seep into the viewscape of our rural lives. Letting down our students by letting our schools survive on the shoulders of a few while we build 400 thousand dollar homes is at the heart of why most of us did not move to “that other place.”

A history of getting after it

As in the pubs of the East when our country was wrestling with its independence and big ideas were the rule of the day, people got together and made things happen. Civic responsibility and involvement is more important right now than ever before as we shape Salida’s character for the 21st-century. Schools should be first and foremost. Committees are already formed, challenges are recognized, needs assessments are respected and, yep, I’m going to hammer it again —there are good people involved who will welcome your contributions and honor what little time you can give.

We are better poised than any community I know to step up and make it a place known for it’s schools —and the way in which the community supports its kids. Being respected as a place known for it’s great schools is a worthy endeavour with virtually no downside. Educating the populace is not party specific, and transcends age. It is the ultimate American and universal value.

Can we be truly great? Deserving of national attention? I’ve heard this buzz murmured in meetings when people see perspective plans for our super green high school, or during discussions about a glass atrium at the elementary school for learning about sustainable farming.

Our teachers are motivated. People are talking to each other. There are no major problems. We are handling the current challenges like a slalom boat on water, navigating the issues while looking ahead. The school board is listening and ready to go.

We, at the Citizen, are creating a plan to move us in this direction, complete with tasks and easy steps to be involved. We are happy to host public meetings and fascilitate gatherings in our space.

If you love Salida, it’s up to you to get involved. Salida is poised for major change, how will we manage growth? Will the retirees relax having “done their time in a different community?” and complain it changed too much, too fast? Will we choose to attract new young families thereby keeping our community as fresh and vibrant as it is today? Or, will we languish in this paradise like frogs in a frying pan, unconsciously creating the place we didn’t want to move to.

Schools are the heart of a community. We can be great. Salida, are you ready to embrace this vision?  -bd

719.539.0177

bill@dangerouscollective.com