Meet The Board

Highline Academy Board of Directors Contact information
Highline Academy's Board is comprised of parent/guardians and community members who share a commitment to policy governance, and a specific committment to Highline's vision and mission.

Our current Board includes the following members: 

Tom Bulger, President     tbulger@silvernlaw.com

Tom Bulger is a parent of three Highline students, and an attorney practicing in the State of Colorado (in the areas of plaintiff's personal injury, disability, insurance bad faith and civil rights).  He is a shareholder in the Silvern Law offices, P.C. since 1998. Tom was born in Buffalo New York, and obtained a B.A. with honors in history, and International Affairs, from Canisius College in 1990.  He graduated from Rutgers University, with his J.D., in 1993.

Ruth Kedzior, Secretary     emersonandlogan@yahoo.com

Ruth Kedzior is a parent of two  boys who attend Highline Academy. Ruth has been a supporter of Highline Academy since its inception. She is the assistant county administrator for Adams County where she has worked for 10 years.  She has a B.A. from Michigan State University and an M.P.A. from the University of Colorado at Denver.

Tina Valtierra     tinavaltierra@comcast.net

A former elementary school teacher and literacy coach, Tina is now an adjunct faculty member for a variety of higher education institutions, working in pre-service and teacher education (related to literacy and language, culturally responsive teaching and research methods).  As a graduate research assistant at DU, she is engaged in examining how to alleviate teacher burn out.  She also works as a national literacy consultant, training teachers and administrators across the US and Canada, on best practices for spelling and word study instruction. She is a Ph.D. candidate in Curriculum & Instruction at the University of Denver, and a graduate of the Ritchie Program. 

Jennifer Holladay     jennifer@jenniferholladay.com                   

Jennifer Holladay is an educational writer and consultant focused on school equity issues and multicultural curricula. Jennifer worked previously as director of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Teaching Tolerance project, which provides anti-bias and professional development resources to more than 400,000 educators annually, and as the Center’s senior adviser for strategic affairs. Jennifer also is the author of White Anti-Racist Activism: A Personal Roadmap (Crandall, Dostie & Douglass Books, 2000); her first children's book, The Gift, will be published in Spring 2010. She is a Highline parent and chronicled her family’s journey to the school in the Fall 2009 issue of Teaching Tolerance magazine. 

Francis Scheve    fscheve1@gmail.com

Francis has experience in companies from start-up to mature fortune 500 businesses, in industries such as retail, e-commerce and manufacturing consumer products.  Her professional experience includes retail operations management, merchandise buying and 15+  years in human resources.  During her time in human resources she worked with company leaders to strategically attain business results through their diverse teams, as well as talent management strategies, leadership development processes, top talent coaching and mentoring.    

Jon Lowry     jon@jplowry.com

Jon is the founder and principle of jpLowry, LLC.  He has over 18 years experience in the telecommunications, internet and networking industry and over 25 years experience in marketing, sales and management.  He holds master’s degrees in both psychology and business administration. Jon is a founding member and parent of Highline Academy.

Derrick Hudson     hudsonde@mscd.edu

Dr. Hudson is a Professor of African and African-American Studies at Metro State.  In his capacity as Chair of the African and African-American Studies Department, Dr. Hudson has organized the Annual World Black History conference for a number of years.  He serves on the Board and/or volunteers with several organizations devoted to social justice, including Tumaini Ministries, the Ngaatheje Development Project and International Town:  Young Americans Center for Financial Education and has been instrumental in development Highline’s partnership with Metro.  

David Larm     rdlarm@yahoo.com

David is a parent of two Highline students.  He has worked with the Denver Nuggets as an account executive, Coldwell Banker as a realtor and Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream as a regional asset manager.  He was born in Fort Collins, CO and attended the University of Kansas, obtaining a B.S. in Business Administration with a Finance emphasis.  He brings to the board a passion for education reform and specifically an interest in charter school business management.  He is excited to support Highline Academy and the academic excellence afforded to a diverse group of students.

Rachel Hutson   rachelhutson@hotmail.com

 

Gregg Gonzales,  Principal     ggonzales@highlineacademy.org

Gregg began his career at Highline Academy Charter School in 2005 as a Middle School Humanities teacher. In 2006 he stepped into the role of Assistant Principal. He completed his secondary teaching license at Middle Tennessee State University with an endorsement in history and government. Gregg will receive his masters in Educational Administration in Fall of 2009 after achieving his Colorado Principal license through the Ritchie Program for school leaders at the University of Denver in May of 2009. Gregg will take over as principal of HACS in July of 2009.

Board Meetings

Board meetings are held the second Monday of each month at 6:15pm at the school. Parents are encouraged to attend the monthly board meetings and the public is welcome to attend.

Highline Academy Board of Director’s Monthly Meeting Schedule for 2009 – 2010 School Year are as follows:

August 10; September 14; October 12; Noverber 9; December 14; January 11; February 8; March 8; April 12; May 10; June 14;

For more information, contact Tom Bulger, President, at tbulger@silvernlaw.com

Board Policies & Procedures:

For more information about Highline Academy Board policies and procedures, click the links below.

Board Candidacy Form

Charter Application

Carver Policy Governance® Model
Policy Manual

Declaration of Candidacy form

Highline Academy By-Laws Amended 3.3.09

By-Law Changes - 2.9.09

Board Meeting Minutes:

Click a link below to view Minutes of past Board meetings:

Minutes 04.12.10
Minutes 03.22.10
Minutes 03.15.10
Minutes 03.08.10
Minutes 02.08.10
Minutes 01.11.10
Minutes 12.14.09
Minutes 11.09.09
Minutes 10.12.09
Minutes 09.14.09
Minutes 08.09.09
Minutes 05.11.09 
Minutes 04.27.09 - Phone Meeting 
Minutes 04.13.09
Minutes 03.09.09 - Revised
Minutes 03.09.09
Minutes 02.09.09
Minutes 01.12.09
Minutes 12.08.08
Minutes 11.10.08
Minutes 10.13.08

Minutes 09.08.08

Minutes 08.11.08
Minutes 07.23.08
Minutes 06.09.08
Minutes 05.20.08 - Revised
Minutes 04.14.08
Minutes 03.19.08 - Phone Meeting
Minutes 03.10.08
Minutes 01.14.08
Minutes 12.10.07
Minutes 11.12.07
Minutes 10.08.07
Minutes 09.10.07
Minutes 08.13.07

Board Committees

Board Developement Committee:   

The Board Development Committee is charged with 1) promoting candidacy applications for Board service and cultivating potential candidates, 2) overseeing the nomination process for candidates, 3) overseeing the reappointment process for existing directors, and 4) acculturating new members of the Board. Tom Bulger, Kim Easton and Jennifer Holladay currently serve as Board representatives on this committee.

 

 



7808 Cherry Creek Drive South · Unit #304 · Denver, CO · 80231 · 720-449-0317 · Map & Directions