2 Colorado Springs educators named finalists for charter school hall of fame

Feb. 8—Two Colorado Springs educators are in the running for a prestigious charter school honor.

Sara Martin, director of wellness at Atlas Preparatory Schools, and Nikki Myers, school director at Academy for Advanced and Creative Learning, are finalists in the 2023 Charter School Hall of Fame awards. The Colorado League of Charter Schools will announce winners at the Colorado Charter Schools annual conference on Feb. 27 at the Westin Westminster.

The League is a nonprofit, membership-based organization for Colorado's 269 charter schools and their more than 137,000 students.

"The hall of fame represents the best of those 269 charter schools and all their teachers, all the advocates, all the school leaders," said Pete Mason, the League's vice president of communications.

When Martin received an email announcing the news, she initially thought it was spam, she said. She only transitioned into her new role as director of wellness in July after three years as a full-time counselor at Atlas. The grant-funded position was one of six added to a staff of seven mental health professionals already supporting the K-12 school.

Martin is nominated under the "Most Valuable Charter Contributor" category. The award recognizes a staff member who has made a significant contribution to their school and demonstrates "exceptional leadership in and commitment to charter school operational excellence," according to the League's website.

"It was totally unexpected," Martin said. "I was a little anxious stepping into the role, but I work with such an incredible team that it actually has been a pretty seamless transition."

Martin occupies her days by offering one-on-one support for her mental health team, retaining a small caseload of counseling students, managing grants and establishing community partnerships.

This school year, Martin established partnerships with Latino empowerment nonprofit Voces Unidas and with the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs school of social work, which added four interns to Atlas' robust counseling and social work departments. Working with and mentoring young professionals has been a highlight of her time as director of wellness thus far, she said.

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"Especially post-COVID, in the wellness and mental health world, the acuity of trauma that we've seen and the acuity of grief and loss has just been so much higher than I've ever experienced," Martin said."Being able to work with the university and have interns connect with our team as well, there's just always collaboration and the desire to know what the best interventions are and really get to know our students."

Myers, who oversees AcademyACL, a K-8 school for gifted learners, said she knew she wanted to be a teacher ever since the second grade. She reaffirmed her passion at every career day until she was a senior in high school, she said.

After 25 years in education, she's nominated under the "Charter School Leader of the Year" category. The award recognizes an individual who has made a significant contribution to a community's education system over a period of time by "developing or maintaining a charter school, improving school accountability and performance, or driving other aspects of school excellence," according to the League's website.

Myers founded AcademyACL in 2010 with a team of other parents and educators after their children's school closed abruptly, leaving a hole in local education for this group of learners with unique educational needs.

"I'm so fascinated with the art and the science of teaching," Myers said. "Watching kids learn new things, and watching teachers come together and figure out new things to serve kids is just a fascinating process."

Facing a teacher shortage, Myers has juggled two full-time jobs this school year: in addition to her typical principal duties, she has also instructed students in the classroom every day since August, she said.

"As the League, we're all just so proud of all the winners, finalists and the nominees and very supportive of all the hard work that goes into making sure we put students first," Mason said.

Nominations are submitted by teachers and school leaders who know their coworkers' professional contributions best. A committee then reviews each nomination before selecting finalists and winners.

"I feel really grateful to be in a school that values mental health and values supporting students from a holistic perspective," Martin said. "Regardless of what happens with the award, I feel really grateful."

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