The Gala Committee is always welcoming new members.  

Here are a few ways to get involved:

•          Donate an item, service, or become a sponsor.  Donations may be left in the front office with a completed donation form.  Contact us to learn about becoming an event sponsor.

•          Join us Tuesdays at 8 a.m. on January 13^th, 20^th, and 27^th in the teachers' lounge. We'll be preparing for the gala in a variety of ways.  From data entry to decor, we'll have projects of all sorts! 

•          Pink Bag take-home projects- Thanks to all that have already helped with pink bag projects!  A fresh new crop of pink bag projects have arrived in the front office!  Sign out your bag today-many hands make light work! 

•          Collect fabulous items for the silent auction- Contact us to learn how to help.  This opportunity is perfect for those looking to volunteer on their own schedule. 

Jodi Fraser:  970-988-1570 or rfjyf@comcast.net  

Qeryldine Hofinger:  970-219-4374 or  qerylieq@gmail.com  

The 24^th Annual Fort Collins Cotillion

Spaces still remain for 4^th-5^th grade boys.

Schedule and Registration:

www.cotillion.com

Classes will be held on Sunday evenings.

January 25, February 8, February 22, March 1 and March 8, 2015

CLUB COTILLION- 4^th -5^th grades
5:00 - 6:30 PM

Please visit cotillion.com for more information or email fortcollins@cotillion.com

If you have already registered for the 2015 Fort Collins Cotillion, we thank you and
will look forward to seeing you in class.

Attention Parents:

Liberty Common School is excited to host a talk by Daniel T. Willingham.  Please join us on March 27^th at 6:30 PM to hear a talk by Daniel T. Willingham a professor and author from University of Virginia.  He is an advocate of the Core Knowledge Curriculum and teaching our students content to comprehend the literature they read.  

Dr. Willingham has worked closely with ED Hirsch to cognitively explain why and how what we do works.  He will be discussing literacy and what we can do as parents and educators to make sure our students are reading.  Dr. Willingham does an incredible job of making the cognitive sciences accessible to all participants. 

Tickets are on sale now at 

 GUARANTEED MEMORIES

The last day to guarantee a yearbook and to add personalization to your yearbook is February 6^th.

Click on this link for easy, convenient online ordering: www.jostensyearbooks.com 

Questions???? Contact:

Mrs. Clouser (kclouser@libertycommon.org)

Educational Co-op by Casey Churchill, LCS Principal

Have you seen the news lately? Pick up any paper and education is in the news. There is a lot happening.   Controversy is amuck around the amount of testing, how the kids are taking the tests, the Common Core State Standards, who is taking the tests, etc. Clearly the educational pendulum has swung completely to one side. With all the changes in education of late, it's no wonder parents are beginning to question how the United States manages our public education system. All of these mandates have grid locked the system and teachers are hard pressed to do what they do best... teach.

Now is the time for parents to rise up and question the schools that their children attend. Become informed around all the educational lingo and schools of choice. Are your local schools performing up to expectations? If not, why? What can be done to improve schools that our kids attend? Are our children testing too much? What is being done with the results? Parents need to be informed.

Recently, the Liberty Common Schools hosted information nights. At the informational meetings, we informed interested parents about our school and all that it has to offer. Parents came with the above questions and we had answers. Prospective parents have been very curious and interested in Liberty due to the above educational debates.

I used to argue that to be a successful school, we must simply teach the Core Knowledge Curriculum. Over the last several years, I have changed my tune. I now sing praises for schools of choice. I believe that serving students in our community through site based management is a better way to serve our students. Yes, I am a firm believer in educating children through the CK curriculum, but if someone else has a better plan, then they should have a fair try at their own school.

Charter schools have proven success throughout the state of Colorado. The idea that a school can operate on local values and principles based on the community in which it is created is a revolutionary idea. The creators of the school are "in house". They are both invested parents and staff. The school is an "Educational Co-op". The school has buy-in from both parties because if things are good, they are rewarded by smart kids and more revenue. If things are bad, they shut down. Someone else can come along and give it a go.

A great example of this repurposing can be seen right here in our hometown. Liberty Common School has expanded over the last few years. We ended up purchasing a former expeditionary learning charter school a couple miles south of our original campus. The charter school that built this building did not have the student numbers or financial stability to stay afloat. Just like any other unsuccessful business, it had to close its doors. A few years later, because of Liberty's success, we were in a position to buy this building.

How come schools can't follow a similar free market approach to education such as this? If things work out, the school thrives and the lottery list grows. If things don't work out, they shut down (and shut down immediately). This idea is completely opposite the public education sector where struggling schools are given more money to fix the problem. More money is not the solution to all of our problems. Giving local autonomy to the schools gives the power of change to the parents who are invested in their child's education. This is when we see big things happen.

The success of our schools should be manifested through the hard work of the community that developed the school, not through the control of bureaucrats dictating tests and policies. Charter schools embody the spirit of a free market education where parents can research an education that meets the needs of their children. Picking a school based on a families address is a thing of the past. More parents, like you, should play a major role in their children's education by finding a school that meets their needs. Thanks for choosing Liberty and thanks for investing your time to make this school great.