The North Park Board of Education held its final meeting as a seven-member body on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, marking the end of a two-year transition approved by Jackson County voters in 2023 to move to a five-member board structure.

Thanking Our Dedicated Outgoing Members

We extend our deepest gratitude to two distinguished leaders whose terms concluded, guiding the Board through this important transition: Graham Crews

President, At Large District and Christine Redman, Vice President, District 2.

Both Mr. Crews and Ms. Redman have completed eight years of dedicated service, overseeing a period of significant achievement for the district. The staff at North Park thank Christine and Graham for your unwavering dedication and leadership through many challenging times and monumental accomplishments.

Celebrating Accomplishments of the Past Five Years Over the past five years, the Board’s unified vision and leadership have resulted in measurable success, including:

📈 Steady improvement in student performance driven by a new district Vision and Mission. 💰 A strengthened financial future leading to a more competitive salary schedule. 📚 Investment in high-quality professional learning and instructional materials. 🛠️ Improved maintenance of the district’s aging infrastructure and securing a path forward for long-term facilities solutions.

Introducing the New Five-Member Board

The transition involved the sunsetting of the At Large District C and D seats. We welcome the new five-member board:

Position Representative

District 1 Sam Daugherty

District 2 Debbie Russell

District 3 Laurie Schmidt

At Large District A Catie Olney

At Large District B Curtis Utley

Laurie Schmidt was appointed last spring and was not able to run for her district during the election but was appointed again last night to serve until 2027. She will have the opportunity to run for the remainder of the four-year term, which ends in 2029.

Looking Ahead: Important Dates

The new Board's first task will be hiring a new superintendent to replace the retiring Amy Ward.

December 8

Special Board Meeting

Election of new Board Officers

December 16

Regular Board Meeting

First regular meeting of the five-member board

Congratulations to the new five-member board as you begin your work to realize your vision for the future of North Park School District!

A HUGE Thank You to Marie Mueller!

North Park School is celebrating an incredible act of generosity from Marie Mueller! Marie recently organized a successful book fair fundraiser at Barnes and Noble in Fort Collins, personally picking up the donations and gift cards for the school.

Her efforts resulted in an amazing total of $2,038.05 in Gift Cards and a book for every student!

Because of Marie:

✔ Every student will receive a free book for Christmas!

✔ And our classroom libraries will be stocked with wonderful new titles!

Thank you, Marie, for your dedication to fostering a love of reading at North Park! We are so grateful for your support!

Dear Parents, Guardians, and Community Members,

We've partnered with Jackson County Public Health and Grand County Rural Health Network to share some valuable resources with you. Through this collaboration, we've learned that many parents are looking for good, reliable information and tools to talk with their children about sensitive subjects, including substance use.

In response, our partners have compiled some fantastic, free resources, and we wanted to share two of them with you today:

1.Rise Above Colorado

This is a non-judgmental, factual site where you can explore the real facts about alcohol, tobacco, and other substances. The information was researched and compiled by a statewide Teen Action Council.

• Explore the Facts: https://www.riseaboveco.org/drug-facts

2. “Talk. They Hear You.” App

This free mobile app from SAMHSA, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, is a powerful tool for parents. It’s designed to help you turn everyday situations into opportunities to talk with your kids about alcohol and other drugs. The goal is to equip you with the skills and confidence to start (and continue) these important conversations as your children get older.

• Get the App: Available on the App Store, Google Play, and the Microsoft Store.

To Learn More: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JL2XMiOO0Fg

Our goal is simply to get helpful, consistent information into your hands to support you where you are. We hope you find these tools valuable!

This information-sharing is made possible by our partnership with Jackson County Public Health and the Grand County Rural Health Network, who have awarded several mini-grants to our school to support our youth activities through the Jackson County Youth Substance Use Prevention initiative.

Start the Conversation: A training for parents and caregivers

Dear Parents, You don’t have to be an expert to talk with your teen about vaping and nicotine. These talks can feel intimidating, but with the right tools, you can have open, honest, and meaningful conversations about vaping and nicotine with your teen. Not sure where to start? Join us for Start the Conversation, a free, 90-minute virtual workshop designed for parents and caregivers of youth ages 11–24. You’ll learn practical, youth-informed strategies to build trust and talk with young people about health choices, including vaping and other substance use. What you’ll gain by participating in the webinar:

• Skills and confidence to engage your teen in open, accurate conversations.
• Research-grounded tips for building trusted relationships that support mental health and reduce risky behaviors.

Upcoming session: Tonight, November 5th at 6 p.m. MT on Zoom REGISTER HERE

We are incredibly excited to host a special Community Night with motivational speaker Timmy the Dreamer!

Who is Timmy? He's a global inspiration who has:

🔹 Built a social media movement of 9 MILLION people

🔹 Made over 1,000 dreams come true for people in need

🔹 Collaborated with some of the biggest celebrities on Earth

After speaking to our students during the day, Timmy is inviting all parents, guardians, and adult leaders in our students' lives to hear his powerful message on pursuing dreams, supporting mental health, and the power of kindness.

Join us for an evening of inspiration and connection. (P.S. Food is provided!)

🗓️ Date: Thursday, October 23

📍 Where: North Park

⏰ Schedule:

• 6:00 - 6:30 PM: Food & Community Time 🍕🌮
• 6:30 - 7:45 PM: Timmy the Dreamer Speaks

This will be a night to remember. We can't wait to see you there!

https://share.vidyard.com/watch/6Eu29xeaXfM5VCgtAVSJ3n?

The Importance of Online Safety-A Special Parent Presentation.

Monday, October 13

6:30pm in the Gymnasium

Chili dinner prior to the presentation (Cafeteria)

This is an opportunity to preview the content that will be presented to middle school and high school students on October 14th.

Click here to learn more.

There will be Youth, Adult, and Senior runs.

October 12 2025 VIC & SIGRID HANSON MEMORIAL PARK @ 1:30 PM.

Youth - 6 to 11 1 lap Adults - 12 to 49 5k (6 laps) 3 miles

Senior - 50 and up 1 lap

Participants should bring white attire so that they can experience the “color” in color run! Along the route, water stops will be provided, and rewards will be given for the winners. The distance will be one block.

Registration Fee : $5 for youth and seniors, $10 for adults

Please fill out this form so we can get you registered to run,  and so we can get you a waiver!

Hey, North Park. Please join the North Park School and Jackson County Library in our "Chapter Chaser" book challenge. We have selected genres for each month, October through May. Check out a library book, read it during the month, and join us in the discussion groups. If you cannot make the discussion group times, please send quick feedback on the book, and we will share that during the discussion. Contact Lynnette Weddle at lweddle@npk12.org or the Jackson County Public Library for more details or questions.