LEADVILLE – During early May, if you happen to bump into more Colorado Mountain College employees than usual in your favorite restaurant or retail establishment, don’t be surprised.
Several hundred CMC employees will be filling local hotels, coffee shops and stores as they descend upon the college’s campus in Leadville for a day and a half of workshops, meetings, celebrations and professional development.
“We are thankful for the hospitality of the Leadville community in welcoming us to town,” said Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser, president and CEO of the college. “We’re also grateful to the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum, which is hosting us for a dinner and tours, and to Freeport-McMoRan, which is generously underwriting the cost of the dinner.
“Given the very long history and relationship between Climax Mine, the town of Leadville and our campus here, it is all very symbolic and we are most appreciative to the company and community for partnering with us the past 50 years,” Hauser added.
In past years, all-college or all-faculty meetings have rotated among CMC’s 11 locations in north-central Colorado. This year, thanks to the generosity and inviting spirit of the town and local businesses, the college decided to hold an extended meeting in Leadville for professional development.
Faculty from across the college will gather to discuss best practices in the subject areas they teach, and staff will attend breakout sessions that will re-energize and educate them in better ways to serve their communities and students.
“One of this year’s highlights will be a panel of educators from Washington State, where a high school in a community with 90 percent of its students eligible for free and reduced-price lunches worked with its local community college to greatly improve student success,” said Dr. James Y. Taylor, vice president of Colorado Mountain College in Leadville and Chaffee County.
Bridgeport High School was one of the top three finalists in President Obama’s Presidential Commencement Challenge in 2011, and named a top transforming school by both US News and World Report and Newsweek in subsequent years. Its success in achieving higher graduation and college enrollment rates is attributed to college-in-the-high-school courses offered in conjunction with Wenatchee Valley College.
“We are looking forward to learning what worked for them, and we have invited several local community leaders to join us and reflect on what they hear,” he said.
As a result of the all-employee meetings, all of the college’s campuses – from Rifle to Steamboat to Aspen, and all points between – will effectively be closed Thursday, May 7.