Martinez to lead new West elementary; Ramsey to Bristol; Morris to Trailblazer

       Current Washington Principal Terry Martinez will lead the new elementary at West for the 2009-2010 school year.

Students from the Bristol Elementary choir (dark shirts) sing in the Bristol gym with members of the Colorado Springs Children's Chorale March 12. The performance culminated a three-day workshop in which Chorale leaders provided instruction on choreography and musicianship. Under District 11's Utilization Plan, Bristol would continue to be an arts school and grow larger with about 30 students from Pike, which is closing.
Westside Pioneer photo

       This was one of several principal assignments voted in by the District 11 Board of Education at its meeting March 18.
       “It's going to be an exciting ride,” Martinez said afterwards, referring to such challenges as closing his current school (“and you want to do that well”), preparing a staff, reconfiguring part of what's now a middle school into an elementary and creating camaraderie among students from three closed schools (including his own,).
       No explanations were provided by the board for its decisions on principals. Members just approved the assignments without discussion (at least in public) as a personnel item on the meeting agenda.
       Other 2009-2010 assignments for Westside principals were:
  • Manuel Ramsey, current leader of Pike - which is due for closure after this year - to take over the reins at Bristol Elementary, in the wake of Steve Ferguson's previously announced retirement.
  • David Morris, in his third year at Howbert, will be reassigned to Trailblazer Elementary. His replacement will be Gail Smartt, currently principal at Twain Elementary.
  • Robyn Colbert, interim principal at Midland - named full principal.
  • David Brilliant, Buena Vista principal - to become principal of the BV Montessori program, which is moving to the Washington site. (Non-Montessori BV students will go to the new West elementary, and the BV building may eventually become the home of the West Intergenerational Center.)
  • Marlys Berg, Whittier principal - to become principal of Monroe Elementary (because Whittier is closing).

    • Westside Pioneer article