Contact: Barbara E. Cohen
Turquoise Trail
Charter School
Phone 505.986.4004
Fax 505.474.7862
bcohen@ttschool.org
13A San Marcos Loop
Santa Fe, NM 87508
www.ttschool.org
Turquoise Trail
Charter School
Press Release
Turquoise Trail Charter School continues on a solid path to excellence
Big news as TTCS continues to achieve notice for its outstanding work in elementary
education.
Santa Fe, NM, December 12, 2014 -- To misquote Garrison Keeler, “It’s been a busy week at
Turquoise Trail Charter School, my old home town!” First, the week began on a high note as TTCS was
granted a five-year charter renewal without conditions by the Public Education Commission. Mid-week,
the school accepted a $3,000 check from Wells Fargo’s Golden Apple Foundation Teacher Partner
Grants Program. At week’s end, two fourth-grade students advanced to the district spelling bee in
January 2015 as part of the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
The week started with the culmination of a lengthy process to renew the school’s charter as an
independent state-chartered school.
“I am pleased to announce that the Public Education Commission has approved our charter renewal
application for five years, without conditions,” said Governing Council President Floyd J. Trujillo in an
announcement to staff. “Head Administrator Ray Griffin and Business Manager Randy Freeman did an
excellent job of presenting to the Commission, and the final vote was 6 - 0 (1 abstaining).”
This is an important step in the school’s continuing effort to fulfill its vision and mission for the school,
and it marks a significant shift in management for the 25-year-old school.
“Turquoise Trail, a flagship New Mexico charter school, is the oldest charter school in the state and
the only elementary charter school in Santa Fe,” said Head Administrator Ray Griffin. “We are excited to
renew our charter as an independent state-chartered school, and there will be beneficial changes as we
move to become more independent.”
According to the renewal summary and recommendations, "the school operates efficiently in terms
of governance procedures, its reporting duties, and organizational stability." In addition, TTCS
For Release: 12 noon MST, December 12, 2014
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Turquoise Trail Charter School continues on a solid path to excellence
"demonstrates compliance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations relating to fiscal management and
oversight expectations as evidenced by an audit devoid of significant findings and conditions, material
weaknesses or significant internal control weaknesses." PEC's Charter School Division noted the stable
leadership on TTCS's governing council and the current School Report Card grade of A as two strengths
of a school "located in a remote area of Santa Fe."
The week’s second accolade came in a letter from the Wells Fargo Golden Apple Foundation of
New Mexico, awarding $3,000 to the sixth-grade teaching team to fund a substantial amount of the cost
of taking approximately 60 students to Chaco Canyon National Historical Park in May 2015. On
Wednesday, December 10, the sixth-grade teachers – Jeff Davis, Harry Phillips, and Sharyn Gray –
accepted one of 30 Wells Fargo Golden Apple Foundation Teacher Partner Grants at a ceremony in
Albuquerque, for the Integrated Studies Trip to Chaco Canyon, which the sixth-grade students will be
taking in May 2015.
The organization received 130 applications for classroom and school-wide grants, and they awarded
30 grants for a total of $49,876.00 to various schools at a ceremony in Albuquerque on Wednesday.
According to the grant application, eligible sixth graders at Turquoise Trail Charter School will be
studying the ecology, history, culture, math and science of the ancestral Puebloans (Anasazi) of Chaco
Canyon in an experiential learning journey that culminates their years as TTCS students. In addition to
their academic subjects, students will learn practical skills, including planning, provisioning, and
budgeting for the three-day trip.
Since its inception in 2009, the Wells Fargo/Golden Apple Teacher Partner Program has provided
more than $225,000 to fund 155 projects serving more than 21,000 New Mexico students. Wells Fargo
created the Teacher Partner Program to provide opportunities for academic enrichment and to
encourage positive change in classroom instruction.
Finally, on Thursday, 66 students in grades 1 through 6 participated in the school’s spelling bee, the
first rung of contests leading to the Scripps National Spelling Bee, held near Washington, D.C. on May
24–May 29, 2015.
With the successful spelling of A-A-R-D-V-A-R-K in round 9, D J (Damon Jaden) Seva of Ms.
Nichole Krissman’s class took the lead and won the 2014 Turquoise Trail Charter School Spelling Bee,
leaving Jonathan (“Johnny”) Sheffer (also from Ms. Krissman’s 4th-grade class) in second place due to
his incorrect spelling of C-A-T-A-L-Y-S-T.
D J and Johnny move on to the District bee on January 10, 2015, at Santa Fe Community College
(at 8:30 am in the Jemez Rooms), then – with luck – to the state bee in Albuquerque in March and on to
the national bee in May 2015.
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Turquoise Trail Charter School continues on a solid path to excellence
Photos captions:
(1) Teacher Jeff Davis holding a check for the total (the TTCS grant was fully funded at $3,000.00),
Chaco Grant_image-03.jpg (19 KB)
(2) Photo of TTCS Spelling Bee winners D J Seva (left) and Johnny Sheffer (right), Spelling Bee_image03.jpg (253 KB)
All photos © 2014, Turquoise Trail Charter School – and may be used with this story
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