49 Voices: A D49 Podcast

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As always, we thank you for listening to the 49 Voices podcast!

Due to some adjustments underway at one of our featured campuses, we’re shifting gears slightly on the Super Set series as the next steps solidify. We’re using this mini-episode to bring our listeners up to speed on our upcoming full episode of the Super Set. 

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In this episode of 49 Voices, Superintendent Peter Hilts visits with Stetson Elementary School Principal Lori McCoy and Assistant Principal Nina Saroyan. We’ll learn more about what sparked a surge in achievement, propelling Stetson into the CDE's distinction category while becoming D49’s highest performing elementary school. 

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In this episode of 49 Voices, D49 Superintendent Peter Hilts visits with Mike Wedor, principal of Skyview Middle School Principal. As one of seven schools carrying the distinction rating from the Colorado Department of Education, we’ll learn more about what it means to be a Skyview Eagle, and the Skyview pursuit of excellence.

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At School District 49, we like to say wherever you want to go, D49 is a great place to start. In this episode of 49 Voices, we begin a series we’re calling the Super Set. We'll hear directly from seven schools in the D49 portfolio who entered this school year having achieved the Colorado Department of Education's Distinction rating on their overall performance framework. In episode one of the Super Set, we dig into the background of why these campus-level victories are driving D49’s journey to great things.

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In the summer of 2024, the City of Lights called athletes and spectators from around the world for the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad. As School District 49 geared up for the start of the fall semester in Colorado Springs and eastern El Paso County, a member of the D49 workforce had an overseas assignment: coach a determined wrestler pursuing her dreams of becoming an Olympic champion.  

In this episode, we welcome U.S. Gold Medalist Sarah Hildebrandt, and Vladislav Izzy Izboinikov, from D49’s Springs Studio of Academic Excellence. We’ll learn how these two have found a winning combination as coach and athlete, what it’s like to watch the final seconds run off the clock on the way to Olympic Gold, and why more athletes like Sarah are stepping onto the mat. 

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Among School District 49’s fundamental, strategic priorities or big rocks, are a commitment to offering exceptional choices and launching students to success. The two go hand-in-hand and take center stage at the start of the calendar year, which is widely recognized as a chance to consider school choice… and the time that many school districts encourage students and families to select the school that provides the best educational opportunities.

In this episode of 49 Voices, D49 Superintendent Peter Hilts welcomes Sean Norman, D49’s Director of Applied and Advanced Learning and Amy Sanchez-Martinez, Principal of Sand Creek High School. We'll discuss how d49 leads the region with our approach to choice…how we shape choice into success, and why our experts say it’s an exciting time to be a student. Explore our exceptional choices today, at D49.org!

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Learning opportunities at School District 49 extend well beyond the classroom. Some include a uniform and military title of cadet. It’s the world of the junior reserve officers training corps, or JROTC, which D49 offers in each of its three traditional high schools. 

In the first episode of season two of 49 Voices, D49 Superintendent Peter Hilts welcomes Sand Creek Zone JROTC Instructor Ryan Pontius, a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and Brianna Phillips, Sand Creek High senior and JROTC Corps Commander. We’ll learn how these programs offer a direct introduction to service in a school district with a proud military tradition and connection to the U.S. armed forces, plus what draws students to join the JROTC ranks – and why this kind of opportunity produces young adults who are prepared to lead.  

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The name of the podcast is 49 Voices. We are grateful you are here to listen to our story. Listening is a key component of learning, and in D49’s culture and strategy of continuous improvement we know we must listen to the voice of the student. Student feedback gives us information we can act on to make their experience at school meaningful and enriching, which speaks to our priorities of building firm foundations, offering exceptional choices and launching successful students.  

In this episode, D49 superintendent Peter Hilts welcomes two energetic voices from the D49 student body - Israel Oketunmbi: Sand Creek class of '23, and Syndi Ellis of Pikes Peak Early College. We’ll learn how these students have the unique opportunity to speak with and to the D49 Board of Education, what’s important to them as D49 students, and why our superintendent places them among the strongest student leaders he’s seen in his career in education. 

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Their appearance is unmistakable. Their purpose: essential. The yellow school bus is a fixture in traffic patterns as far as the eye can see. Counting a traditional school day, field trips, sporting events… These workhorses of school districts far and wide… along with those who drive them are as fundamental to education as the apple sitting on a teacher’s desk. 

In this episode, D49 chief executive officer Peter Hilts welcomes Jack Pietraallo, our director of transportation. We’ll dig into what keeps a fleet of buses on-time and incident free…plus why a firm focus on student success and safety are the top priorities to the driving force to education.

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On the surface, or at first glance, the term digital convergence evokes a melding of electronic media with the everyday… or perhaps stories in pop culture that transport humans into a world of computers, programs and code.

In this episode, D49 Chief Executive Officer Peter Hilts visits with Brian Smith, Falcon Zone leader. We'll explore the Falcon Zone, where D49 schools and teachers are using digital convergence to drive performance in the classroom…while climbing to national role-model status in a modern method of education.