Dear STEM School Highlands Ranch Secondary Families,

Our staff has been working hard all week to prepare for next week’s first day of school. As always, our goal is to provide timely communications when changes occur that may impact your student. With that being said, we are sad to share with you that Mr. Swartz (Theater) and Mrs. Doe (Business/Computer Science) resigned from their positions earlier this week. We understand the emotional impact and stress this may have on our students, parents, and staff and will support their needs as they transition back to school next week.

Mrs. Doe taught Secondary Computer Science and various business courses over the last four years at STEM. She also served as our DECA and FBLA advisor. She has accepted a position at a private school outside of the district and she will be missed. Your administration team and counselors are working on the master calendar and students’ schedules to make any and all necessary changes. If your student was in one of Mrs. Doe’s classes, please review their schedule as we have moved all Business courses to the second semester. This will allow us to recruit and onboard a new Business Teacher to be ready to go for the Spring Semester.

Mr. Schwartz joined STEM three years ago. He taught both Secondary Drama and Spanish. Mr. Schwartz has been instrumental in building a successful theater department and he leaves us with a great program for a new teacher to pick up where he left off. Your administration team is working hard to find quality candidates to fill this position. Mrs. Nason will cover our Secondary Drama classes until we find a highly-qualified candidate to fill Mr. Schwartz’s big shoes. Mrs. Nason has been involved with our Theater Department over the past several years and has a very strong relationship and connection with our students.

The state of Colorado has experienced a dramatic decline in teachers and educational support professionals over the last few years. The ongoing teacher shortage has created a competitive market for teachers looking to earn more money and/or opportunities to teach in new schools each year. This has also caused schools to be highly competitive in their recruiting strategy. There is a high demand for high-quality teachers, and the competition is fierce. Rest assured, we are committed to finding the very best teachers we can for our students.

In partnership,

Ryan Alsup, High School Director

Maura Ridder, Middle School Director