Dear Odyssey ECCO Families,

I hope that this posting finds you all healthy and well. We appreciate your understanding, patience, and partnership in supporting the Odyssey ECCO team and your child as we prepare to transition to distance learning.  We recognize that this situation has brought undue hardship for many families. As you are well aware via Governor Polis’s declaration, we have been directed to have no “in-person” schooling through April 17^th. As we look at the final quarter of the school year, instructors are gearing up to provide distance learning throughout this historic closure.  Over the past two weeks, an amazing team of educational leaders have been working to prepare for our transition to a “virtual return.”  

Odyssey ECCO has been busy crafting a distance learning plan that will incorporate synchronous (web conferencing, live messaging boards, etc) and asynchronous (pre-recorded video, online discussion board, self-paced) learning approaches.  Full details will be released to families Monday, March 30^th, in the evening, with distance learning scheduled to begin the morning of April 1^st.

It is important that all students stay engaged and fulfill the requirements of our college prep, articulated credit, and concurrent enrollment college classes.  Articulated and concurrent enrollment course grades will pick up where they left off before our extended spring break, per Pikes Peak Community College. Regarding college prep course grades, students will not earn a grade lower than their posted 3^rd quarter mark and will be given the opportunity to improve that mark by the end of the semester.

Thank you for your patience and trust. Please check your email no later than Monday evening, March 30^th, for detailed directions for distance learning.

Your Partner in Education,

Sean Norman

Principal

Odyssey Early College and Career Options

Odyssey ECCO Distance Learning Plan 3/16/20 - 3/20/20

Odyssey Students & Parents,

Thank you for your patience as the school district communicates about our closure, and as Odyssey prepares their plans for distance learning. Now that the school district has released the bulk of their messaging, we are releasing Odyssey ECCO’s distance learning plan for 3/16-3/20.

Odyssey ECCO instructors have established district teacher “office hours” (see link below) to help student learning during our extended spring break. This is in line with our PPCC partner, as we are a PPCC satellite campus and try to reflect their college learning experience. Instructors will be available directly one hour per day via phone and in some cases via video conferencing. Students are encouraged to call, email, and video conference (if available) with their instructor. Instructors will return any emails and calls within 24 hours during the school week. To help prepare for this distance learning event, instructors have and will be updating their class website during the week to keep students apprised of classwork, provide resources as needed, and to keep students aware of due dates.

Attached to this email is a complied list of available office hours, teacher and staff office phone #’s, and additional communication methods.

Additionally, Educational Support Professionals will be available to help you with questions regarding attendance, registration, records, or counseling. Please refer to their office hours on the attached document. Educational Support Professionals will communicate with you within 24 hours if you have to leave a message.

To recap:

Instructors

• Have established distance learning office hours (one hour daily, Monday-Friday)
• At a minimum, instructors will be available via phone to answer student questions, parent questions, return calls, provide coaching and academic support.
• Staff will answer and return emails within 24 hours.
• Some staff have the option to video conference with students using MS teams or their preferred video conferencing app
• Instructional staff will set reasonable due dates for assigned work. 

Educational Support Professionals

• Have established distance learning office hours (one hour daily, Monday-Friday)
• At a minimum, Educational Support Professionals will be available via phone to answer student questions, parent questions, and return calls
• Educational Support Professionals will answer and return emails within 24 hours during the work week.

Our key goal is to reduce the risk of the transmission of COVID-19 virus and maintain a high quality of educational support. To support this, students should be checking their student email daily for information related to their courses. If you have questions, please feel free email any instructor or contact me at 719-328-2022 or sean.norman@d11.org

Thank you for your trust and support in these uncertain times.

Odyssey ECCO Staff Office Hours

Odyssey ECCO Juniors,

Please note that College Board is receiving SAT test center cancellations due to COVID-19. If your test center has closed, you’ll be notified directly from College Board via email, telling you not to go to your testing location. In some instances, test centers may need to close on short notice and you may not be directly notified. We currently know that the Sand Creek High School testing site has closed and has rescheduled for a March 28th testing day. If you think your test center may be closed, please check your test center’s website or local media for confirmation. Individual SAT test center closings can be found on the SAT Suite of Assessments site at
https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/register/test-center-closings?
Due to the high number of closings nationally, this list is updated as quickly as possible, though not in real time. In the event of closure, the Colorado School Day SAT testing date of April 14th, can be used as a makeup date. Please check your email multiple times today and prior to leaving for your testing location for information in regards to SAT testing.

Sean Norman
Principal
Odyssey Early College and Career Options
719-328-2022

Odyssey Senior Georgiana Aweanung Overcomes Odds to Make Dreams Come True

Seventeen-year-old Georgiana Aweanung isn't letting anything stand in her way as she pursues her dreams of becoming a top cyber security analyst. Originally from Cameroon, West Africa, when Georgiana was just two years old, her father escaped from Cameroon in 2004 because he was wanted by the government for fighting for human rights. Georgiana remembers her life in Cameroon, stating, "When my dad left we lived in our village (Tinechung) hiding in fear of being killed too. We depended on farm work for food."

In 2009, Georgiana's dad started the legal process to file for her mother, Georgiana and her five siblings to come to the U.S. However, when they arrived, Georgiana soon learned that life would be different for her. "When we all came, we lived in a two bedroom apartment. There was eight of us. Don't ask how we did it!" As Georgiana learned, school in her new country would be much different than in Cameroon. "First my mom dropped me off at school and I started crying 'cause I didn't know what to do. I didn't know my classes, I didn't know anything. I didn't even understand how to speak English the way people here do." After overcoming the language barrier, Georgiana soon became more familiar with school and started to impress her teachers and principal. "I was selected to share my story at my 8th grade graduation in front of all of the students, parents, and staff."

As Georgiana continued to pursue her education goals, she started to ask more questions about her options for high schools. She asked about how concurrent enrollment worked and if there was a high school she could attend where she could earn college credits because money was tight for her family and she knew college was expensive. "By the time I finished 8th grade, I had found the Wasson Campus." 

Today, Georgiana is a senior at Odyssey Early College and Career Options (ECCO). Her goal? She wants to be the world's top cyber security analyst. Georgiana is now pursuing a prestigeous full-ride scholarship called the Daniels Fund Scholarship. "When I started my application for the Daniels Fund Scholarship, at first I thought, 'They're not going to want me! I don't deserve a scholarship. I'm not as smart as other kids.'" Georgiana continues to get support from a counselor who sends her encouraging notes and motivates her to apply for the scholarship. "It's like a dream come true, for someone like me, who has come a long way to be where I am today.

This spring, Georgiana will be graduating, not one time, but two. She will have earned her high school diploma and a college associate's degree. "I'm looking forward to graduation!"

Watch the full interview with Georgiana here.