The Student Spotlight segment of each Board meeting celebrates a student or a group of students who are living out the Portrait of an LPS Graduate, which highlights the life skills each LPS graduate should have. Tomorrow’s workers will succeed by constantly adapting to the changing world around them, and today’s students must begin by learning and developing life skills - where every student should be well-adjusted, thriving, and balanced.

Additionally, students will develop skills in:

• Communication
• Global/Cultural Awareness
• Character
• Critical Thinking
• Problem Solving
• Adaptability
• Creativity
• Risk-Taking
• Resiliency
• Collaboration
• Self Advocacy
• All surrounding Rigorous and Relevant Academic Skills

LPS strives to implement opportunities to grow these skills at every level of education and recognize students of all ages. At their regularly scheduled meeting on May 9, 2024, the Board recognized groups of students from Littleton High School and Runyon Elementary School during the Student Spotlight.

Littleton High School
Littleton High School’s Unified Sports Program is dedicated to promoting social inclusion through shared sports training and competition experiences, joining people with and without intellectual disabilities on the same team. Training together and playing together is a quick path to friendship and understanding. At LHS, the Unified Sports Program develops and showcases many of the Portrait of a Graduate Characteristics in its participants, but especially Communication, Collaboration, Character, and Resiliency as teammates work together, grow from mistakes and challenges, and improve individual and team performance. Participation also helps students to be Well-Adjusted, Thriving, and Balanced.

Kaitlyn McKeon, the center-based teacher at Littleton High School, provided affirmations about each student:

Claire Ingham was a member of the Unified Bowling team that went to State, and she absolutely shines on the basketball court!

Laurence McNally’s enthusiasm and humor brighten every single Unified Basketball game; he has developed wonderful relationships with our partners.

Shelby Griffin’s hard work and determination really showed as she found her “shot” on the basketball court, and she continues to sink more and more baskets.

Mary Nell Warren has worked so hard on her form in bowling. She went to State with the team, and she also shows determination and grit on the basketball court.

Reese Reynolds continually impresses with all her sports involvement at LHS. Her determination on the basketball court is unmatched, and she always tries her best regardless of who she’s up against.

Evan Adams is such an asset to Unified Basketball, shooting threes when he can, crushing it with layups when he can’t, and absolutely dominating the boards in rebounds during faster games.

Annika Stutzman’s presence in any athletic event is something to see! She has an amazing ability to captivate the crowd. She has done a great job finding her spot on the court and she is a scoring machine in basketball!

Emily Buzzel is an amazing teammate during athletic events, but especially basketball. She does an amazing job passing to teammates and making sure everyone gets a shot. Emily also rocks it when she takes her own shots.

Charley Wintzen displays excellent determination even when things are challenging. She perseveres, passes to teammates as much as possible, and takes her shots whenever she can.

Lily Ruybal went from manager to player during the basketball season. She is an asset to the team and an amazing player!

Gio Perez is an amazing athlete and it is awesome to see him in action. He has an incredible ability to include all students and provides help where needed while also playing his best. He will be missed next year because he is graduating in a couple weeks!

Sophia Harcrow was a great manager and supporter of Unified Sports this year! She has truly blossomed this year, and it was wonderful to see her out on the soccer field.

Audrina Perez is a standout partner and an integral member across all Unified Sports. She was a key person in initiating LHS’s Unified Club. We can’t wait to see all she does in her next two years at Littleton High School!

Molly Burnham has such great relationships with all the athletes and was a key person in starting the Unified Club. LHS is so lucky to have you!

Noah Orcutt has a great ability to form tight relationships with athletes. It has been beautiful to see you supporting and building these friendships along the way!

Louge Stewart’s commitment to Unified basketball has been such a huge help, especially during the March Madness tournament!

Riley Irwin’s ability to connect with and be supportive of athletes has been so helpful! She has done a fantastic job of being inclusive and meeting athletes where they are at.

Fin Bastani has developed great relationships with athletes and he is a valued member of the Unified community!

Caroline May is an amazing advocate and LHS is so excited and lucky to have her commitment to the Unified Club.

Runyon Elementary School
Beckett Stewart demonstrated Critical Thinking, Creativity and Problem Solving when he created a “Hammer Finger Protector” during Runyon’s SmartLab unit on 3D Designing. The finger protector is a grip that holds a nail with your fingers actually located a safe distance away from the hammer to avoid accidents during construction projects

Malcolm Stack’s Creativity and Problem Solving in exploring Tinkercad 3D designs both in the classroom and at home helped him develop his Collaboration skills when he helped his classmates troubleshoot and inspired Creativity in his peers.

Reese Radke displays Critical Thinking and Creativity in the SmartLab, Collaborating with her team, and picking up on new skills quickly. Her attention to detail also stands out!

James Granat took his Creativity in design to the next level during our SmartLab unit designing a TinkerCad 3D model of a room. James added wooden log textures to the interior walls of his design, replicating a family cabin.

Lydia Bell, Sabrina Bryson, and Imogen Floyd inspired each other to take their TinkerCad 3D room designs a step further by creating second floor vertical layers to maximize floor space and create multiple rooms. These girls were a true model of Creativity and Collaboration.

Oscar Dobbelstein and Ethan Walsleben worked together as a collaborative team to design renewable energy circuits using Green Energy Snap Circuits. They completed the challenge presented to them, then challenged themselves to take their circuitry to the next level of complexity. Their Creativity and Risk-Taking in the SmartLab were contagious!

Finn Abell consistently brings Critical Thinking to his designs in the SmartLab. Whether he is creating with gears, building SquishyCircuits, animating, or making 3D designs, he brings an impressively Creative approach to his work, demonstrating Problem Solving and Risk Taking in all he does.