Powell High School will be offering a recreation and lifetime activities class and a group exercise and personal wellness class to students for the first time following a unanimous decision by the Park County School District 1 Board on Jan. 10.

Powell High School physical education teacher Charli Fluty had discovered that there was a need at the school for these additional classes after conducting research as part of her masters program. 

“I think Mrs. Fluty and [physical education teacher Chase Kistler] have done a lot of good work at looking at some different options for students and advocating for some changes just to provide some variety and a little bit more connection and engagement among our students,” principal Tim Wormald said. 

He added that since both of these classes will be semester long it offers counselors more opportunities while scheduling students. Fluty said there is a group of students who continue to take physical education after their requisite year but many do not.

“So we started asking kids, you know, what would you want? Why is it that you don’t take PE? That was part of my research and part of that was just us talking to kids,” Fluty said. “And they really wanted more variety in what is offered.”

Fluty explained to the board that the group exercise class will feature things like yoga and pilates. The lifetime fitness class will focus on recreation and outdoor education. The classes will be able to cater to students’ personalized interests.

“We want them to be there. We want it to be useful to them,” Fluty said. “So we would build the course that would work best for those students.”

When questioned by the board about costs Fluty said that while there are some costs she expects the Color Run fundraiser in addition to grants will be able to fund the cost.

Another big item on the school board agenda  was the approval of Jay Curtis’ contract through June 2025. Curtis works on a rolling contract. Approximately every 18 months prior to the expiration of his contract the board votes whether or not to extend his contract for another year. Curtis currently makes $174,803.16, his compensation for the new contract will be addressed at another date.

Additional items on the board’s agenda included accepting Administrative Regulation/Operational Procedure for health and wellness. Westside Elementary School Principal Angela Woyak gave her annual update on the school in the last year.

The next school board meeting will be on Jan. 24.

Superintendent starts video series for transparency

Park County School District 1 Superintendent Jay Curtis posted a video to the PCSD1 Facebook page Tuesday afternoon updating the public on student and teacher recognitions, current work within the district, misunderstandings and rumors. This video was the first of many that Curtis said he will be posting in an effort to improve district communication with the public.

Notably, Curtis addressed a persistent rumor that the school district had installed litter boxes in the schools for students who identify as animals. He said the school has done no such thing.

Curtis encourages members of the community who have questions or concerns they would like him to discuss in a video to reach out via JRCurtis@pcsd1.org,