WALSENBURG — Mike Moore is a man of boundless energy and enthusiasm and will bring this energy to Huerfano RE-1. HWJ interviewed him recently asking what he plans to do upon assuming RE-1 leadership on July 6th. It is immediately apparent Moore’s leadership style will be collegial, with power and responsibility shared among district colleagues. He says “Improvements are not a one-person effort. It is the responsibility of the entire school community and it takes a lot of hard work.” He intends to ensure all RE-1 stakeholders – personnel, students and parents – are united in working for excellence, with high expectations, high achievement and always, an emphasis on quality work. He advocates a ”No excuses” approach to the success and growth of our young learners and expects that philosophy to be embraced by teachers, students, and parents. These expectations go hand-in-hand with promoting a school culture of caring, compassion, and respect. Collaboration, both within the district, and within our communities, is very important to
Moore. He intends to be highly visible within the community and with parents, in addition to being a regular visitor to students’ classrooms, and he hopes to encourage parental involvement in all areas of their children’s learning experiences. Among his first priorities upon arrival is to learn the local ropes. He will review district and Title 1 budgets and existing grants to learn exactly how monies are being spent and will get to know all district office personnel. Moore will meet with district administrators to make sure all schools are ready to go next fall in terms of maintenance and operations, transportation, personnel, food services, curriculum and teacher evaluation in accordance with SB10-191, the legislation that evaluates educators and administrators on their effectiveness based on quality standards and student learning over time. He will share his goals and expectations with district administrators, and learn their expectations of him. Part of the collegial approach Moore espouses will be seen in his plan to meet with all district teams, such as the school leadership teams and the accountability committees, as well as all department personnel, from transportation, maintenance and food services to special education. Soon after his arrival in the district, he will also begin meeting with community organizations, and intends to establish twice a month coffee klatches, open opportunities for the public to come and meet with him and share thoughts about the district. HWJ also asked Moore about his family and hobbies. His wife, Terry, is an aide for preschool age blind children at the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind in Colorado Springs. They have three children. Their eldest son Connor is attending school at CSU Fort Collins majoring in business and sports journalism. Their middle child Keegan will be a senior at Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs. He is a 4.0 student and an exceptional football and baseball player. Daughter Michaela will be a sophomore at Cheyenne Mtn. High School. She is also a 4.0 student and, as a freshmen, played varsity softball and ran varsity track as a top sprinter (100 and 200 meters). Interesting fact: Michaela has had perfect attendance since kindergarten. Moore’s hobbies center on his family, especially watching or coaching his kids in their various sporting events. He enjoys barbequing and using his charcoal/wood smoker. He loves to golf and watch professional baseball (NY Yankees and Rockies) and football (Buffalo Bills) on TV. He also enjoys attending his school’s co-curricular activities and lending his support for participating students. He also loves to read books and newspapers. Finally, Moore says, “I wanted to come to Huerfano County to ‘find a home’ by being involved in a great community, building positive relations and [I have] the desire to have a long term commitment to the school district. I would like nothing more than to dedicate my service to the Huerfano County School District and all its microcosms, make a difference for all its inhabitants and to have a long, productive career in Walsenburg.”
