Principal writes and publishes book with colleague

During the day, Colleen Urlik is Hulstrom K-8’s principal where she leads Adams 12 Five Star Schools' magnet school dedicated to supporting gifted and advanced learners. In the evenings, you will find her volunteering in a variety of other education-related capacities, such as serving as Past-President of the Colorado Association of Gifted and Talented and preparing presentations for various educational conferences throughout the United States. One of her biggest accomplishments, however, has been the recent publication of her book, "Accelerating Learning For All: Equity in Action", which she wrote with her colleague, Dr. Rebecca McKinney and published through Corwin Press. Writing this book allowed Colleen to tap into her background as a classroom teacher, where she worked with traditionally marginalized students, and where her passion for equity and inclusion developed. The book highlights strategies designed to move all students, regardless of their background, assessment performance or zip code, towards becoming independent critical thinkers and problem-solvers. Colleen demonstrates a variety of Five Star District strengths because she went above and beyond to write (and publish!) a book focused on students which highlights strategies educators can use to engage and empower learners in any classroom!

This story exemplifies our ELEVATE Focus Area: World-Class Staff. Sharing stories about how staff is compensated, supported and trained to foster student success and family partnerships.