What's Up at Washington Square

As second semester begins, FutureForward is already planning for next year’s registration! Whether you are a current or prospective student, we’re excited to welcome you to the Washington Square family!

Registration season kicked off with our January Open House, where students from across the district toured our building, met instructors, and explored our nine programs. Attendees also connected with representatives from our community college partners and learned how students in every program can earn college credit.

For current students, counselors have visited classrooms to explain how to register for a second year in their program, add an additional program, and explore options for taking English at Washington Square.

This year, we’re also using a new registration process for current FutureForward students. All current students must complete the Registration Google Form (linked here). Students can request a follow-up meeting with their counselor directly on the form if they have questions, and they can always visit the counseling office for answers too! Don’t wait—we’re excited to get you registered for next year’s Washington Square classes!

What do Coors Field, Union Station, and DIA all have in common? Legacy Mechanical, Inc. —one of FutureForward at Washington Square’s longest-standing partners—helped build them all. Since 2004, Legacy Mechanical, Inc. has worked on projects across the Denver metro area with a simple purpose: “personal pride, union pride, company pride.”

This partnership began with a casual conversation. While replacing a bottle filler at Legacy Mechanical Inc.’s headquarters, Aaron Cooper, a Washington Square construction teacher, mentioned that he worked at a local CTE high school. That caught the attention of Vice President Eric Alstrup and took him back to his own high school welding shop days. He quickly saw an opportunity to leave a different kind of legacy—one that wouldn’t just shape the Denver Skyline, but impact the future of the trades as a whole.

Since then, Legacy Mechanical Inc. has hosted seven Washington Square students as interns and hired eight as full-time employees. Their success—and our partnership’s—is grounded in Legacy Mechanical Inc.’s three core values: Commitment, Quality, and Integrity. But anyone who spends some time with Eric can see there’s a fourth value just as responsible for driving their success: Community.

Shawn Labesky (Mr. L to the students) joins the Welding Program staff at Washington Square after more than 40 years as a professional welder, most recently working at Redd Iron Inc. As Redd Iron Inc. has worked closely with Washington Square to host many 3rd year interns over the years, Shawn is already familiar with our school and working with early career welders. His desire to share his professional knowledge with the next generation of welders is what prompted him to make this career change.

Originally from Aberdeen, South Dakota, he has called Colorado home after his dad moved his family to Denver to take a machinist job. He now lives in Westminster. With his free time, you will find him either playing darts or volunteering at a local, non-profit bike shop.

Every quarter, each teacher at Washington Square gets to recognize a student who has stood out. These students receive a small statute and a certificate to mark their achievement. Second quarter's recipients are:

Students in our EMT and Sports Medicine programs will be representing Washington Square and Adams 12 at the State HOSA conference. This year's state competition will be held from February 13 to 15 at the Gaylord Hotel in Aurora, Colorado.

For this competition, each student can choose to compete in three different events. All entrants take a written exam, and top scorers move on to a hands-on, performance assessment. Scores are then combined for the two rounds to determine state placers and national qualifiers.

The following students in Mr. Lombardo's EMT and Mrs. Brumley's Sports Medicine courses have been attending study sessions before school on Wednesdays for months to prepare for their respective competitions. If you see any of the following students, be sure to wish them luck!

Gavin Brewer

Allison Clarke

Alison Estrada

Rose Estrada

Angela Godinez

Brisa Guizar Silva

Rebecca Koch

Lucas Martinez

Zsa Zsa McWee

Kyle Murray

Harper Pahl

Jiaxiu Tang

Jayden Wright

Aaron Young

February 12 - Show Your Skills @ Parent Teacher Conferences (4 - 7)

February 16 - NO SCHOOL - Presidents' Day

February 17 - NO SCHOOL - EmPWR Day

March 9th - NO SCHOOL - Staff Work Day

March 13th - End of 3rd Quarter

March 19th - National Technical Honor Society Induction (5:30 start) - New members only

March 23rd - March 27th - NO SCHOOL- Spring Break

Wondering what your student has been learning at Washington Square? Make sure to drop in with your student between 4-7 for Show Your Skills Night on February 12th. Your student can give you a hands on demonstration of their learning, along with a chance to chat with their teacher.

Here's what's happening in each program this month!

• The survey is open from January 23 to February 14, 2025, and is completely anonymous.

• If you have children at different schools, we encourage you to fill out a survey for each school.

• Survey results will be made available to families by the end of the school year.

Take the survey now: https://bit.ly/40eS5ms

Cold Weather is coming! Prepare for the cold days, give yourself more time when making it to school, be careful of icy roads and sidewalks, and pull out those winter coats.

If the district determines that due to inclement weather we will operate on a 1-hour delayed start, FutureForward at Washington Square will have school, and will operate on a 1-hour delayed schedule. Buses will also be on a delayed bus schedule. Please check the bus schedule link for more detail.

If your student will be missing class, please communicate with Washington Square and their home high school. Our attendance guidelines are posted here.

We’re loving our new app! Access news, updates, and notifications right from your pocket.

Download for Android https://aptg.co/F4kP3r

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Make sure you are up to date on all the news and exciting experiences happening at Washington Square by joining our Instagram and Facebook pages!

Give us a like and a follow at “FutureForward Washington Square."

If you or your family are facing challenges this school year, Adams 12 is here to help. We offer a variety of resources, including health services, academic support, mental health services, and access to community programs.

For more information on available resources or how we can assist, please visit our district resource web page. We're here to support you!

Families who qualify for free or reduced benefits must reapply every year. Submitting this application may also waive some of your student’s required fees. Submit your application online at Adams 12 Five Star Schools.

Don’t miss out and apply now for Free and Reduced Benefits for the 2025-26 school year. Apply today on the SchoolCafe Family Hub.

The District is committed to nondiscrimination in relation to race, color, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), age, religion, creed, national origin (including ethnicity), ancestry, genetic information (including family medical history), marital status, family composition, sexual orientation, transgender identity, gender identity, gender expression, or disability (“Protected Classes”), in its educational programs or activities, operations, and employment applications and decisions. Harassment may be a form of discrimination.

A report of discrimination or harassment may be made to any District employee, including the District’s Title IX/Nondiscrimination Coordinator or designated assistant principal in each school building. Reports may be made in person, in writing, over the phone, by email or via the District’s website. The District’s nondiscrimination policies, grievance procedures, and online complaint form are available on the District’s Nondiscrimination and Title IX web pages on the District’s website, www.adams12.org.

The District’s Title IX/Non-Discrimination Coordinator is responsible for coordinating, monitoring, and documenting District compliance with District Policies 4140 (Equal Employment Opportunity), 8400 (Nondiscrimination), and 8410 (Sexual Harassment). Inquiries about these policies may be referred to the District’s Title IX/Nondiscrimination Coordinator, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, or both.

The District’s Interim Nondiscrimination Coordinator is:

Michaela Bland
Title IX/Nondiscrimination Coordinator
Educational Support Center (ESC)
1500 E 128th Ave, Thornton, CO 80241
TitleIX-Nondiscrimination-Coordinator@adams12.org
(720) 972-4179

The District will address reported incidents occurring between January 3, 2024 and July 1, 2024 under this version of District Policy 8400, Nondiscrimination.