Superintendent Sirko says goodbye

Superintendent Diana Sirko says running Aspen’s schools has been an education in itself. And as her last week at the helm nears a close, Dr. Sirko was toasted by colleagues, parents, teachers and students Wednesday afternoon at the Red Mountain Grill at the Aspen Golf Course.

Sirko is leaving the Aspen School District to become a deputy commissioner with the state department of education in Denver.

When she takes over the state post on June 14, Sirko will be tasked with developing and implementing a new statewide testing program to replace the Colorado Student Assessment System.

The new evaluations, mandated by a new law signed by Gov. Bill Ritter last month, will link teacher evaluations to how well their students perform on annual tests. This effort to make teachers more accountable for their students’ success is among the most progressive in the nation, where states in every region are wrestling with how to keep quality teachers in public schools, questioning established tenure systems, and reshaping high-stakes testing for students.

The lifelong teacher, who has been a Colorado educator for 35 years, said she’s been inspired by the mutual support and respect her students and the larger Aspen community give one another.

For example, she said, she’s worked in larger districts with thousands of students who never get crowds for sporting events. Here, she said, “You can always count on support for kids and for education ... . When you have a community event or a game, it’s always packed.”

And she said the latest generation of students has impressed her.

“People talk negatively about, ‘Oh, kids today, kids today,’” she said at the farewell party. “Kids today are better than kids have ever been. They have a very challenging world in front of them and they step up to the plate every time.”

But the tail end of Dr. Sirko’s tenure here has been distinguished by some of the biggest challenges she has faced, as the recession has bred statewide education budget cuts and about $1 million in reduction for Aspen’s coming school year.

“Dollars are always a challenge with education,” Sirko said.

State Sen. Gail Schwartz, Democrat of Snowmass Village, said Sirko will be a welcome addition to state education policy-making and implementation.

“We want to be a national leader on education,” Sen. Schwartz said, pointing to Sirko, “and this is the kind of leadership we need.”

During a sometimes-tearful speech at yesterday’s celebration, Sirko praised her colleagues and the tight-knit Aspen community. She also joked that “one of the controversies we had here was the hiring of a football coach,” referring to her husband, Aspen High head football coach Mike Sirko.

Hired three years into his wife’s tenure, any murmurs of nepotism or controversy regarding the appointment have quieted as the coach turned the team into annual playoff contenders (the coach wore an Aspen football T-shirt to yesterday’s informal banquet).

One of their daughters and two of their grandchildren were also in attendance.

Mike Sirko is staying on as Aspen’s football coach this fall, while Diana commutes to and from the new Denver-based job.

School board member Charla Belinski said local educators are planning to still see the departing superintendent around town.

“This is not goodbye, we know you’re staying in the valley,” Belinski said, adding with a laugh, “and we know where you live.”

By Andrew Travers of the Aspen Daily News.