49 Voices: A D49 Podcast

Among School District 49’s fundamental, strategic priorities or big rocks, are a commitment to offering exceptional choices and launching students to success. The two go hand-in-hand and take center stage at the start of the calendar year, which is widely recognized as a chance to consider school choice… and the time that many school districts encourage students and families to select the school that provides the best educational opportunities.In this episode of 49 Voices, D49 Superintendent Peter Hilts welcomes Sean Norman, D49’s Director of Applied and Advanced Learning and Amy Sanchez-Martinez, Principal of Sand Creek High School. We'll discuss how d49 leads the region with our approach to choice…how we shape choice into success, and why our experts say it’s an exciting time to be a student. Explore our exceptional choices today, at D49.org!

Learning opportunities at School District 49 extend well beyond the classroom. Some include a uniform and military title of cadet. It’s the world of the junior reserve officers training corps, or JROTC, which D49 offers in each of its three traditional high schools. In the first episode of season two of 49 Voices, D49 Superintendent Peter Hilts welcomes Sand Creek Zone JROTC Instructor Ryan Pontius, a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and Brianna Phillips, Sand Creek High senior and JROTC Corps Commander. We’ll learn how these programs offer a direct introduction to service in a school district with a proud military tradition and connection to the U.S. armed forces, plus what draws students to join the JROTC ranks – and why this kind of opportunity produces young adults who are prepared to lead.  

The name of the podcast is 49 Voices. We are grateful you are here to listen to our story. Listening is a key component of learning, and in D49’s culture and strategy of continuous improvement we know we must listen to the voice of the student. Student feedback gives us information we can act on to make their experience at school meaningful and enriching, which speaks to our priorities of building firm foundations, offering exceptional choices and launching successful students.  In this episode, D49 superintendent Peter Hilts welcomes two energetic voices from the D49 student body - Israel Oketunmbi: Sand Creek class of '23, and Syndi Ellis of Pikes Peak Early College. We’ll learn how these students have the unique opportunity to speak with and to the D49 Board of Education, what’s important to them as D49 students, and why our superintendent places them among the strongest student leaders he’s seen in his career in education. 

Their appearance is unmistakable. Their purpose: essential. The yellow school bus is a fixture in traffic patterns as far as the eye can see. Counting a traditional school day, field trips, sporting events… These workhorses of school districts far and wide… along with those who drive them are as fundamental to education as the apple sitting on a teacher’s desk. In this episode, D49 chief executive officer Peter Hilts welcomes Jack Pietraallo, our director of transportation. We’ll dig into what keeps a fleet of buses on-time and incident free…plus why a firm focus on student success and safety are the top priorities to the driving force to education.

On the surface, or at first glance, the term digital convergence evokes a melding of electronic media with the everyday… or perhaps stories in pop culture that transport humans into a world of computers, programs and code.In this episode, D49 Chief Executive Officer Peter Hilts visits with Brian Smith, Falcon Zone leader. We'll explore the Falcon Zone, where D49 schools and teachers are using digital convergence to drive performance in the classroom…while climbing to national role-model status in a modern method of education. 

In this episode we visit with KXRM FOX 21 Chief Meteorologist Matt Meister, who takes us through why experts like him have to reach far and wide to put together a forecast that best serves southern Colorado. D49 Chief Executive Officer Peter Hilts weighs in on why tracking quickly changing weather patterns matters as we live up to our commitment of delivering top-notch education for all learners. We’ll also talk about what goes in to announcing the two-word combo students (and others) love to hear: snow day.

As the Chief Executive Officer of School District 49, Peter Hilts spends his days serving the students, families and the workforce of the fastest growing district in the state of Colorado. His is a story of passion for educating young learners on their chosen pathway to success. While not deeply engaged with his duties as CEO, you may find Peter skillfully eluding bears while sport-fishing in Alaska (true story) and criss-crossing the country to fulfill another of his passions: Fatherhood. On our premier podcast, we’ll spend a few minutes getting to know D49 CEO Peter Hilts.