Federal Heights – Dr. William Wiener is no stranger to educating in tough spots.
A former college professor, Wiener’s specialty was education at juvenile correctional facilities. After moving to Colorado, he was the director of educational programs at Lookout Mountain Youth Services Center for more than a decade.
So, when he became The Pinnacle charter school’s new executive director this summer, he was ready for the test.
What he didn’t expect was how smoothly it would go.
“Fine staff, fine teachers,” he said. “There’s good material to work with. People are wanting to move in some direction. People are willing to shake their feet and move forward.”
He took over after the former executive director – one of the school’s founders – was ousted in a tumult that saw The Pinnacle’s charter repeatedly threatened.
Six months ago, it wasn’t clear what the future of The Pinnacle, the state’s third-largest charter school, would be.
The school’s parent district, Adams 12 Five Star Schools, had commissioned two reports that accused The Pinnacle of bad accounting practices, unethical governance and poor administrative oversight.
The Pinnacle tried and failed to leave the district and get a charter through the state. Adams 12’s board threatened repeatedly to revoke the school’s charter if it didn’t clean things up.
As a result, the school has a new executive director, a new all-parent school board and a new way of doing things.
“The whole idea is to open things up and get more people’s input,” Wiener said. “My impression is that in the past it was a two- or three-person operation.”
Wiener has formed seven task forces for staff members to focus on issues the school faces and offer suggestions on how to fix them. He has created an advisory council, made up of parents and a teacher, and he is encouraging parents to participate in the parent-teacher organization.
The district is complimentary of the changes.
“There’s certainly been substantial progress made on the part of The Pinnacle, and we’re supportive of the work that is going on there,” said Joe Ferdani, an Adams 12 spokesman.
Both Wiener and Pinnacle board member Dean DePaolo said tensions between the school and district have eased.
Nonetheless, The Pinnacle has decided again to seek a charter through the state’s chartering institute. DePaolo said the board hasn’t decided that it wants to leave Adams 12 but wants to weigh that option if the chartering institute approves the school application.
“I think things are going very well, from what I’ve seen and the feedback I’ve gotten from teachers and parents,” DePaolo said. “Certainly the tone has changed. It’s much more positive.”
Staff writer John Ingold can be reached at 720-929-0898 or jingold@denverpost.com.
