CREEDE— The Creede School welcomed a new member of staff at the beginning of 2018. Danielle Ceja is a Colorado native that decided to move to Creede and bring her experience as a school counselor to the students.
Ceja comes to Creede with 14 years’ experience in school psychology. Ceja and her family moved to the area from Denver where she received her degree in school psychology and is licensed to provide support to students ages zero to 21.
Ceja will provide educational academic and behavioral support to students in the Creede school with the help of community resources such as the ROCK program. Reaching Out to Creede Kids (ROCK) is a non-profit 501(c)3 that focuses on helping students in the area in a wide range of skills. The program with the help of Ceja plans to increase knowledge in saying no to drugs, achieving academic goals and other life-long skills.
According to her bio in the January Creede School newsletter, “Studies have proven the importance of early intervention and prevention in creating life-long skills, and I am looking forward to implementing substance prevention/intervention to all students with the Too Good for Drugs curriculum as well as providing instruction to students in the areas of self-regulation and emotional control with the Zones of Regulation program. Both evidence-based programs support students’ ability to identify areas of personal strength and need, and help students learn a variety of strategies to appropriately problem solve in a variety of situations.”
School Superintendent Lis Richard stated that the school was pleased to have Ceja on board and looks forward to seeing the results of her work at the school. Ceja continued in her article from the newsletter stating, “I have been working in schools in the Denver metro area and in the San Luis Valley for 14 years, supporting students, families and communities. I have experience in providing direct support to students with a variety of social/emotional, behavioral and academic needs and am committed to helping all students be successful based on their personal learning style.”

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In addition to the new counselor, the school began their new trade classes at the beginning of the year. “The classes were very well received by students and staff. We have had a great attendance and interest from students that lowered the number of students that enrolled in online classes. Usually, there were about 11 students taking online courses because we didn’t offer that curriculum at the school. Now that we do, students have opted to take the trade courses instead. The students are really enjoying it,” said Richard.
Richard also reported that the new track has reached completion and will be used in the spring for track training and practice. The track is not large enough to host invitational meets, but will serve as an excellent location for students to practice track as well as other sports. “We have completed it to the extent of the contracted agreement and will be able to use it in the spring for practice,” finished Richard.
The school has an exciting year ahead and plans to continue to involve the community as much as possible. As always Richard states that her door is always open and invites the public to come and visit.