"It is important for those who hold positions of leadership in education to be believers in learners of all kinds, both students and teachers," says Margarita Lopez, principal of Helen Hunt Elementary School in Colorado Springs. Ms. Lopez has helped launch the Children's Literacy Center, the Saturday Program for Gifted Children and the Zebulon Pike Detention Center Project that brings educational opportunities to the Center's residents. "Helen Hunt Elementary School," she says, "is a very high risk site," and programs such as the Positive Behavior Management Program for High Risk Kids have been developed to promote constructive behaviors. The school often serves as a community resource-a place of refuge and solutions for those in need. When Ms. Lopez encourages students and their families to participate in the school's upkeep, she also helps establish the school as the heart of the community.
1977 University of Northern Colorado, B.A.
