By Robert L. Chakar, Jr., Ed.D

Andes is a school district with a long and celebrated history. This history had its beginnings when the community consolidated the 21 different schoolhouses that existed at the turn of the century. The school district had the first ground breaking for the new school in 1932. Four years later, the current Andes school was open to children in grades K-12.

The first graduating class that walked across to shake their Board President and Superintendent of School’s hands, did so in June 1937. Since that time a lot has changed in education, as well as our Andes learning community.

This June 2012, the Andes community will be celebrating their 75th graduating class. The Diamond Anniversary Class, will do so with the satisfaction of knowing that they are part of the tradition and rich history this community has offered.

To that end, I am soliciting community input as to how best celebrate this significant anniversary. I will be having several evening meetings with coffee and cookies being served to gather ideas for the celebration. The first evening will be Tuesday, January 17th, 2012 at 6 pm in our cafeteria, and the second evening will be Tuesday, February 14th, 2012 at 6 pm in our cafeteria. The gathering should last approximately an hour or so, and the information shared will be given to the school’s graduation committee for our March 2012 meeting. ~