Staff Profile
Greetings!
My name is Dale Kern and I’m the High School Social Studies teacher and Senior Advocate. I received my Bachelor of Arts in History from Tennessee State University where I also minored in Political Science. While I was there, the emphasis of my studies centered around eras of social change in US history and the practices implemented by people who sought social justice. I earned my State of Colorado teaching license through the ASPIRE to Teach Alternative Licensure Program at CU Denver.
The 2023-2024 school year will be my eighth year of teaching and my fifth at Westgate. Before coming to Westgate, I taught US History and Music at Lookout Mountain Youth Services Center in Golden where I worked with at-risk youth who were in the custody of the Division of Youth Services. My time at Lookout gave me experience practicing trauma-informed care and guided me in adopting the principles associated with TIC; safety, choice, collaboration, trustworthiness and empowerment.
As a social studies teacher, I believe that it is imperative to not only develop the readiness of my students as critical thinkers and engaged citizens; but to also help facilitate learning experiences where they can find growth and personal enrichment.
In my free time I enjoy backpacking, traveling, and snowboarding. I'm also a musician and I play guitar in a few local bands around Northern Colorado.
Classes
Posts
Office Hours Info
Office hours for high school teachers are listed below. Students are encouraged to reach out during these times if they have questions regarding academic material. Parents: if you have questions, please reach out to the appropriate teacher through email. We are happy to set up zoom meetings for parent questions by request as well.
OFFICE HOURS
KERN: Tuesday & Wednesdays 2:00-3:00PM
Zoom Link:https://us04web.zoom.us/j/2870016972?pwd=QVFLZ3dneWtJV0NvbCtYYVNmano3UT09
CUEVAS: Tuesday and Wednesday from 9:30 – 10:30
Zoom Link: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/9876797217?pwd=Uk9yaE01QXBqaWZOWk1oNklNNDV6dz09
MATTHEWS: Tuesday and Thursday 9:30 - 10:30
Zoom Link: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/7186478925?pwd=eS9yak1IRnRSQXBRV3pqTmRiSmp2UT09
SCHNEIDER: Tuesday 1:00 - 2:00; Wednesday 9:00-10:00; Thursday 1:00-3:00
Tuesday Zoom Link: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/207062615?pwd=N3lZN1VHazA0MWdJcUlMUjllOG9jZz09
Wednesday Zoom Link: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/475890524?pwd=ekhyaDR5ajdkSU0veEdOckNyT1B6QT09
Thursday Zoom Link: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/873937436?pwd=RzdZTDdibDk0bFc2YzU1dG0yRmdHdz09
BRINKLEY: Monday 1:30 - 2:30 and Friday 10:00 - 11:00
Monday Zoom Link: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/269528729
Friday Zoom Link: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/269528729
Kern's Distance Learning Zoom Meeting Schedules for Spring 2020
Topic: Dale Kern's Tuesday & Wednesday Office Hours
Time: This is a recurring meeting Tuesdays and Wednesdays 2-3PM
Zoom Meeting:
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/2870016972?pwd=QVFLZ3dneWtJV0NvbCtYYVNmano3UT09
Topic: Kern's Media Studies Meeting
Time: This is a recurring meeting Tuesdays 10-11AM
Zoom Meeting:
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/397593339?pwd=UHJtWXhzcmM4QU8rZWNSTGxCYWNJZz09
Topic: Kern's Economics Class Weekly Meeting
Time: This is a recurring meeting Wednesdays 10-11AM
Zoom Meeting:
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/172516854?pwd=UEZRS2J2UnU0K2hGV0FJc1BkZ0grZz09
Topic: Kern's Weekly Philosophy Zoom Meeting
Time: This is a recurring meeting Wednesday 12:30-1:30
Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/449341352?pwd=UE5adjh5d3JXRjJBYlNyK3RuTXd5Zz09
Topic: US History Regular Class Meeting
Time: This is a recurring meeting Thursday 10-11AM
Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/256483470?pwd=M0lQd1gyZ1dScnpSYWNKSzJWd2djUT09
Topic: Kern's 9th Grade Weekly Advocacy Meeting
Time: This is a recurring meeting Friday 10-11AM
Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/323032311?pwd=OGxhQldkMzZveHhadTQ4aTdVVUNTdz09
Topic: Kern's EDM Soul Service Meeting
Time: This is a recurring meeting Friday 1:30-2:30PM
Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/453662021?pwd=aWcxUHlYUTY3TXR3MzVGVDFzVjR1UT09
High School Distance Learning Information and Expectations
Good afternoon,
I hope this finds you healthy and well. With Monday fast approaching, we teachers are each working to make sure our online lessons are ready to go. As of today, Westgate will be working through online, remote learning for the remainder of the school year. This email is to inform you of how classes will work for the remainder of the year, as well as a list of how each teacher would like their assignments submitted. Your student will receive another email from each teacher with Zoom login information.
Westgate Class Pages
All classroom assignments will be posted to the class pages on the Westgate website at https://www.westgateschool.org/ We encourage both students and parents to subscribe to their class pages to receive weekly updates. Links for all high school class pages can be found here: https://www.westgateschool.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=597639&type=d&pREC_ID=classes
Schedule
There is no set schedule for when students must work on their assignments or log into classes. The schedule is flexible, and they may work and turn in their assignments any time before Fridays at midnight.
If it helps, students may want to set up their own schedules. Maybe they will work on each subject for 30 minutes a day, or maybe they want to set up a different weekday for each subject. They can do whatever works for them!
A master schedule is attached to share when teachers are hosting advocacy, class instruction and office hours.
Submitting Assignments
Submitting assignments will vary from teacher to teacher.
Brinkley: OneNote or Email
Cuevas: Email (replying to initial assignment email works well)
Kern: One Note or Email
Matthews: OneNote. (There will be a "finished assignment" tab for students to upload their assignments)
Schnieder: OneNote or Email
Once a week or so, feedback will be sent to students. Grades will still appear on IC as normal.
Office Hours
Each teacher will be holding a minimum of two office sessions during the week. Please review the attached schedule for each teacher’s office hours. If for some reason you are unable to meet with teachers during their scheduled office hours; please reach out to the teacher via email to make alternative arrangements.
Parent Information
Parents: if you have questions, please email to set up a time for a separate zoom conference. You can also always feel free to email!
If there are any class concerns, please keep in mind the communication pathway. Address questions and concerns in the following order:
Classroom Teacher
Advocate
Assistant Principal – Mrs. Novak
Zoom Expectations:
Zoom meetings are not required however, we strongly encourage students to utilize these opportunities to maintain classroom culture and community.
Please remember this is still school, and as such we are striving for a professional environment. You are not required to share your video but anything in view should be school appropriate. Teachers will turn off video or audio for any student who becomes inappropriate at any time.
Logging in: please use your first and last name for your screen name. For instance, a student named “Jane Smith” would write “Jane Smith” for their screen name. Students will receive emails with login information for individual teachers/classes.
Please do not share links and passwords with others. Teachers will not allow unfamiliar names or students from different classes to sign in to zoom sessions.
Thank you for taking the time to read this email. We hope you are staying safe through this time,
Amanda Matthews
Dale Kern
Amy Schneider
Timothy Cuevas
Jason Brinkley