49 Voices: A D49 Podcast

Send us Fan Mail As school year 2025-26 comes to a close, 49 Voices is taking a moment to tip our hat to D49’s schools of distinction. 13 campuses in our portfolio of exceptional educational choices met the criteria to achieve distinction status in D49 by earning 74 points or higher on their annual School Performance Framework (SPF) as reported by the Colorado Department of Education.   Now in our...

Send us Fan Mail The Pikes Peak region in southern Colorado is home to School District 49 and a host of well-known military installations including Peterson Space Force Base, The United States Air Force Academy and Fort Carson Army post. It is D49’s distinct pleasure to serve those who serve our nation.  This episode drops in April, the Month of the Military Child. We’re going all in on how D49 st...

Send us Fan Mail For our first episode of our fourth season of 49 Voices, we invite you to listen in on a vibrant discussion about partnerships and potential. School District 49 spotlighted both themes during our second State of the District Event which we called School Connect.  Superintendent and 49 Voices host Peter Hilts invited a four-member panel of leaders from a cross section of local ente...

Send us Fan Mail We conclude the Super Set by exploring the D49 blended education model, that finds its origins--and lasting home-- at The Campus, home of Pikes Peak Early College and Springs Studio of Academic Excellence. Come along with us as D49 Superintendent Peter Hilts dives into the PPEC approach with Nathan Pearsall, PPEC principal. We’ll learn how a campus balances in-person and online le...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Super Set, D49 Superintendent Peter Hilts visits with Cassi MacArthur, principal of Remington Elementary School. We’ll dig into the RES strategy for success – unpacking how a data driven approach connects learners with instruction that’s just right for them while leaders work hard to build joy and fun into the culture of learning. 

Send us Fan Mail Applied learning is the approach at Patriot High School, one of D49’s non-traditional campuses. In this episode, we meet Principal Ryan Bailey and teacher Lisa Banegas, who, along with a team of dedicated leaders and educators, are reinvigorating confidence and a growth mindset among their students. D49 has a place for every learner, and PHS proves it every day. 

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Super Set, Superintendent Peter Hilts visits with Woodmen Hills Elementary School Principal Bethany Stegman, who breaks down how a back to the basics approach, paired with a personalized learning strategy proved to be a powerful combination for Woodmen Hills

Send us Fan Mail As always, we thank you for listening to the 49 Voices podcast! Due to some adjustments underway at one of our featured campuses, we’re shifting gears slightly on the Super Set series as the next steps solidify. We’re using this mini-episode to bring our listeners up to speed on our upcoming full episode of the Super Set. 

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of 49 Voices, Superintendent Peter Hilts visits with Stetson Elementary School Principal Lori McCoy and Assistant Principal Nina Saroyan. We’ll learn more about what sparked a surge in achievement, propelling Stetson into the CDE's distinction category while becoming D49’s highest performing elementary school. 

Send us Fan Mail At School District 49, we like to say wherever you want to go, D49 is a great place to start. In this episode of 49 Voices, we begin a series we’re calling the Super Set. We'll hear directly from seven schools in the D49 portfolio who entered this school year having achieved the Colorado Department of Education's Distinction rating on their overall performance framework....

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of 49 Voices, D49 Superintendent Peter Hilts visits with Mike Wedor, principal of Skyview Middle School Principal. As one of seven schools carrying the distinction rating from the Colorado Department of Education, we’ll learn more about what it means to be a Skyview Eagle, and the Skyview pursuit of excellence.

Send us Fan Mail In the summer of 2024, the City of Lights called athletes and spectators from around the world for the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad. As School District 49 geared up for the start of the fall semester in Colorado Springs and eastern El Paso County, a member of the D49 workforce had an overseas assignment: coach a determined wrestler pursuing her dreams of becoming an Olympic champi...

Send us Fan Mail Among School District 49’s fundamental, strategic priorities or big rocks, are a commitment to offering exceptional choices and launching students to success. The two go hand-in-hand and take center stage at the start of the calendar year, which is widely recognized as a chance to consider school choice… and the time that many school districts encourage students and families to se...

Send us Fan Mail Learning opportunities at School District 49 extend well beyond the classroom. Some include a uniform and military title of cadet. It’s the world of the junior reserve officers training corps, or JROTC, which D49 offers in each of its three traditional high schools.  In the first episode of season two of 49 Voices, D49 Superintendent Peter Hilts welcomes Sand Creek Zone JROTC Inst...

Send us Fan Mail The name of the podcast is 49 Voices. We are grateful you are here to listen to our story. Listening is a key component of learning, and in D49’s culture and strategy of continuous improvement we know we must listen to the voice of the student. Student feedback gives us information we can act on to make their experience at school meaningful and enriching, which speaks to our prior...

Send us Fan Mail Their appearance is unmistakable. Their purpose: essential. The yellow school bus is a fixture in traffic patterns as far as the eye can see. Counting a traditional school day, field trips, sporting events… These workhorses of school districts far and wide… along with those who drive them are as fundamental to education as the apple sitting on a teacher’s desk.  In this episode, D...

Send us Fan Mail On the surface, or at first glance, the term digital convergence evokes a melding of electronic media with the everyday… or perhaps stories in pop culture that transport humans into a world of computers, programs and code. In this episode, D49 Chief Executive Officer Peter Hilts visits with Brian Smith, Falcon Zone leader. We'll explore the Falcon Zone, where D49 schools and...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we visit with KXRM FOX 21 Chief Meteorologist Matt Meister, who takes us through why experts like him have to reach far and wide to put together a forecast that best serves southern Colorado. D49 Chief Executive Officer Peter Hilts weighs in on why tracking quickly changing weather patterns matters as we live up to our commitment of delivering top-notch education f...

Send us Fan Mail As the Chief Executive Officer of School District 49, Peter Hilts spends his days serving the students, families and the workforce of the fastest growing district in the state of Colorado. His is a story of passion for educating young learners on their chosen pathway to success. While not deeply engaged with his duties as CEO, you may find Peter skillfully eluding bears while spor...