December 2023

Dear Park Lane Community, 

I have some bittersweet news to share with you. I am leaving Park Lane Elementary over the Winter Break to serve as the district’s Director of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education. Please be assured that after Winter Break, long-time educator and retired Aurora Public Schools principal Cari Roberts will serve as Interim Principal at Park Lane. 

My new role will allow me to use my personal and professional experience to lead the district’s multilingual learner programs and ensure that we are implementing best practices to support students and families who are new to our country and learning multiple languages district wide. 

While I’m excited to take on this new leadership role and look forward to continuing to serve students and staff in Aurora Public Schools, I’m saddened to leave the wonderful community at Park Lane. Park Lane has become a second home for me, where I have seen students flourish both academically and socially. 

It has been a tremendous honor to work alongside the students, staff and families at Park Lane. I want to especially thank my staff who have persevered and serve your children daily. Over the past four and a half years, we have helped students reach both their academic and personal goals. Together, we've weathered challenges and celebrated successes and have become a stronger community. 

Please be assured that the Park Lane community will be in great hands with Ms. Roberts who has extensive experience in education. Most recently, she served as interim principal at Harmony Ridge P-8 and Tollgate Elementary. Prior to that, she was the principal at Aurora Frontier P-8 and assistant principal at Aurora Quest K-8.

Learning Community Director Dr. Karen Powell will be leading the hiring process for a new principal in January. After Winter Break, you will receive additional information about the hiring process, which will include community input. 

Thank you for making Park Lane a great place for students, staff and families. I look forward to continuing to serve not only Park Lane families, but families throughout Aurora Public Schools in my new role. I wish all of our students, staff and families the very best and look forward to Park Lane’s continued success. 

Annalee McBee, Principal
Park Lane Elementary


June 2023


Dear Esteemed Park Lane Family and Community- 


It is with great pleasure that I continue on this journey with each and every one of you as the proud principal of Park Lane Elementary.  During these past couple of weeks, while the building has been quiet, I have been able to reflect on the strengths of our community and where we continue to have places to grow. 


Robert Sheffield, Chief Growth Officer, at Unbound Education said, “Education is an intergenerational asset”. To me, this means that providing one a robust, thoughtful and engaging educational experience can change one’s life trajectory, and can impact generations for better or for worse, depending on how the educational experience was perceived. Therefore, we have a critical role to play in ensuring our students and your children thrive and have all the doors of opportunity opened for them. 


With the merger of our two schools, I want to elevate some critical belief statements that I want us to anchor into this coming school year:


This upcoming school year, I want us to “Stay Curious & Stay Humble”.  As we reflect and push ourselves to further our academic achievement, I want us to find strength in all of our communities. I want us to ask questions when we are unsure and build new common experiences that lift all voices together. 


As we navigate into uncharted territory, know that we are a family. Our family is diverse and brilliant and is growing. As it grows, we may not do things that we used to do, in order to serve our new larger community.  I ask that we each hold ourselves accountable to having courageous conversations and family meetings, so in turn, we build an inclusive community. 


We can all be change agents and life-long learners. 


Enjoy your summer and time for joy, reflection, and family. I am excited for our new journey together this Fall. 


Sincerely,


Annalee McBee, Principal 




August 2022

Dear  Esteemed Park Lane Community:

   It is with great pride, humility and intentionality that I accept the principalship at Park Lane Elementary. After twelve years of living in South America, I moved to the United States. In 2006, I relocated my family to Colorado and served as a teacher in Aurora Public Schools at both West Middle School and Aurora Central High School. I raised my family in old town Aurora for eleven years.

    I have served the Park Lane Community for the past three years during a very trying time for our country. Social inequity and the pandemic have had huge implications for our community. It is important for me that we foster an inclusive community for all stakeholders at Park Lane and that we rise above our differences in an effort to meet our children's needs. 

     Prior to Park Lane, I have served 10 years as an elementary turnaround school leader in Denver Public Schools, in highly impacted communities. My life’s work is to serve disenfranchised communities and support them to breakthrough barriers that have disempowered generations. I am honored to return to Aurora and serve this community that is dear to my heart.

   Throughout my leadership journey, my inner monologue that guides me is: Dream Big, Inspire Confidence and Ensure Success. Our children will be the guiding force in the future to eliminate inequality and injustice, while creating a joyful world. The students and families at Park Lane Elementary deserve the opportunity to share their unique strengths and successes with the intent to become a beacon of this vision. Each of our unique differences and setbacks should serve to empower us to not settle for the status quo, but to expect excellence from each other.

   I am committed to bringing integrity, perseverance, and problem-solving to Park Lane Elementary. I am committed to learning and listening to families, community and faculty. Together, we will create effective systems for student learning, community partnerships and teacher effectiveness.   

  Our school vision is: Empowering brilliant & diverse minds through dynamic learning.

This year I challenge each of us to dream big, inspire confidence in each other and work collaboratively to ensure success for children. 

   This school year we will be focused on data-driven instruction and creating and fostering a joy for learning throughout our building

. We will work to build coherency across the mission/vision, school systems, curricular effectiveness and rigorous supports for teachers and families. My priority will to focus on cultivating a safe, creative learning community that fosters student excellence.

   Integrity, equity and accountability will be at the heart of our work to dramatically accelerate the rigor and intentionality of Park Lane Elementary school. We will commence this journey, in partnership with the community, by building the necessary infrastructure, supports, and momentum.

I am committed to joining you in service of our families and our community. In my years of leadership, I have learned that to serve the needs of the community and to build lasting partnerships, I must create authentic relationships. As a life-long  learner, I look forward to learning from each of you: our teachers, our students, our families and community members about what makes Park Lane unique and how we can dramatically accelerate student success and growth.

Sincerely,

Annalee Claire McBee

Principal