Hello PES Families!

My name is Sheryl Gifford, and I am the new principal at Penrose Elementary. I am so excited to begin this new journey, and I feel blessed that I get to start this journey at PES!

I grew up in Florence, Colorado. I have five brothers, and some wonderful parents. I graduated in 1999 from Florence High School, and went onto college to earn my degree in Elementary Education. I have been in education for 18 years, and I was a classroom teacher for 14 years of those years. All but two of my years in education has been here in the RE-2 School District. I am very proud that I am a Homegrown Talent, and wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

In 2018, I decided to go back to school to get my Principal's License. In 2019, I was given the opportunity to be an assistant principal at both the new Florence Jr./Sr. High School, and Penrose Elementary. During my second year as an AP, I began in the same role; however, I was moved to full-time AP at the Jr./Sr. High School. In 2021, I was given the opportunity to be the assistant principal at Fremont Elementary, and then a very exciting thing happened; I was selected to be the principal for Penrose Elementary for the 2022-2023 school year. I feel like I have come full circle, as I student taught in 2003 at PES, so this is a very unique experience for me.

While education is a passion for me, so is my family. I have a wonderful husband, Matt, who teaches CTE courses at the Jr./Sr. High School. We have two beautiful, quirky, and loving daughters who keep us busy and make life so much more interesting. Some of my favorite things to do are read, watch movies, and I love to cook. My daughters would tell you that I'm obsessed with cats, coffee, tacos, and Hot Tamales, and they wouldn't be wrong.

I look forward to meeting each of you, and getting to know my PES family. Please stop by any time to visit and say hi. It's going to be a fantastic year!

Sincerely,

Sheryl Gifford