Great Things Going On
I would like to congratulate Center Schools contracted counselor Katrina Ruggles, Center Schools health grant coordinator Marsha Felmlee, and the students and staff members of Haskin Elementary, Skoglund Middle, and Center High School for being named Colorado Education Initiative Healthy Schools Champions once again this year! Last Thursday Katrina and Marsha accepted these awards on behalf of the Center School District at the Legacy Summit in Denver. Healthy Schools Champion awards are distributed each year based on a school’s focus on health education, physical education and student activity, availability of health services, policies surrounding nutrition, programs geared at counseling, psychological and social services, evidence of a healthy and safe school environment, promotion of healthy lifestyles and wellness for staff, and overall community, family, and student involvement in healthy activities. 2014 marks the third straight year CHS and Skoglund received this award, while Haskin received it this year for the first time!
I also want to thank Skoglund Middle School staff members and students for the great job they did getting through our first round of CMAS testing. CMAS stands for Colorado Measures of Academic Success, and 2014 is the first year this electronically administered assessment has been given. Last Thursday the district administered the 7th grade social studies and 8th grade science assessments and we look forward to seeing how our students performed.
I would also like to offer a shout out to some of our valued San Luis Valley community partners. Recently we have been working with the good folks at Aventa Credit Union who are working to establish a student scholarship program, a teacher classroom grant program, and a teacher staff development grant program for the benefit of Center Schools. Additionally, the folks at SLV Federal Bank have committed to supporting the San Luis valley Teacher of the Year program by providing cash awards to all Valley district representatives to the program. Finally, our local office of Community Banks of the Rockies is working hard with us to provide very reasonable financing for a possible major school fleet vehicle purchase. It is truly wonderful to work with local businesses that are so willing to go the extra mile for public education!
I also want to thank Skoglund Middle School staff members and students for the great job they did getting through our first round of CMAS testing. CMAS stands for Colorado Measures of Academic Success, and 2014 is the first year this electronically administered assessment has been given. Last Thursday the district administered the 7th grade social studies and 8th grade science assessments and we look forward to seeing how our students performed.
I would also like to offer a shout out to some of our valued San Luis Valley community partners. Recently we have been working with the good folks at Aventa Credit Union who are working to establish a student scholarship program, a teacher classroom grant program, and a teacher staff development grant program for the benefit of Center Schools. Additionally, the folks at SLV Federal Bank have committed to supporting the San Luis valley Teacher of the Year program by providing cash awards to all Valley district representatives to the program. Finally, our local office of Community Banks of the Rockies is working hard with us to provide very reasonable financing for a possible major school fleet vehicle purchase. It is truly wonderful to work with local businesses that are so willing to go the extra mile for public education!
Big Things We Are Working On
There was once again a major focus on school finance this past week at the Colorado legislature as the Student Success Act was heard in the Senate Education Committee. On Thursday afternoon I testified in support of the act, offering appreciation for the dollars that are already committed to increasing per pupil funding above and beyond the original proposal offered through the governor’s office, encouraging the committee to focus yet more dollars on at-risk student populations such as we serve in Center, and also encouraging the committee to continue funding of the Building Excellent Schools Today program, while detaching many of the strings they have placed on the capital construction dollars that are currently in the act. The act passed out of committee on a 7-0 vote and will next be heard in Senate Finance.
The Past Week
On Monday morning I worked to finalize an i3 grant concept proposal for the school districts of the San Luis Valley. I then attended our 3rd quarter District Leadership Team meeting to work on our annual academic improvement plan, before attending the San Luis Valley Teacher of the Year selection committee meeting and attending the Center Town and Country Women’s Club meeting to present information about my October trip to India. On Tuesday I had my monthly Early Steps to School Success progress meeting where we worked on transforming Center into a sub-grantee of the program, and then I attended a phone-in CASE Staff Development Committee meeting late in the afternoon, as well as an elementary staff bullying prevention training session. On Thursday I was in Denver to attend the Colorado Legacy Foundation
Legacy summit where I watched Haskin Elementary, Skoglund Middle School, and Center High School receive their Healthy School Champions awards. I also was asked to stay around afterward to participate in a round table session with Sir Ken Robinson, the event’s keynote speaker. I then proceeded over to the capitol to attend the Senate Education Committee meeting where the Student Success Act was being considered.
Legacy summit where I watched Haskin Elementary, Skoglund Middle School, and Center High School receive their Healthy School Champions awards. I also was asked to stay around afterward to participate in a round table session with Sir Ken Robinson, the event’s keynote speaker. I then proceeded over to the capitol to attend the Senate Education Committee meeting where the Student Success Act was being considered.
The Week Ahead
Center Schools will be closed on Monday April 21st in celebration of Easter. On Tuesday and Wednesday I will be in Portland, Oregon on behalf of the Colorado Association of School Executives and many Colorado counties and school districts to attend the National Forest Management and Federal Payments Symposium to discuss future federal funding of the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) and Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) programs. Expenses for this trip are being paid by CASE. While there I will have the opportunity to meet with Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, who also serves as a senior member on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. I am extremely excited to be asked to attend this important meeting as the SRS and PILT programs are very important to the school districts of Saguache County and the county government itself. I will fly back to Denver on Thursday to attend the Public Education Business Coalition Luncheon with Center School Board President Michael Lobato, who has been asked to introduce Denver attorney and Alamosa native Kenzo Kawanabe as he receives a special award related tot eh Lobato v Colorado lawsuit. I will remain in the Denver area on Friday to attend a critical conversations session on English Language Learners being hosted by the Mapleton School District. Center Schools director of instruction Lori Cooper, and Haskin Elementary principals Kathy Kulp and Sarah Vance will be attending this event with me because improving instruction for ELL students is a major aspect of our 2014-15 academic improvement plan.
Extra Points
It was truly an honor to get to meet international education guru Sir Ken Robinson at the Colorado Legacy Foundation-Colorado Education Initiative Summit last Thursday in Denver. I was one of four superintendents from Colorado who were invited to engage with him directly after his keynote speech. Sir Ken believes that to engage and succeed students, education must develop on three major fronts. First, it should foster diversity by offering a broader curriculum and encouraging individualization of the learning process for students. Second, it should foster curiosity of children through creative teaching. Finally, educators should be trained to focus on awakening creativity in students through alternative processes that put less emphasis on standardized testing and more emphasis on individualization. It is Sir Ken Robinson’s belief that much of our present education system fosters conformity, compliance, and standardization rather than creative approaches to learning and problem solving. He emphasizes that we can only succeed if we recognize that education is an organic system, not a mechanical one. After engaging with him I believe Robinson believes that the best thing we can do in schools is to cultivate an environment where teachers and students can take risks to improve and grow. I believe we are well on our way to doing this in Center.
If you would like to learn more about Sir Ken Robinson’s educational philosophy I encourage you to search for him on YouTube or to view his videos at these links.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U or
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY
Have a great week.
George
If you would like to learn more about Sir Ken Robinson’s educational philosophy I encourage you to search for him on YouTube or to view his videos at these links.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U or
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY
Have a great week.
George