Happy New Year! This week I am counting down the best things that happened in the district, the district's most distinguished visitors, and the people who have moved on during 2014 who we'll miss the most.
2014 Top Great Things Going On
A New Middle School Principal
In early June Center Schools was proud to announce that Mr. Luis Murillo had been offered, and had accepted, a contract to serve as our new principal of Skoglund Middle School. Mr. Murillo, formerly a counselor at Ortega Middle School in Alamosa, impressed the seven members of the hiring committee with his belief that with hard work and tenacity anyone can overcome any obstacle. The committee also felt that with his knowledge and experience surrounding migrant and English language learner students, and with his overall understanding of what good classroom instruction looks like and how to support it, he would fit right in to our school systems in Center. Though he is only one semester into his tenure in the district, Mr. Murillo has already won the respect of his students, staff, and our community members, and we look forward to him having a long and wonderful career benefitting our children.
In early June Center Schools was proud to announce that Mr. Luis Murillo had been offered, and had accepted, a contract to serve as our new principal of Skoglund Middle School. Mr. Murillo, formerly a counselor at Ortega Middle School in Alamosa, impressed the seven members of the hiring committee with his belief that with hard work and tenacity anyone can overcome any obstacle. The committee also felt that with his knowledge and experience surrounding migrant and English language learner students, and with his overall understanding of what good classroom instruction looks like and how to support it, he would fit right in to our school systems in Center. Though he is only one semester into his tenure in the district, Mr. Murillo has already won the respect of his students, staff, and our community members, and we look forward to him having a long and wonderful career benefitting our children.
Healthy Schools Champions Again
In 2014 Center High School, Skoglund Middle School and Haskin Elementary Schools were recognized by as Colorado Education Initiative Healthy Schools Champions. Last spring Center Schools counselor Katrina Ruggles and middle-high secretary and health grant coordinator Marsha Felmlee 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 Center High School and Skoglund Middle School received this award, while Haskin Elementary got it for the first time!
In 2014 Center High School, Skoglund Middle School and Haskin Elementary Schools were recognized by as Colorado Education Initiative Healthy Schools Champions. Last spring Center Schools counselor Katrina Ruggles and middle-high secretary and health grant coordinator Marsha Felmlee 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 Center High School and Skoglund Middle School received this award, while Haskin Elementary got it for the first time!
A Sixth Straight Center of Excellence Award
In December Center High School principal Kevin Jones and Center High School Building Leadership Team representative Mark Jones made the trek to Denver to attend the Colorado Department of Education’s annual awards ceremony to represent Center High School as it received a sixth straight Center of Educational Excellence award. Center of Educational Excellence Awards are given only to schools in Colorado that have greater than a 75% at-risk student population (as determined by free or reduced lunch count) that also exhibit academic growth above the 55th percentile in all statewide tested areas. To receive just one of these awards a school must accomplish this level of growth for three straight years. To receive six awards in a row, the school would have to be growing at the 55th percentile or higher for nine straight years. Center High School has done exactly this!
Congratulations once again to the students and staff members of Center High School!
In December Center High School principal Kevin Jones and Center High School Building Leadership Team representative Mark Jones made the trek to Denver to attend the Colorado Department of Education’s annual awards ceremony to represent Center High School as it received a sixth straight Center of Educational Excellence award. Center of Educational Excellence Awards are given only to schools in Colorado that have greater than a 75% at-risk student population (as determined by free or reduced lunch count) that also exhibit academic growth above the 55th percentile in all statewide tested areas. To receive just one of these awards a school must accomplish this level of growth for three straight years. To receive six awards in a row, the school would have to be growing at the 55th percentile or higher for nine straight years. Center High School has done exactly this!
Congratulations once again to the students and staff members of Center High School!
$250,000 in College Scholarships for the Class of 2014
Last spring Center High School seniors were awarded roughly a quarter of a million dollars in scholarships to attend college or other postsecondary institutions. The bulk of these gifts were awarded to students from community partners Trinidad State Community College and Adams State University, though students also received dollars from the Colorado School of Mines, the University of Colorado at Boulder, Colorado State University, the Skeff, McCormick, and Entz families, and the Kiwanis Club of Center.
We think the success our students are having securing so much college assistance can be traced to the expansion of our Individual Career and Academic Planning (ICAP) process. Center’s ICAP process allows students to seriously begin thinking about what they will do in their life after high school, allowing each to explore their many career options, and encouraging each to learn more about the education and skills they will need to reach their goal.
This tremendous focus on preparing our students for life after high school has also led to greater overall participation in postsecondary education by our graduates, with nearly 80% of our graduates now staying engaged in postsecondary education as late as 2 years after they leave Center Schools, as opposed to only 20% who were doing so back in 2005.
Last spring Center High School seniors were awarded roughly a quarter of a million dollars in scholarships to attend college or other postsecondary institutions. The bulk of these gifts were awarded to students from community partners Trinidad State Community College and Adams State University, though students also received dollars from the Colorado School of Mines, the University of Colorado at Boulder, Colorado State University, the Skeff, McCormick, and Entz families, and the Kiwanis Club of Center.
We think the success our students are having securing so much college assistance can be traced to the expansion of our Individual Career and Academic Planning (ICAP) process. Center’s ICAP process allows students to seriously begin thinking about what they will do in their life after high school, allowing each to explore their many career options, and encouraging each to learn more about the education and skills they will need to reach their goal.
This tremendous focus on preparing our students for life after high school has also led to greater overall participation in postsecondary education by our graduates, with nearly 80% of our graduates now staying engaged in postsecondary education as late as 2 years after they leave Center Schools, as opposed to only 20% who were doing so back in 2005.
Center Schools Achieves Full Accreditation
Each year the Colorado Department of Education, based on state achievement test results, graduation rates, and ACT scores, determines accreditation ratings for all 178 school districts in the state of Colorado. Accreditation categories a district can earn range from Turnaround, to Priority Improvement, Improvement, Accredited, and the state's highest district rating of Accredited With Distinction.
When this new Colorado accreditation process began during the 2009-10 school year the Center School District only achieved a score of 46.2% on the rating's 100 point scale. This meant Center Schools was placed on Accredited with Priority Improvement status, the second lowest rating a district can receive in Colorado.
This rating of Accredited with Priority Improvement also put the district on the Colorado Department of Education's 5-year countdown clock, at the end of which CDE could significantly intervene and possibly even require a complete reorganization of the school district.
Since this first district accreditation rating, and as a result of continual increased academic growth and achievement, the Center School District has methodically raised its overall rating, first to 56.1% in 2011 (Accredited with Priority Improvement again), then 58.8% in 2012 (Accredited with Improvement, and off the state intervention countdown clock), to 61.9% in 2013 (still Accredited with Improvement) and finally to 65.2% in 2014, the district's first year on fully accredited status!
Center Schools has been doing this against many odds, having the highest district at-risk student population (90%) in Colorado with a fully accredited rating, and being one of only 4 school districts in the entire state with more than 75% poverty that is fully accredited. This effort has not gone unnoticed around Colorado as Commissioner of Education Robert Hammond, in front of various legislative committees, has recently pointed out our efforts and Lieutenant Governor Joseph Garica even gave us a shout out at the annual Colorado Association of School Boards annual convention in Colorado Springs in December.
Each year the Colorado Department of Education, based on state achievement test results, graduation rates, and ACT scores, determines accreditation ratings for all 178 school districts in the state of Colorado. Accreditation categories a district can earn range from Turnaround, to Priority Improvement, Improvement, Accredited, and the state's highest district rating of Accredited With Distinction.
When this new Colorado accreditation process began during the 2009-10 school year the Center School District only achieved a score of 46.2% on the rating's 100 point scale. This meant Center Schools was placed on Accredited with Priority Improvement status, the second lowest rating a district can receive in Colorado.
This rating of Accredited with Priority Improvement also put the district on the Colorado Department of Education's 5-year countdown clock, at the end of which CDE could significantly intervene and possibly even require a complete reorganization of the school district.
Since this first district accreditation rating, and as a result of continual increased academic growth and achievement, the Center School District has methodically raised its overall rating, first to 56.1% in 2011 (Accredited with Priority Improvement again), then 58.8% in 2012 (Accredited with Improvement, and off the state intervention countdown clock), to 61.9% in 2013 (still Accredited with Improvement) and finally to 65.2% in 2014, the district's first year on fully accredited status!
Center Schools has been doing this against many odds, having the highest district at-risk student population (90%) in Colorado with a fully accredited rating, and being one of only 4 school districts in the entire state with more than 75% poverty that is fully accredited. This effort has not gone unnoticed around Colorado as Commissioner of Education Robert Hammond, in front of various legislative committees, has recently pointed out our efforts and Lieutenant Governor Joseph Garica even gave us a shout out at the annual Colorado Association of School Boards annual convention in Colorado Springs in December.
2014 Most Distinguished Visitors
During 2014 many wonderful people visited our Center Schools campus. The following are the persons or groups we were most honored to host!
In June 2014 Colorado State Migrant Education Director Tomás Mejia and Colorado Department of Education Federal Programs Unit Executive Director Patrick Chapman were on campus to attend a State of Colorado Migrant Education meeting that was held in the Center Schools Fyock Community Library Community Room.
Before the meeting Center Schools had the opportunity to take Mr. Mejia and Mr. Chapman on a walk to see how our summer school program addresses the needs of migrant students, and to see how the district uses student achievement data to guide the instructional decisions we make for our summer school students.
In June 2014 Colorado State Migrant Education Director Tomás Mejia and Colorado Department of Education Federal Programs Unit Executive Director Patrick Chapman were on campus to attend a State of Colorado Migrant Education meeting that was held in the Center Schools Fyock Community Library Community Room.
Before the meeting Center Schools had the opportunity to take Mr. Mejia and Mr. Chapman on a walk to see how our summer school program addresses the needs of migrant students, and to see how the district uses student achievement data to guide the instructional decisions we make for our summer school students.
During the actual meeting attendees shared information about statewide migrant education issues, concerns, and successes, and focused on many of the great tools available to support the instruction of migrant students.
Center Schools then had the opportunity to share the things it has been doing to achieve 77th percentile growth in reading for its migrant student population!
Center Schools serves about a third of all the migrant students in the Southwest Colorado region and, by student percentage, is actually the largest migrant education program for any one school district in the state of Colorado!
In September outgoing Colorado State Board of Education representative Elaine Gantz-Berman stopped by our district to visit with us about classroom instruction and student health and nutrition services. Center School Board president Michael Lobato and his daughter Jordan took her on a tour of the campus, shared details about our outstanding academic growth and increase in accreditation status, and allowed her to meet with director of food service Dianna Valenzuela and district nurse Alice Burch about their particular areas of expertise. Elaine was on a quick tour of southern Colorado school districts and it was very exciting for us to have her stop in to see what we are doing.
Center Schools then had the opportunity to share the things it has been doing to achieve 77th percentile growth in reading for its migrant student population!
Center Schools serves about a third of all the migrant students in the Southwest Colorado region and, by student percentage, is actually the largest migrant education program for any one school district in the state of Colorado!
In September outgoing Colorado State Board of Education representative Elaine Gantz-Berman stopped by our district to visit with us about classroom instruction and student health and nutrition services. Center School Board president Michael Lobato and his daughter Jordan took her on a tour of the campus, shared details about our outstanding academic growth and increase in accreditation status, and allowed her to meet with director of food service Dianna Valenzuela and district nurse Alice Burch about their particular areas of expertise. Elaine was on a quick tour of southern Colorado school districts and it was very exciting for us to have her stop in to see what we are doing.
In early November Colorado College professor Martha Slayden offered a class she called “Cultural and Linguistic Diversity in the San Luis Valley.” In this process her college level students were required to actually live in a rural community with English Language Learners, getting to deeply know the every day experiences of those students. Slayden worked with the Center School District beginning early in the summer to set up this opportunity for her scholars, and they all finally arrived on campus in November. Upon their arrival, her students were assigned Center Schools study buddies who they followed and supported throughout their school day for an entire week. The college students were encouraged to help our teachers with instruction, very often acting as additional classroom aides. I have no doubt the Colorado College students learned a lot from our kids, and our children greatly benefited from their presence in their lives. We truly enjoyed having them on campus!
Each summer we get the opportunity to meet with and take many of our alumni on class reunion tours of our facilities. Nowadays these tours are a little different than they used to be, as the buildings these folks once attended no longer exist. However, we have found that each reunion gathering is very interested in the make-up of our new school facilities and how Center’s students are performing at this point in time. On the last Friday of July we had the enjoyable task of taking members of the Center High School classes of 1964 and 1974 on such tours. a week later many members of the Class of 1959 were on campus to check out the facility. We truly appreciated the opportunity to meet them, to learn about their many experiences as Center Schools students, and to show off our new facilities!
Finally, on a Friday afternoon in March we had the extreme pleasure of taking Mr. Richard Deitrich, his wife Margaret, and his daughter Gay on a tour of our new school facilities. While here he visited the auditorium, the high school, the gymnasium, and our beautiful science wings.
Richard and Margaret Deitrich graduated from Center High School in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s and are truly proud of their roots in our community. They are both well educated and have led very productive lives working in academia in the Denver area. In addition to being a rare inductee of the Center High School Athletic Hall of Fame, it turns out Mr. Deitrich’s grandfather’s name can also be found on the original cornerstone from our 1918 building. During their visit, he and Margaret were thrilled to see how we carefully preserved that face of the cornerstone at the entry of the Fyock Community Library.
While on the tour Richard proudly posed in front of the 1946 Center High School San Luis Valley Football Championship team picture that is displayed on our heritage wall, and he and Margaret allowed us to take a picture of them in front of our new building dedication plaque.
Richard and Margaret Deitrich graduated from Center High School in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s and are truly proud of their roots in our community. They are both well educated and have led very productive lives working in academia in the Denver area. In addition to being a rare inductee of the Center High School Athletic Hall of Fame, it turns out Mr. Deitrich’s grandfather’s name can also be found on the original cornerstone from our 1918 building. During their visit, he and Margaret were thrilled to see how we carefully preserved that face of the cornerstone at the entry of the Fyock Community Library.
While on the tour Richard proudly posed in front of the 1946 Center High School San Luis Valley Football Championship team picture that is displayed on our heritage wall, and he and Margaret allowed us to take a picture of them in front of our new building dedication plaque.
People We'll Miss the Most
Kate Newmyer served the Center School District for 7 years as our grade 5-12 instrumental music director, while also teaching college level art appreciation and foreign language through the use of Rosetta Stone. Kate was a key member of the Center High School - Skoglund Middle School Building Leadership Team that laid the foundation for the great work that has been done leading Center High School to six straight Colorado Department of Education Centers of Educational Excellence awards. Kate is spending this year in Washington D.C. homeschooling her children and supporting her husband Daniel who is working for NASA as a prestigious Einstein Fellow.
Lee Flood came to Center Schools as a Physical Education teacher during our last year in our old building, also serving as our varsity football coach and "chief of school spirit." While here, Lee embraced the H.E.L.M. method of physical education, even becoming a bit of a Valley wide leader of PE teachers. Mr. Flood left Center in June of 2014 to pursue a doctoral degree at the University of Tennessee, but can still be heard throughout social networks cheering on our student academic and athletic accomplishments.
Carrie Zimmerman served for one year as our middle-high assistant principal and then became Skoglund Middle School’s first ever fully dedicated full-time principal. In the time she was here, Ms. Zimmerman helped us design our new school, and guided the Skoglund staff to the point where student academic growth has outpaced the state average in every subject area taught and tested. In the spring of 2014 Mrs. Zimmeman accepted a position in the Alamosa School District as their assistant superintendent of schools in charge of curriculum and instruction.
Lee Flood came to Center Schools as a Physical Education teacher during our last year in our old building, also serving as our varsity football coach and "chief of school spirit." While here, Lee embraced the H.E.L.M. method of physical education, even becoming a bit of a Valley wide leader of PE teachers. Mr. Flood left Center in June of 2014 to pursue a doctoral degree at the University of Tennessee, but can still be heard throughout social networks cheering on our student academic and athletic accomplishments.
Carrie Zimmerman served for one year as our middle-high assistant principal and then became Skoglund Middle School’s first ever fully dedicated full-time principal. In the time she was here, Ms. Zimmerman helped us design our new school, and guided the Skoglund staff to the point where student academic growth has outpaced the state average in every subject area taught and tested. In the spring of 2014 Mrs. Zimmeman accepted a position in the Alamosa School District as their assistant superintendent of schools in charge of curriculum and instruction.
Before Daniel Newmyer showed up in Center our high school had not significantly competed in the San Luis Valley regional science and engineering fair for more than 20 years. As of spring 2014 CHS won the SLV Science Fair outstanding small school award 4 straight years. In his tenure at Center Schools Mr. Newmyer guided numerous students to regional, state, national, and international science fair recognition while also being names Center Schools and San Luis Valley teacher if the year in 2013, earning an Alan Shepard award for outstanding use of technology in instruction, and finally earning a one year stint as an Einstein Fellow working for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in Washington D.C. Additionally, the tremendous influence Mr. Newmyer had on our focus on high quality science instruction and scientific research made a tremendous impact on the way our new building was designed, with a world-class science wing becoming an integral part of its design.
By the spring of 2014 Diane Parker had been teaching in the Center School district for 36 years! Generations of CHS students learned how to write en effective five-paragraph essay, persuasive paper, and research project from her. Literally, she prepared three generations of Center students for college. Yet as of the 2013-14 school year Diane was quite frankly the best teacher she had ever been. Diane was a key member of the district leadership team, the go to person for other staff members to go to with questions, and an educator with a willingness to continually grow and improve her craft.
On her last day of work in Center Schools Diane posed for a picture with more than a dozen Center Schools staff and community members who had once been her students.
Congratulations on your retirement Diane. We truly miss you!
By the spring of 2014 Diane Parker had been teaching in the Center School district for 36 years! Generations of CHS students learned how to write en effective five-paragraph essay, persuasive paper, and research project from her. Literally, she prepared three generations of Center students for college. Yet as of the 2013-14 school year Diane was quite frankly the best teacher she had ever been. Diane was a key member of the district leadership team, the go to person for other staff members to go to with questions, and an educator with a willingness to continually grow and improve her craft.
On her last day of work in Center Schools Diane posed for a picture with more than a dozen Center Schools staff and community members who had once been her students.
Congratulations on your retirement Diane. We truly miss you!