Great Things Going On
Last Monday the Haskin Elementary staff put on a great assembly for Haskin students, showing slide shows that illustrated how well the kids did on TCAP tests, and acting out proper and improper ways to navigate the school. The test result celebration was well deserved and the humorous view our teachers put on hallway, cafeteria, and playground behavior clearly got the message across to students about the importance of following the school rules.
Center Schools is already benefitting from the Boettcher Rural Teacher Program, as four of our teachers will be enrolled in it for the coming year. They include middle school language arts teacher Kevin Hagan, middle-high ESL teacher Nate Koerber, high school culinary arts teacher Brandon Selby, and high school science teacher Quinn Harmon. Before the dust settles on hiring we may actually have as many as six Boettcher Rural Teacher Program participants on our campus! The prestigious Boettcher Rural Teacher Program has been established to attract, train, support, and retain high quality educators to rural Colorado districts. Participants, while already teaching, will complete a rigorous two-year long masters in education program at Adams State University. Additionally, their commitment to teaching in a rural setting must be at least five years in length. We believe the recent success of the Center School District is in large part the result of attracting and retaining outstanding people to work with our children in classrooms. We also believe the Boettcher Rural Teacher Program will help us to take this success to an even hire level for the children of Center.
Center Schools is already benefitting from the Boettcher Rural Teacher Program, as four of our teachers will be enrolled in it for the coming year. They include middle school language arts teacher Kevin Hagan, middle-high ESL teacher Nate Koerber, high school culinary arts teacher Brandon Selby, and high school science teacher Quinn Harmon. Before the dust settles on hiring we may actually have as many as six Boettcher Rural Teacher Program participants on our campus! The prestigious Boettcher Rural Teacher Program has been established to attract, train, support, and retain high quality educators to rural Colorado districts. Participants, while already teaching, will complete a rigorous two-year long masters in education program at Adams State University. Additionally, their commitment to teaching in a rural setting must be at least five years in length. We believe the recent success of the Center School District is in large part the result of attracting and retaining outstanding people to work with our children in classrooms. We also believe the Boettcher Rural Teacher Program will help us to take this success to an even hire level for the children of Center.
Katrina Ruggles has secured the services of three additional Americorps Vista workers for the Center School District. “Vistas” support the work of Center Schools by engaging in activities that help to build capacity for improved programs. It has been the work of many past Vista workers that have helped us to secure grants in areas like at-risk student supports, health, and wellness. Our new Vista workers are named Courtney Lancaster, Matt DeBoise, and Raffi Mercuri.
Big Things We Are Working On
Right now the focus of Center Schools is on hiring the remainder of needed teaching staff, post assessing 6th through 12th grade Jump Start participants, reviewing policy related to community use of facilities, and gearing up for the beginning of the regular school year for students in grades 6-12. We’ll also begin making plans for our annual Open House event that is scheduled to take place on Wednesday September 11th.
The Past Week
This past week I spent a lot of computer time knocking off a series of items from my “to do” list. This included reviewing and distributing common quarterly assessments that were developed by San Luis Valley teachers at our most recent all Valley PLC session. I also attended a training session on the use of digital radios for interoperable communication between Center Schools and agencies such as the Center Police Department, the Center Volunteer Fire Department, and the Colorado State Patrol. On Thursday I trekked to Denver to participate in the Boettcher Teacher Program semi-annual board of directors meeting, and also got to speak at the Boettcher Teacher Program kickoff event that took place at the Governor’s Mansion.
The Coming Week
This week I will spend time helping to coordinate post Jump Start NWEA testing of students on Monday. On Tuesday my focus will be on submitting required revisions to CDE about our annual federal programs application. On Wednesday I am hoping to visit some SLV Colorado Legacy Foundation Extended Learning Opportunities grant pilot sites. On Thursday afternoon I will be visiting Sargent Schools in my role as SLV Race to the Top grant coordinator to meet with their administration about implementing SB 191 style teacher evaluations.
Thanks for listening again!
George
Thanks for listening again!
George