Great Things Going On Now
I would like to thank Center Schools Director of Finance Betty Casanova, Business Office Assistant JJ Beiriger, and Administration Office Assistant Jessica Ornelas for all they did “holding down the district fort” over winter break by manning the office, ensuring payroll got processed, and serving the public. While most staff members get to step away from their jobs for a couple of weeks these ladies provide us all a great service in keeping things running.
I also want to thank Director of Maintenance Rich Brandt and Director of Technology Julio Paez for the time they and their crews put in over the break to keep the buildings operating. Rich and his crew completed much needed snow removal and floor work, and worked with construction crews to balance the heating systems. Julio and his crew completed routine systems maintenance and ensured our website and email was operating while the rest of us were away.
I also want to thank Director of Maintenance Rich Brandt and Director of Technology Julio Paez for the time they and their crews put in over the break to keep the buildings operating. Rich and his crew completed much needed snow removal and floor work, and worked with construction crews to balance the heating systems. Julio and his crew completed routine systems maintenance and ensured our website and email was operating while the rest of us were away.
Finally, another big thank you goes out to Lori Cooper for here great work planning for our annual district Christmas party. Lori secured many fantastic door prizes and arranged for staff members to participate in some hilarious party games. As always, thank you Lori for the expert way in which you are able to bring us all together to establish relationships, have fun, and let off some steam!
The Past Week
The district was pretty much closed down over the holidays though as stated above much administrative office work was conducted, seasonal maintenance items were addressed, and construction warranty items were being attended to.
Big Things We Are Working On
Center Schools principals are currently wrapping up mid-year teacher evaluations. Part of this process will also include the piloting of student perception surveys to be considered when evaluating teachers. A dozen Center Schools teachers volunteered to test out this process for the first time this winter.
I will be focusing on mid-year principal evaluations this week. For the third year in a row part of this process will include having an outside entity conduct an assessment of each building’s performance. Our educational partner Focal Point will be doing this work in the coming weeks.
Another big item we are currently addressing is the reorganization of custodial staff member duties. Having somewhat settled into our new building, we feel we have learned what maintenance areas need to be addressed on a weekly basis. In doing so we have adjusted our staffing patterns and assigned specific areas to specific workers. This work included mapping out territories, creating new maintenance checklists, and empowering our folks to make decisions to tackle maintenance issues. The mission of the custodial staff is to offer excellent service to educational staff members and to ensure our new building looks as good in 10 years as it does now.
I will be focusing on mid-year principal evaluations this week. For the third year in a row part of this process will include having an outside entity conduct an assessment of each building’s performance. Our educational partner Focal Point will be doing this work in the coming weeks.
Another big item we are currently addressing is the reorganization of custodial staff member duties. Having somewhat settled into our new building, we feel we have learned what maintenance areas need to be addressed on a weekly basis. In doing so we have adjusted our staffing patterns and assigned specific areas to specific workers. This work included mapping out territories, creating new maintenance checklists, and empowering our folks to make decisions to tackle maintenance issues. The mission of the custodial staff is to offer excellent service to educational staff members and to ensure our new building looks as good in 10 years as it does now.
The Week Ahead
Monday will involve some Race to the top of the Valley preparation work, as well as the tackling of some general office tasks.
Tuesday will be another marathon day as I will be meeting with Lobato v Colorado lead attorney Kathy Gebhardt first thing in the morning. I will then attend the monthly San Luis Valley Superintendent Advisory Council meeting in Alamosa until Noon. From 1:30 to 3:30 PM I will participate in a meeting of Valley superintendents and board members being held by Senator Michael Johnston who is seeking feedback about a possible rewrite of Colroado’s school finance legislation. I will end the day back in Center by attending the monthly District Accountability Meeting and Board of Education meetings in the evening.
On Wednesday I will be trying to finalize processes so we can run our student perception of teachers survey pilot.
On Thursday Focal Point will have three consultants on site who will conduct classroom observational visits and reflective meetings with our building principals.
On Friday and Saturday Center Schools will be hosting educators from all around the San Luis Valley as the Colorado Department of Education rolls out a brand new statewide sample curriculum. All of our teachers will be present for this important work.
Tuesday will be another marathon day as I will be meeting with Lobato v Colorado lead attorney Kathy Gebhardt first thing in the morning. I will then attend the monthly San Luis Valley Superintendent Advisory Council meeting in Alamosa until Noon. From 1:30 to 3:30 PM I will participate in a meeting of Valley superintendents and board members being held by Senator Michael Johnston who is seeking feedback about a possible rewrite of Colroado’s school finance legislation. I will end the day back in Center by attending the monthly District Accountability Meeting and Board of Education meetings in the evening.
On Wednesday I will be trying to finalize processes so we can run our student perception of teachers survey pilot.
On Thursday Focal Point will have three consultants on site who will conduct classroom observational visits and reflective meetings with our building principals.
On Friday and Saturday Center Schools will be hosting educators from all around the San Luis Valley as the Colorado Department of Education rolls out a brand new statewide sample curriculum. All of our teachers will be present for this important work.
Extra Points
This time of year I traditionally put forth an invitation to folks in the education community to participate in a "train to complete your first triathlon" program. This is a chance to participate in a group triathlon training network for free!
This year I have chosen to share this opportunity with the greater Center community.
A triathlon is an endurance event in which a person first swims a specified length, then rides a bike for a set distance, then ends the event by completing a run or walk. They come in all shapes and sizes. The shortest ones are called sprints, which usually consist of a 500 meter swim, a 13 mile bike ride and a 3.1 mile run. A beginner could complete this type event easily in less than two and a half hours. Next there are Olympic distance triathlons. This event usually has a 1,000 meter swim, a 25 mile bike ride, and a 6.2 mile run. Finally there are Iron and Half Iron length triathlons. An Iron stacks a 2.4 mile swim with a 112 mile bike ride, while finishing off with a full length marathon (26.2 mile run). If you want to know what a Half Iron is, just do the math.
The purpose of the triathlon training network is to get participants prepared to complete a sprint length triathlon that will take place on Saturday June 2nd at the Sand Dunes Swimming Pool in Hooper. Why do this? It is my belief that when we set goals as individuals, even goals that appear at first glance to be physically impossible, and then we achieve them, we grow personally and professionally in immeasurable ways. In addition, it has been my experience that training for a triathlon causes a person to get in the best shape imaginable. Since participants focus on 3 endurance events, they get a full body workout every week and won’t get into a training rut.
The greatest reason many people have for not doing something like this is a concern that they don’t swim or run well. This is just not true. In the past several years I have had the pleasure of seeing many non-swimmers overcome their fear of water to complete their first triathlons. Some folks blame bad knees and joints on the fact that they can't run the 3.1 miles required to complete the event. In a triathlon running is not required. Any competitor is welcome to just walk the run portion of the race if they choose to. Another big excuse is, "I just don't have the time." Triathlon training does take a commitment of time. Training begins with a roughly 30 minute long workout per day for 5 days per week. It ends with hour-long workouts 5 days per week. However, a person can't change their lifestyle without committing the time to do so.
So what does triathlon training look like? We first get ourselves in shape slowly over the course of several weeks through a pre-training process. This is done in a way to make sure the simple habit of dedicating time to training is established. We then slowly ramp up the workouts to ensure participants will be ready to complete the sprint length triathlon on race day. Participating in a training network means you will be given training, nutrition, motivation, and swimming tips all along the way. In my opinion, the camaraderie that develops while friends train together is the best part of the program.
Our training information is passed on through a web site we have created. You will find it if you click on this link: http://www.centertriathlontraining.com
I am attaching a video showing the culmination of last year's event. You'll notice that many San Luis Valley residents crossed the finish line after a spring dedicated to hard work and training. You can view the video at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=b_-GrNo0hEI
If you are interested in participating in this process with us, or if you have more questions about it, please feel free to send me an email at [email protected]. You can also just begin the program by going to the website and exploring it. The pre-training workouts are already posted on the website training page. This way you can get started developing good exercise habits as soon as you choose.
The best thing about this process is that all the training support is absolutely free! There is a very reasonable charge for participating in the actual event, but I challenge you to find a more affordable sprint triathlon fee than we offer.
Thanks for listening once again!
George
A triathlon is an endurance event in which a person first swims a specified length, then rides a bike for a set distance, then ends the event by completing a run or walk. They come in all shapes and sizes. The shortest ones are called sprints, which usually consist of a 500 meter swim, a 13 mile bike ride and a 3.1 mile run. A beginner could complete this type event easily in less than two and a half hours. Next there are Olympic distance triathlons. This event usually has a 1,000 meter swim, a 25 mile bike ride, and a 6.2 mile run. Finally there are Iron and Half Iron length triathlons. An Iron stacks a 2.4 mile swim with a 112 mile bike ride, while finishing off with a full length marathon (26.2 mile run). If you want to know what a Half Iron is, just do the math.
The purpose of the triathlon training network is to get participants prepared to complete a sprint length triathlon that will take place on Saturday June 2nd at the Sand Dunes Swimming Pool in Hooper. Why do this? It is my belief that when we set goals as individuals, even goals that appear at first glance to be physically impossible, and then we achieve them, we grow personally and professionally in immeasurable ways. In addition, it has been my experience that training for a triathlon causes a person to get in the best shape imaginable. Since participants focus on 3 endurance events, they get a full body workout every week and won’t get into a training rut.
The greatest reason many people have for not doing something like this is a concern that they don’t swim or run well. This is just not true. In the past several years I have had the pleasure of seeing many non-swimmers overcome their fear of water to complete their first triathlons. Some folks blame bad knees and joints on the fact that they can't run the 3.1 miles required to complete the event. In a triathlon running is not required. Any competitor is welcome to just walk the run portion of the race if they choose to. Another big excuse is, "I just don't have the time." Triathlon training does take a commitment of time. Training begins with a roughly 30 minute long workout per day for 5 days per week. It ends with hour-long workouts 5 days per week. However, a person can't change their lifestyle without committing the time to do so.
So what does triathlon training look like? We first get ourselves in shape slowly over the course of several weeks through a pre-training process. This is done in a way to make sure the simple habit of dedicating time to training is established. We then slowly ramp up the workouts to ensure participants will be ready to complete the sprint length triathlon on race day. Participating in a training network means you will be given training, nutrition, motivation, and swimming tips all along the way. In my opinion, the camaraderie that develops while friends train together is the best part of the program.
Our training information is passed on through a web site we have created. You will find it if you click on this link: http://www.centertriathlontraining.com
I am attaching a video showing the culmination of last year's event. You'll notice that many San Luis Valley residents crossed the finish line after a spring dedicated to hard work and training. You can view the video at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=b_-GrNo0hEI
If you are interested in participating in this process with us, or if you have more questions about it, please feel free to send me an email at [email protected]. You can also just begin the program by going to the website and exploring it. The pre-training workouts are already posted on the website training page. This way you can get started developing good exercise habits as soon as you choose.
The best thing about this process is that all the training support is absolutely free! There is a very reasonable charge for participating in the actual event, but I challenge you to find a more affordable sprint triathlon fee than we offer.
Thanks for listening once again!
George