Great Things Going On Now
Summer school is still in session and I have observed the entire administrative and instructional staff consistently doing a great job. The work being conducted is purposeful and intense and I have heard many stories about students reacting positively and with excitement when the “light turns on” and they grasp a concept that is being instructed.
Unfortunately this week we will lose the support of our current AmeriCorps team. This latest group has been extremely helpful to the Center community doing everything from helping us pack up and move into our new school, to operating a triathlon, to establishing local recycling protocols, to teaching swim lessons to our children, to working one on one with our summer school students. Center is a better place because of their influence in our community and we will surely miss them when they are gone.
I would also like to commend our administrative staff this week for the work they are doing to fill instructional openings. Center High School principal Kevin Jones and Skoglund Middle School principal Carrie Zimmerman are working to fill an open Middle-High ESL instructor position and Haskin Elementary principal Kathy Kulp has been working to fill two grade level teaching positions. I would also like to thank director of instruction Lori Cooper for her help in these processes as well as various Center Schools teachers who have participated on hiring committees.
As we continue to migrate into our new facility I just can’t say enough in praise of the work Center Schools director of technology Julio Paez and his crew have been doing to prepare the school for the technology that will be needed to serve our students and staff members. Our technology server network is already moved and operating. Our new phone system has been installed. Copy machines have been relocated to the new building. Promethean interactive boards brought from the old schools have already been installed. Our new school is well along the path to being 21st century ready when the rest of our staff members begin to work in it, thanks to Julio, and the support of technicians Teddy Garcia and Ascencion Najera as well as several student workers.
Another group of Center staff members who are doing a fine job under trying circumstances is the Center Schools custodial staff. Their current summer tasks are nothing like they have experienced in the past. They are spending their time in support of the summer instructional programs, being trained in the operations and maintenance procedures of the new building, and jumping in wherever needed by taking on projects related to our facilities move and current operations. A big thanks goes out to Rich Brandt, Mike Martinez, Tony Garcia, Walter Martinez, Gerald Hammer, Arnold Lujan, and Pantaleon Villagomez.
Unfortunately this week we will lose the support of our current AmeriCorps team. This latest group has been extremely helpful to the Center community doing everything from helping us pack up and move into our new school, to operating a triathlon, to establishing local recycling protocols, to teaching swim lessons to our children, to working one on one with our summer school students. Center is a better place because of their influence in our community and we will surely miss them when they are gone.
I would also like to commend our administrative staff this week for the work they are doing to fill instructional openings. Center High School principal Kevin Jones and Skoglund Middle School principal Carrie Zimmerman are working to fill an open Middle-High ESL instructor position and Haskin Elementary principal Kathy Kulp has been working to fill two grade level teaching positions. I would also like to thank director of instruction Lori Cooper for her help in these processes as well as various Center Schools teachers who have participated on hiring committees.
As we continue to migrate into our new facility I just can’t say enough in praise of the work Center Schools director of technology Julio Paez and his crew have been doing to prepare the school for the technology that will be needed to serve our students and staff members. Our technology server network is already moved and operating. Our new phone system has been installed. Copy machines have been relocated to the new building. Promethean interactive boards brought from the old schools have already been installed. Our new school is well along the path to being 21st century ready when the rest of our staff members begin to work in it, thanks to Julio, and the support of technicians Teddy Garcia and Ascencion Najera as well as several student workers.
Another group of Center staff members who are doing a fine job under trying circumstances is the Center Schools custodial staff. Their current summer tasks are nothing like they have experienced in the past. They are spending their time in support of the summer instructional programs, being trained in the operations and maintenance procedures of the new building, and jumping in wherever needed by taking on projects related to our facilities move and current operations. A big thanks goes out to Rich Brandt, Mike Martinez, Tony Garcia, Walter Martinez, Gerald Hammer, Arnold Lujan, and Pantaleon Villagomez.
The Past Week
This past week time was spent working on our annual federal programs application, planning for an upcoming district leadership team meeting, scheduling and preparing for a multi district Senate Bill 191 teacher training that will take place in Center in August, presenting a United States Department of Education webinar on the implementation of modern teacher and administrator evaluation processes in a rural school district setting (you can view the webinar at this link), planning for and communicating about an upcoming San Luis Valley Superintendent Professional Learning Community session, and attending Governor Hickenlooper’s TBD Colorado gathering in Pueblo.
Regarding TBD Colorado, I would like to commend Center’s board of education president Michael Lobato for his consistent and high quality participation in the TBD process. To date Mr. Lobato has attended all three sessions and, in my opinion, has done a wonderful job representing the interests of citizens, schools, and businesses from the San Luis Valley. The TBD process has identified common values regarding the environment, education, quality of life, diversity, and value for community in Colorado. Through the process citizens from all over the state have provided input as to how Colorado can solve its problems surrounding revenues and expenditures as they relate to education, health care, and transportation. You can learn more about the entire TBD process by visiting this link if you are interested: http://tbdcolorado.org/.
Regarding TBD Colorado, I would like to commend Center’s board of education president Michael Lobato for his consistent and high quality participation in the TBD process. To date Mr. Lobato has attended all three sessions and, in my opinion, has done a wonderful job representing the interests of citizens, schools, and businesses from the San Luis Valley. The TBD process has identified common values regarding the environment, education, quality of life, diversity, and value for community in Colorado. Through the process citizens from all over the state have provided input as to how Colorado can solve its problems surrounding revenues and expenditures as they relate to education, health care, and transportation. You can learn more about the entire TBD process by visiting this link if you are interested: http://tbdcolorado.org/.
Big Things We Are Working On
Our major items of focus right now include completing our federal programs application and budgets as they pertain to Titles I, II and III, and our year 3 Turnaround Improvement Grant. We need to finish this work so we can complete a final budget proposal for the Board of Education to consider before the end of June. Outside of this we are dealing with various construction matters as they arise, beginning the process of evaluating department leaders, and working to ensure we have a full instructional staff on board for the 2012-13 school year.
Construction News
After spending a week analyzing the costs entailed in moving the old alternative school building to the Center Community Park, for possible use as an athletic locker room and concession stand, we decided to keep it in the spot where it is currently located. Unfortunately, doing so puts us at risk of failing to meet the LEED Gold environmental standard our project has targeted as a goal, as we will likely lose 4 of our current 62 LEED points for failure to create more “green space” where the building currently sits. However, we believe we still have a good shot at being awarded as many as 4 other LEED points, 2 of which we will need for sure to attain the minimum 60 required points to achieve gold status. Our commitment moving forward is to all we can to achieve gold status as we move toward the end of the project while keeping a building that will be very useful to the district long into the future.
Meanwhile, asbestos abatement continues in the old Haskin building. This has to be done before the building can be knocked down. Folks who live in Center have probably noticed our old parking lots have already been removed and many of the windows and doors have been taken out of the old Center High School/Skoglund Middle School building. We are getting very close to the final demolition stages but still have no fixed timeline for when buildings will actually fall.
One nice "finishing touch" that has recently been applied to the building is the installation of room signage that features an actual picture of the Center area landscape!
Meanwhile, asbestos abatement continues in the old Haskin building. This has to be done before the building can be knocked down. Folks who live in Center have probably noticed our old parking lots have already been removed and many of the windows and doors have been taken out of the old Center High School/Skoglund Middle School building. We are getting very close to the final demolition stages but still have no fixed timeline for when buildings will actually fall.
One nice "finishing touch" that has recently been applied to the building is the installation of room signage that features an actual picture of the Center area landscape!
The Week Ahead
On Monday and Tuesday I will be attending the Colorado Department of Education’s Summer Symposium in Grand Junction. This meeting is designed to educate school administrators on the requirements and processes for implementing the major education reform efforts being endeavored in Colorado. While there I will be meeting with CDE’s federal programs director Trish Boland about Center’s federal programs application and 2012-13 Unified Improvement Plan. I will return to Center on Tuesday evening in time for our June board of education meeting. On Wednesday I will be back on the road, this time to Denver, for a Turnaround Improvement Grant professional learning community meeting that will include turnaround school administrators from all over the state as well as Center Schools director of instruction Lori Cooper and Haskin Elementary principal Kathy Kulp. I will proceed to Colorado Springs to attend the Pikes Peak Region Superintendent’s Advisory Council meeting on Wednesday afternoon and an Accreditation Support Group gathering of Superintendents from all over the state on Thursday. On Friday I will be back in Center to learn more about an early childhood literacy grant that was awarded to the Save the Children Foundation and may benefit many Center area children.
Extra Points
On Thursday May 31st I had the pleasure of participating in a panel discussion conducted by the Colorado Association of School Boards that focused on the many challenges being faced by Colorado’s rural school districts. The discussion was great and I learned a lot about the unique circumstances school districts of varying sizes are experiencing. In an effort to share this information the folks at CASB recorded and edited the session. I encourage each of you to view the 30 minute video that was produced as a result of the effort and to share it with others you think might be interested in an effort to spread the word about the daunting challenges we face. You can access the video at http://vimeo.com/43560096
Videos of the Week
After taking several weeks off, the Keeping Our Focus Video of the Week page has added three new presentations. As discussed above, a link to the CASB Rural Challenge discussion panel video has already been included. In addition to this I have posted a video TBD Colorado organizers shot of Center board of education president Michael Lobato reflecting on his personal experiences while participating in the TBD process.
Finally, I have posted a video produced in celebration of the many participants who completed the 2012 Center Beginner Triathlon. View it to see the Center Schools and Center community members who accomplished their goal of completing a sprint length triathlon.
Just click this link to view these videos: http://keepingourfocus.weebly.com/videos.html
Thanks for listening, and watching, again.
George
Finally, I have posted a video produced in celebration of the many participants who completed the 2012 Center Beginner Triathlon. View it to see the Center Schools and Center community members who accomplished their goal of completing a sprint length triathlon.
Just click this link to view these videos: http://keepingourfocus.weebly.com/videos.html
Thanks for listening, and watching, again.
George