Keeping Our Focus
  • Home
  • Videos
  • Final Reflections
  • More
    • 2015 >
      • Binational Educator Exchange
      • January 11, 2015
      • January 18, 2015
      • January 25, 2015
      • February 1, 2015
      • February 8, 2015
      • February 15, 2015
      • February 22, 2015
      • March 1, 2015
      • March 8. 2015
      • March 15, 2015
      • March 22, 2015
      • March 29, 2015
      • April 5, 2015
      • April 12, 2015
      • April 19, 2015
      • April 26, 2015
      • May 3, 2015
      • May 10, 2015
      • May 17, 2015
      • May 24, 2015
      • May 31, 2015
      • June 7, 2015
      • June 14, 2015
      • June 21, 2015
      • June 28, 2015
    • 2014 >
      • 2014 In Review Part 1
      • 2014 In Review Part 2
      • 2014 Accreditation
      • Sanchez-Varoz Documents
      • Superintendent Work Calendars
      • Alternative to Expulsion Policy
      • Superintendent Job Performance Surveys
      • January 6, 2014
      • January 12, 2014
      • January 19, 2014
      • January 26, 2014
      • February 2, 2014
      • February 9, 2014
      • February 16, 2014
      • February 23, 2014
      • March 2, 2014
      • March 9, 2014
      • March 16, 2014
      • March 23, 2014
      • March 30, 2014
      • April 6, 2014
      • April 13, 2014
      • April 20, 2014
      • April 27, 2014
      • May 4, 2014
      • May 11, 2014
      • May 18, 2014
      • May 25, 2014
      • June 1, 2014
      • June 8, 2014
      • June 16, 2014
      • June 22, 2014
      • June 29, 2014
      • July 6, 2014
      • July 13, 2014
      • July 21, 2014
      • July 27, 2014
      • August 3, 2014
      • August 10, 2014
      • August 17, 2014
      • August 24, 2014
      • September 1, 2014
      • September 7, 2014
      • September 14, 2014
      • September 21, 2014
      • September 28, 2014
      • October 5, 2014
      • Extra Points 10-5-14
      • October 13, 2014
      • October 19, 2014
      • October 26, 2014
      • November 2, 2014
      • November 9, 2014
      • November 16, 2014
      • November 23, 2014
      • November 30, 2014
      • December 7, 2014
      • December 14, 2014
      • December 21, 2014
    • 2013 >
      • January 6, 2013
      • January 13, 2013
      • January 20, 2013
      • January 27, 2013
      • February 3, 2013
      • February 10, 2013
      • February 17, 2013
      • February 24, 2012
      • March 3, 2013
      • March 10, 2013
      • March 17, 2013
      • March 31, 2013
      • April 6, 2013
      • April 14, 2013
      • April 21, 2013
      • April 28, 2013
      • May 5, 2013
      • May 12, 2013
      • May 19, 2013
      • June 3, 2013
      • June 9, 2013
      • June 16, 2013
      • June 23, 2013
      • July 21, 2012
      • July 29, 2013
      • August 4, 2013
      • August 12, 2013
      • August 19, 2013
      • August 26, 2013
      • September 2, 2013
      • September 8, 2013
      • September 15, 2013
      • September 23, 2013
      • September 29, 2013
      • October 6, 2013
      • October 13, 2013
      • October 20, 2013
      • October 27, 2013
      • November 3, 2013
      • November 11, 2013
      • November 18, 2013
      • December 1, 2013
      • December 8, 2013
      • December 15, 2013
      • 2013 in Review
    • 2012 >
      • 2012 in Review
      • Class of 2012 Graduation Video
      • 3rd Grade TCAP Release
      • December 16, 2012
      • December 9, 2012
      • December 1, 2012
      • November 11, 2012
      • November 4, 2012
      • October 27, 2012
      • October 14, 2012
      • October 7, 2012
      • September 30, 2012
      • September 23, 2012
      • September 19, 2012
      • September 9, 2012
      • September 2, 2012
      • August 26, 2012
      • August 19, 2012
      • August 12, 2012
      • August 5th, 2012
      • July 29, 2012
      • July 22, 2012
      • July 15, 2012
      • July 8, 2012
      • June 17, 2012
      • June 10, 2012
      • June 3, 2012
      • May 27, 2012
      • May 20, 2012
      • May 13, 2012
      • May 6, 2012
      • April 29, 2012
      • April 22, 2012
      • April 15, 2012
      • April 8, 2012
      • April Fools
      • Mar 25, 2012
      • Mar 18, 2012
      • Mar 11, 2012
      • Mar 4, 2012
      • Feb 26, 2012
      • Feb 19, 2012
      • Feb 12, 2012
      • Feb 5, 2012
      • Jan 29, 2012
      • Jan 22, 2012
      • Jan 15, 2012
      • Jan 8, 2012
    • 2011 >
      • 2011 in Review
      • Dec 25, 2011
      • Dec 18, 2011
      • Dec, 11, 2011
      • Dec 4, 2011
      • Nov 27, 2011
      • Nov 13, 2011
    • Lobato Decision >
      • Lobato Update

Great Things Going On Now

Picture
Congratulations are due this week to Center High School Students Genesis Villa, Jasmine Garcia, Nick Lobato and Anna Kulp for earning a trip to Fort Collins for the Colorado State Science Fair competition.  Thanks go out to Center High School Science Teacher Daniel Newmyer, Math Teacher Diego Martinez, Building Trades Teacher Mark Jones, Middle School Science Teacher Lisa Renner, Middle School Language Arts Teacher Gail Martinez, and Middle-High Paraprofessional Soyla Guadiana for all the effort they put into guiding and preparing our students.  Their efforts resulted in Center High School winning the SLV Science Fair Small School Award for the third year in a row.

Congratulations are also due to Center High School student Eidy Guaderrama who has been named a KFS Colonel’s Scholar finalist.   Though 150,000 students applied, Eidy has landed in a group of 400 finalists. Seventy-five of these 400 students will be selected to receive a $20,000 scholarship.  This competition is based on future goals, demonstrated ability to overcome hardship, personal drive, and likelihood of finishing post secondary education.


Picture
Thanks go out to Kathy Garcia, Jessica Stevens and Kindra Rounds for the great student engagement that was going on in their classes when I took State Board of Education Representative Marcia Neal around campus last Monday.  Each were doing an expert job of holding every student responsible for instructional content while their lessons were being delivered.

It should also be mentioned that Lindamood-Bell highlighted the great work being done at Haskin Elementary School in the quarterly Lindmood-Bell Highlights newsletter.  Readers can view this top of the page story at http://www.lindamoodbell.com/landings/em/SP-EM-0212-UPDT.html


Congratulations also go out to Center High School Wrestling Coach Brian Ullery for being selected as the Southern Peaks League Wrestling Coach of the Year.  Congratulations Mr. Ullery, you truly are deserving!

Picture
Continuing, Center Schools would like to offer thanks and appreciation to Secondary ESL Teacher Sid Ham for the great work he has done in educating our secondary English Language Learner students.  Mr. Ham is taking a leave of absence to address some health issues and we sure hope to have him back when the 2012-13 school year kicks off.

It seems our very own Center High School Principal Kevin Jones has been drafted as an Education News Colorado Parent Expert, requiring him to respond to occasional parent questions about schools.  This week Mr. Jones responded to a parent’s request for tips on how to motivate their child to do their best on upcoming TCAP tests.  You can see Kevin’s response at this link: http://www.ednewsparent.org/teaching-learning/8537-ask-an-expert-supporting-my-child-during-tcap-testing

Finally, as the third quarter of the school year ends I want to commend Haskin Elementary School Principal Kathy Kulp, Skoglund Middle School Principal Carrie Zimmerman and Center High School Principal Kevin Jones for being on track to complete all required staff member classroom walkthrough observations for the quarter.  As of March 11th Kathy had conducted and reported on 75 classroom walkthrough observations for the quarter.  Mr. Jones and Mrs. Zimmerman had each conducted 55 and 56 of these observations respectively.  This has been difficult and time consuming work but I have no doubt the feedback each has been offering to teachers is helping them to improve classroom instruction in their schools.    


The Past Week

Picture
This week Center Schools enjoyed a visit from Colorado State Board of Education member Marcia Neal who walked through our current schools and visited our construction site.  Lauren Krizansky from the Valley Courier wrote a nice article about Mrs. Neal’s reflections on her visit.  You can find this story at this link: http://www.alamosanews.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&page=75&story_id=23903  

I also participated in several Adams State College education reauthorization events and the monthly San Luis Valley Superintendent’s Advisory Council meeting.  In an effort to share communication about our SLV Race to the Top Collaborative I also attended the monthly Sierra Grande Board of Education meeting, as well as the San Luis Valley BOCES Board meeting. 

On Thursday Education News Colorado investigative reporter Nancy Mitchell spent the entire day at Haskin Elementary in an attempt to learn more about our successful Turnaround efforts.  When her article hits the internet I will be sure to share it with the Center community.

On Friday I spent the day in Denver attending to routine Colorado Association of School Executives duties and meeting with our building architects.


Big Things We Are Working On

By the end of last week we were able to secure commitments from all 14 San Luis Valley School Districts to participate in a Race to the Top collaborative effort.  The scope and budget for this work is now compete and will be submitted to CDE before the deadline on March 14th. 

Construction News

Picture

During the past week our in floor heat system was successfully turned on, a lot of tile work was completed in bathrooms, classrooms and corridors, mock classroom set ups were brought close to completion, and the first panels of the old varsity gymnasium were removed. 

In the coming week we'll turn our focus back to finalizing our first phase of furniture, fixtures and equipment purchases.  To make space in the new facility for these new items Center Schools will be selling many current items.  These discards are now being advertised on the Center Schools website.  You can access them at the following link: http://www.center.k12.co.us/admin/bid_items/center.htm

Our Core Beliefs

It is a good practice every once in a while to reflect on exactly what our core beliefs are and how we might actually apply them.  Just for fun this week pretend that in a recent survey some of our staff members made the following comments:

1.  I enjoy coming to work daily and feel as if I am a positive influence in my students' lives. I know I am an integral part of the school and feel supported and appreciated. I hope that the instructional initiatives will continue to be as positive as they sound, but I am not completely convinced they will.

2.   Although I support data-driven instruction, I still believe too much time is spent on testing and preparing kids for assessments.

3.  Currently I feel that although my job is a bit more challenging than in past years, it is an exciting time to work in the District. We are engaged in many reform initiatives and I feel that I am a stronger instructional leader through the training I have received. Most of all the kids will benefit!

4.   I sometimes feel that there is so much pressure on our new focus on increasing test scores that we are losing sight of what it is to be a great role model for our students and someone who cares about their welfare.  We need to make learning fun and benefit the whole child.

5.   I have concerns over class size increases as they relate to student achievement and budget cuts.

Based on what you have learned about our district’s core beliefs in the past several weeks, which of these statements do you think are reflective of them?  I’’ll share my opinion about these next week.

The Week Ahead

Picture
Early this week our Even Start program will experience a CDE site visit, our Haskin Elementary School Building Leadership Team will meet, and we’ll conduct our regular monthly Board of Education and District Accountability Committee meetings.  

The later part of the week will include an opportunity for me to meet with new Colorado Education Association Uniserv Director Dennis Carlson, a CDE Transformation Grant site visit by Wendy Dunaway, and a Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment meeting regarding items to be purchased for our new building.

On Friday we will not be holding classes as our staff members will meet in Professional Learning Communities and have a half day to work on finalizing grades for the 3rd quarter.   


Extra Points

On Sunday I read an interesting New York Times Editorial called “Pass the Books, Hold the Oil.”  You can view the story at this link: 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/11/opinion/sunday/friedman-pass-the-books-hold-the-oil.html?_r=1&ref=opinion

This opinion piece by Thomas Friedman explains how numerous countries without a tremendous amount of natural resources have chosen to invest heavily in education and how this investment has paid off for them economically.  The author says, “if you really want to know how a country is going to do in the 21st century, don’t count its oil reserves or gold mines, count its highly effective teachers, involved parents and committed students.”

“Today’s learning outcomes at school are a powerful predictor for the wealth and social outcomes that countries will reap in the long run.”

The reason I highlight this piece is not to profess that we need to stop drilling for oil and mining our natural resources.  Rather, I think we need to make sure that when we do these things, the public receives fair compensation for those resources and those dollars are invested in providing our children with the knowledge they will need to compete in the world when those resources run out. 

I encourage all of you to read the piece and establish your own opinion.

Thanks for listening again and have another great week.

George