Great Things Going On Now
Center Schools has recently taken a close look at the effect its effort to encourage students to concurrently enroll in college and high school coursework is having on eventual college attendance by its graduates. This is an area of utmost importance to the community because research shows the economic performance of a community is clearly tied to the education level of its residents. Based on the 2010 U.S. Census the Center community's population had the lowest percentage of residents in the San Luis Valley with a high school diploma ( only 59.1%) and the lowest percentage of residents in the San Luis Valley with a college degree (only 10.1%). In looking at our recent performance in preparing our kids for college we realized that only 20% of our 2004-05 graduates went on to attend college within two years after completing high school. Currently 75% of our most recent graduates are attending college within their first two years after graduation. We believe this positive change has taken place for several reasons. First, Center High School staff members immediately start talking about opportunities for our students to attend college the moment our kids walk through the doors. Encouraging pupils to prepare for and take PLAN, EXPLORE and ACT tests is a great place to start. Having students actually taking and being successful at college coursework while attending Center High School has been a great next step. Center High School students have grown from completing zero college course hours during the 2004-05 school year to accumulating over 200 college level credit hours during the 2010-11 school year. Finally, supporting students in applying for acceptance to college and helping them to secure financial resources for college through our Senior Seminar coursework has helped to make post secondary attendance a reality or many of our kids. Taking all of this into consideration, I think in the end the major difference for Center High School has been that we are also producing young men and women who have the knowledge, skills and intellectual resources needed to attend and experience success in college. With greater than a 90% graduation rate and less than a 3% dropout rate this means a vast majority of Center’s students are on track to achieving a better life. It is hard to emphasize just how amazing this growth has been. It is something the entire community can be proud of and excited about because this will eventually change the quality of life for the better for the entire Center community. A gigantic thank you goes out to the entire Center High School staff for making this significant improvement possible!
The first step on the road to opportunity through an excellent education begins in elementary school. This week the students at Haskin Elementary took the statewide TCAP assessment and I must say we have never been more confident of the prospects of significantly improved performance than we have been heading into this testing cycle. We look forward to the hours of hard work our staff members have put into implementing an excellent curriculum and a uniform way to teach literacy paying off with improved results. We have reason to believe our scores will vastly improve again this year because we are confident we have been doing the things it takes to get such improved results and we have mid-year data that shows we are truly heading in the right direction. A big thank you goes out to the entire Haskin Elementary School staff for the great work they have done leading us up to this point.
Congratulations to the Skoglund Middle School Wrestling Team for winning the Center Invitational Wrestling Tournament last Saturday in our old elementary gym! Thank you wrestlers for bringing one last dose of glory to those old gymnasium walls!
In addition to our appreciation for the wrestling team I want to thank Center High School/Skoglund Middle School RTI Coordinator Susan Banning for once again rolling out the red carpet to school personnel from the entire San Luis Valley and beyond by preparing and presenting the best wrestling tournament hospitality room in the state of Colorado. It may seem like such a little thing to focus on but when people come to Center and see the tremendous care we put into making them feel welcome it reflects on our entire community.
In addition to our appreciation for the wrestling team I want to thank Center High School/Skoglund Middle School RTI Coordinator Susan Banning for once again rolling out the red carpet to school personnel from the entire San Luis Valley and beyond by preparing and presenting the best wrestling tournament hospitality room in the state of Colorado. It may seem like such a little thing to focus on but when people come to Center and see the tremendous care we put into making them feel welcome it reflects on our entire community.
Finally, I would like to thank Center Schools Transportation Assistant Tony Garcia for his quick thinking and great work in dealing with a vehicle theft incident that occurred on the Center Schools campus this past weekend. His attentiveness to his duties regarding the inspection of the campus and his appropriate response to the situation helped to resolve the matter in a safe fashion. Thanks Tony!
The Past Week
I had the opportunity early this week to spend a lot of time in Haskin Elementary School observing our students taking the TCAP test and supporting staff members with recent adjustments to our hallway, playground and cafeteria behavior plan. The Elementary Building Leadership Team has done an excellent job working to continually enhance the student behavior plans that have recently been put in place.
On Wednesday I spent the entire day attending to construction items, such as furniture orders, budget reviews and meeting face to face with our architects.
On Thursday evening I had the pleasure of meeting in Denver with Attorney Kathy Gebhardt about forthcoming school finance legislation issues and next steps in preparing a defense for the state appeal of the Lobato v Colorado education finance landmark lawsuit.
I spent Friday in Denver attending to Colorado Association of School Executives business in my role as CASE President, mainly attending a Colorado Association of Leaders in Education Technology board meeting. On the way back form Denver I had the opportunity to meet with Colorado Legacy Foundation leaders about the work we are trying to do in the San Luis Valley through our Race to the Top Collaborative.
On Wednesday I spent the entire day attending to construction items, such as furniture orders, budget reviews and meeting face to face with our architects.
On Thursday evening I had the pleasure of meeting in Denver with Attorney Kathy Gebhardt about forthcoming school finance legislation issues and next steps in preparing a defense for the state appeal of the Lobato v Colorado education finance landmark lawsuit.
I spent Friday in Denver attending to Colorado Association of School Executives business in my role as CASE President, mainly attending a Colorado Association of Leaders in Education Technology board meeting. On the way back form Denver I had the opportunity to meet with Colorado Legacy Foundation leaders about the work we are trying to do in the San Luis Valley through our Race to the Top Collaborative.
Big Things We Are Working On
I spent a lot of time this past week working to refine our San Luis Valley Race to the Top Collaborative scope for the Colorado Department of Education to ensure it meets the many requirements of the U.S. Department of Education. I also had the pleasure of attending a work session with Center Schools Director of Instruction Lori Cooper and Center Virtual Academy Director Chris Vance. We are working together to design an electronic curriculum delivery format that will be available to all San Luis Valley School Districts through the Race to the Top Collaborative, should they choose to use it.
Other big things we are attending to include revising our 2011-12 Colorado Department of Eduaction Unified Improvement Plan to meet the April 15th resubmission deadline, starting the work of developing a 2012-13 school year calendar, and beginning the process of building a budget for the 2012-13 school year.
Other big things we are attending to include revising our 2011-12 Colorado Department of Eduaction Unified Improvement Plan to meet the April 15th resubmission deadline, starting the work of developing a 2012-13 school year calendar, and beginning the process of building a budget for the 2012-13 school year.
Construction News
We are excited to have two student tours of the new building scheduled early this week. Middle and High School students were invited via email to attend these tours and a limited number of students who responded appropriately will be joining us. I must say I can’t wait to see the faces on our kids when, for the first time, they will see the great work being done on our new school for their benefit.
The old varsity gym has now been completely removed from our property. This week we will begin digging the footings for the new structure that will soon take its place.
We have also arrived a point in our construction project where we need to lose access to our current bus pick up and drop off loop. When we return form Spring Break on April 10th buses will begin picking up and dropping off kids in the Haskin Elementary School parking lot. This practice will remain in place for the remainder of the school year and when we return to school in the fall we’ll have a completely new system of student delivery in place.
The old varsity gym has now been completely removed from our property. This week we will begin digging the footings for the new structure that will soon take its place.
We have also arrived a point in our construction project where we need to lose access to our current bus pick up and drop off loop. When we return form Spring Break on April 10th buses will begin picking up and dropping off kids in the Haskin Elementary School parking lot. This practice will remain in place for the remainder of the school year and when we return to school in the fall we’ll have a completely new system of student delivery in place.
Our Core Beliefs
Knowing that our district core beliefs are as follows:
1. Our purpose is to increase academic achievement for ALL students. 2. With our support ALL children can achieve at high levels. 3. Quality planning, instruction, and assessments lead to high student achievement for ALL. 4. There is NO excuse for poor quality instruction. 5. We are preparing ALL our students to be successful in life. 6. EVERYONE must be committed to the pursuit of excellence.
Think about a situation where we might need to select a Building Leadership Team member at Skoglund Middle School. Pretend staff members named Marilyn and Stacy are vying for the open position.
Marilyn is an experienced teacher and has taught at Skoglund for 15 years. She tells us that she needs a leadership opportunity and because of her experience she deserves the payroll stipend that comes with the additional responsibility. Her student achievement scores have been declining of late and the quality of her instruction has been stagnant.
Meanwhile Stacy is a third-year probationary teacher. She is working hard to implement our recent classroom instruction initiatives. Her students showed strong academic growth last year and the quality of her instruction is among the best in the school.
Which of these staff members do you think we should have serve on the Building Leadership Team?
I’ll share my opinion about this with you next week.
1. Our purpose is to increase academic achievement for ALL students. 2. With our support ALL children can achieve at high levels. 3. Quality planning, instruction, and assessments lead to high student achievement for ALL. 4. There is NO excuse for poor quality instruction. 5. We are preparing ALL our students to be successful in life. 6. EVERYONE must be committed to the pursuit of excellence.
Think about a situation where we might need to select a Building Leadership Team member at Skoglund Middle School. Pretend staff members named Marilyn and Stacy are vying for the open position.
Marilyn is an experienced teacher and has taught at Skoglund for 15 years. She tells us that she needs a leadership opportunity and because of her experience she deserves the payroll stipend that comes with the additional responsibility. Her student achievement scores have been declining of late and the quality of her instruction has been stagnant.
Meanwhile Stacy is a third-year probationary teacher. She is working hard to implement our recent classroom instruction initiatives. Her students showed strong academic growth last year and the quality of her instruction is among the best in the school.
Which of these staff members do you think we should have serve on the Building Leadership Team?
I’ll share my opinion about this with you next week.
The Week Ahead
Skoglund Middle School and Center High School will be administering the TCAP assessment for the better part of the upcoming week.
Student tours of our construction site will take place on Monday and Tuesday afternoon.
This week Center Schools will also be hosting some educational, governmental and non-profit groups in preparation for possibly donating furniture and equipment that it will no longer need when we move into our new facility. If any of you are aware of such groups that could benefit in this manner please have them contact the district office at 719-754-3442 for more information.
I’ll be meeting early in the week with some Haskin Elementary School Building Leadership Team members in an effort to plan a process for improving our Response to Intervention process for next year.
On Thursday, Friday and Saturday of this week I will be attending an American Association of School Administrators Superintendent Summit in Florida. I was invited to this because of my role as a leader in the Colorado Association of School Administrators. At last year's summit I learned a lot about enhancing school turnaround efforts and communicating more effectively with the community. I hope to bring back a few more great ideas to the district again this year.
Student tours of our construction site will take place on Monday and Tuesday afternoon.
This week Center Schools will also be hosting some educational, governmental and non-profit groups in preparation for possibly donating furniture and equipment that it will no longer need when we move into our new facility. If any of you are aware of such groups that could benefit in this manner please have them contact the district office at 719-754-3442 for more information.
I’ll be meeting early in the week with some Haskin Elementary School Building Leadership Team members in an effort to plan a process for improving our Response to Intervention process for next year.
On Thursday, Friday and Saturday of this week I will be attending an American Association of School Administrators Superintendent Summit in Florida. I was invited to this because of my role as a leader in the Colorado Association of School Administrators. At last year's summit I learned a lot about enhancing school turnaround efforts and communicating more effectively with the community. I hope to bring back a few more great ideas to the district again this year.
Extra Points
Congratulations go out to Center High School students Morgan Hart, Ingrid Hernandez, and Alexa Lobato. This week they learned they have qualified to attend the International Sustainable World Engineering, Energy and Environment Project Olympiad (ISWEEP) in Houston, Texas. This brings the total of Center School District students who have qualified for this event to four! This trip will take place during the first week of April.
This opportunity has been made available to them through the hard work and extra effort Center High School Science Teacher Daniel Newmyer and Center High School Math Teacher Diego Martinez have put into their programs. This is a prime example of Center Schools staff members living up to our core belief that everyone must be committed to the pursuit of excellence!
Thanks for listening again and have another great week.
George
This opportunity has been made available to them through the hard work and extra effort Center High School Science Teacher Daniel Newmyer and Center High School Math Teacher Diego Martinez have put into their programs. This is a prime example of Center Schools staff members living up to our core belief that everyone must be committed to the pursuit of excellence!
Thanks for listening again and have another great week.
George