Great Things Going On Now
As we all enjoyed a full week off for Thanksgiving our Human Resources Director Betty Casanova was in the administration office processing the most complicated payroll of the year. The November pay period is traditionally when we pay for summer staff development days. In addition, many people who work extra duties throughout the year tend to bank these hours and have them distributed during this payroll so they can have access to these dollars during the holidays. So, in addition to processing the regular monthly contracted payroll, I believe Betty processed almost 300 additional pay requests. Thanks for your hard work on this Betty, and for being there even when we are not!
I also want to take a moment to thank Computer Technician Teddy Garcia and Kindergarten Teacher JoAnn Lopez for taking the time last week to put in writing their appreciation for one another’s efforts and sharing that information with administrators. Teddy started the ball rolling by complimenting JoAnn on the great job she is doing serving his daughter at Haskin Elementary School in her Kindergarten class. Teddy wrote, “JoAnn has alleviated the stress my wife and I felt upon having our daughter enter school.” He believes JoAnn has created a learning environment that his daughter simply can’t stop talking about and that because of this she looks forward to going to school each and every day. Upon being showered with such praise JoAnn took it upon herself to compliment Teddy and his wife on the things they have done to prepare their daughter for success in school, and to share his praise with her teammates Nicole Neufeld and Alex Gonzales who contribute to her learning on a daily basis as well. Thank you Teddy and JoAnn for reminding all of us how much it can mean to take a moment out of our day to thank the people around us for the great work they do!
During this Thanksgiving week I would also like to share my appreciation of our entire teaching staff. Everyone knows that the difference between great and poor instruction comes down to the teacher in the classroom. Teaching, when done right, is a difficult profession. The hours an instructor must spend behind the scenes preparing for the work to be done with kids is now almost equal to the hours they actually spend in front of them. Our current teaching staff in Center is the strongest it has been in the time I have been here. Because of current economic conditions they are continually being asked to do more with less. This week I would like to honor all those who have chosen such a powerful profession, and have chosen to do so for the benefit of our kids in Center. Attached is a link to poet Taylor Mali's performance titled "What Teachers Make." It is very passionate and very powerful. However, I warn everyone that it does include an obscene gesture near the end. This performance makes me think about sitting around the table on Thanksgiving, hearing those who just don’t know what we do criticizing the condition of our education system. Mali’s message makes pretty clear the power an individual can have in the life of a child. In Center we are blessed to have a staff full of such passionate, excellent, and dedicated people.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxsOVK4syxU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxsOVK4syxU
The Past Two Weeks
Highlights of the week of November 13th through the 19th included a visit from Colorado Department of Education personnel about our Haskin Elementary School transformation project, an all campus evacuation practice drill, fall teacher salary negotiations, teaching a BOCES Alternative Licensure class, having the opportunity to conduct a presentation to all our secondary students about the importance of planning to attend college, participating in a Monte-Center administrator professional learning community session, attending our weekly core construction team meeting, and traveling to Denver for a Colorado Association of School Executives legislative committee meeting.
Because of our week long break I had the pleasure of spending Thanksgiving week in Tucson, Arizona visiting my twenty-five year old daughter Anne. The highlights of my trip included sleeping in, working on bicycles, riding them, and attending a large family gathering at my sister’s house.
Because of our week long break I had the pleasure of spending Thanksgiving week in Tucson, Arizona visiting my twenty-five year old daughter Anne. The highlights of my trip included sleeping in, working on bicycles, riding them, and attending a large family gathering at my sister’s house.
Big Things We Are Working On
Fall salary negotiations went well, with a tentative agreement being made to grant all teachers an experience step of $750. Because of overall funding conditions this is the first step increase we have been able to offer to teachers in the past three years, though our staff truly deserves more. In addition to this we made the decision to eliminate our lowest salary step next year, thereby increasing our base pay, and adding it to the highest step to increase salaries for our most experienced teachers. The next step in this process is to wait for our teacher association to approve this agreement, then for the Board of Education to consider and adopt the recommendation as well.
Construction News
Decisions have finally been made on hand dryers! We went with an affordable model that can be adjusted to work as effectively as possible while creating a limited amount of noise. A lot of other interior decisions are being made such as locker colors, striping of gym floors, and various gym accessory designs. GE Johnson believes all windows will be installed and the outer skin of the building will be in place by mid January. Inside walls are already being constructed with metal studs and sheetrock, as can be seen in this picture.
Our Core Beliefs
This week I would like to revisit Center School’s core belief number 1, “Our purpose is to increase academic achievement for ALL students.”
There once existed a time when education in Colorado was designed to be offered to all students who came to school and it was, quite frankly, OK for some kids to take advantage of the offer and for some to choose not to. The accountability system the state of Colorado has created in the last decade no longer views such a system as an option.
In Center Schools we happen to agree that the goal of public education must be to focus on increasing achievement for ALL students. This means we need to continually work to ensure that every child is not only given the opportunity to learn, but actually IS learning. We do this in Center by measuring growth in various ways during the school year and by intervening with students when it appears they are not keeping up with their classmates and national growth norms. We do this not because Colorado expects us to do it. We do it because it is simply the right thing to do. Because of our recent focus on this we are beginning to see Center Schools students growing at an annual rate far greater than the average child in Colorado. This is happening because of the hard work of our kids, our staff, and our personal expectation that it MUST happen.
It is efforts like this that have led Center to continually be recognized by the Colorado Department of Education as a “Center of Education Excellence.”
There once existed a time when education in Colorado was designed to be offered to all students who came to school and it was, quite frankly, OK for some kids to take advantage of the offer and for some to choose not to. The accountability system the state of Colorado has created in the last decade no longer views such a system as an option.
In Center Schools we happen to agree that the goal of public education must be to focus on increasing achievement for ALL students. This means we need to continually work to ensure that every child is not only given the opportunity to learn, but actually IS learning. We do this in Center by measuring growth in various ways during the school year and by intervening with students when it appears they are not keeping up with their classmates and national growth norms. We do this not because Colorado expects us to do it. We do it because it is simply the right thing to do. Because of our recent focus on this we are beginning to see Center Schools students growing at an annual rate far greater than the average child in Colorado. This is happening because of the hard work of our kids, our staff, and our personal expectation that it MUST happen.
It is efforts like this that have led Center to continually be recognized by the Colorado Department of Education as a “Center of Education Excellence.”
The Week Ahead
We have a big event on Monday when we swear in our newly elected Board of Education members at Noon. Yuridia Cendejas and Ritchie Barela will join Michael Lobato, Margaret Faron and Bryan Arellano on the Board.
The middle of the week includes various face-to-face meetings, federal programs reporting processes, and a trip to Denver in my role as Chairman of the Colorado Safe Schools Resource Center Advisory Board.
On Friday all Center Schools Administrative Staff members will be working together in the Board Room to pour over first semester teacher walkthrough data and to complete required Mid-Year Teacher Evaluations.
Extra Points
Katrina Caldon Ruggles is a rare staff member who, through hard work and dedication, continually finds ways to fund her position and that of many others through grant application processes.
Recently Katrina has also found ways to bring much needed help to Center in the form of AmeriCorps workers. During the summer the Center Community was the beneficiary of the hard work of 8 fine young men and women who supported summer school instruction, helped to operate our pee wee sports programs, staffed our library, and completed various improvement projects around town.
Because of Katrina’s tenaciousness we once again have the opportunity to benefit from such service. Last week Katrina introduced our next wave of AmeriCorps workers who will no doubt leave an impression on Center. Please join me in welcoming these individuals to our community and thanking Katrina for the hard work she has done to secure their services for us!
Thanks for listening again and have a great week.
George
The middle of the week includes various face-to-face meetings, federal programs reporting processes, and a trip to Denver in my role as Chairman of the Colorado Safe Schools Resource Center Advisory Board.
On Friday all Center Schools Administrative Staff members will be working together in the Board Room to pour over first semester teacher walkthrough data and to complete required Mid-Year Teacher Evaluations.
Extra Points
Katrina Caldon Ruggles is a rare staff member who, through hard work and dedication, continually finds ways to fund her position and that of many others through grant application processes.
Recently Katrina has also found ways to bring much needed help to Center in the form of AmeriCorps workers. During the summer the Center Community was the beneficiary of the hard work of 8 fine young men and women who supported summer school instruction, helped to operate our pee wee sports programs, staffed our library, and completed various improvement projects around town.
Because of Katrina’s tenaciousness we once again have the opportunity to benefit from such service. Last week Katrina introduced our next wave of AmeriCorps workers who will no doubt leave an impression on Center. Please join me in welcoming these individuals to our community and thanking Katrina for the hard work she has done to secure their services for us!
Thanks for listening again and have a great week.
George