Great Things Going On
Last Thursday evening Adams State University and the Public Education Business Coalition (PEBC) hosted a wonderful event to kick off the 2014-15 Boettcher Rural San Luis Valley Teacher Cohort. This program believes that each child having access to great teachers is the single most important school-based factor that leads to closing the achievement gap. The Boettcher Teacher alternative and residency programs, as run through Adams State University, prepares young people to have extraordinary teaching careers through a two year long hands-on Master’s degree program and comprehensive one-to-one classroom mentoring and coaching opportunities. Center Schools has been a primary beneficiary of the Boettcher Rural Teacher Program, with four of our current teachers in their second year of participation and Phillip Ortega, our new grade 5-12 instrumental music teacher, an alternative resident, and Melissa Armenta being mentored by master 4th -5th grade teacher Colleen Hurst.
Last Tuesday I had the pleasure of sitting in on a good portion of the Center Schools Health Advisory Committee meeting that was lead by contracted counselor Katrina Ruggles. At the meeting we learned about the current mission of the health committee and the many ways it is working to address issues related to student substance abuse, staff and student wellness, and anti-bullying efforts. It was great to see the room filled with people from agencies all over our region interested in working toward making our school a safer, healthier place for students to learn.
On Monday evening many Haskin Elementary School staff members hosted a nice Lindamood-Bell Tips for Home event that, though it was sparsely attended due to the busy harvest season we are in the midst of, was well run. An LMB Tips for Home event gives school instructional leaders the opportunity to share effective strategies and tools for incorporating study skills and homework with parents. Items covered include the home learning environment, best practices for planning to work with children at home, how to motivate children, gamification of learning, and the importance of teacher-school communication. I want to thank all our folks who gave up their Monday evening to offer this important information to parents, as well as the parents who took the time out of their busy schedules to attend.
On Monday I sent the better part of my day in Alamosa working with the Health Eaters, Lifelong Movers (HELM) advisory committee planning the expansion of this program throughout the San Luis Valley as it relates to improving physical education instruction and healthy food choices at schools. Center Schools employees Andrew Hawkins (elementary PE), and Katrina Ruggles (contracted counselor) also serve on this regional committee.
Big Things We Are Working On
Last Tuesday morning the Center Schools administrative team met face to face with Town of Center Police Chief Bill Lucero and Sargent Tim Arellano in an effort to share the many lessons learned during the crisis drill we conducted on Friday September 26th. Communication about these items will be shared with the entire staff in the next week in preparation for future drills, or real life crises.
Last Wednesday morning I sat in on a Valley wide secondary administrator Professional Learning Community meeting and observed Center High School principal Kevin Jones and Skoglund Middle School principal Luis Murillo discussing the pros and cons of the new state teacher and principal evaluation platform called RANDA, how to improve on evaluations of instructional paraprofessionals, and how to encourage teachers to share out their expertise at future All Valley Teacher PLCs. I am pleased that Kevin and Luis attended this session as it is a great opportunity for them to learn from other folks in our region who have jobs similar to theirs.
On Tuesday evening center school board president Michael Lobato and I attended the Colorado Association of School Boards regional gathering that took place at the Adams State University Student Center. At this gathering we learned about the various statewide ballot issues that relate to education in Colorado, CASB executive director Ken Delay shared his predictions related to the upcoming state office and legislative elections, and Mark DeVoti offered up a wonderful presentation to educate regional board members about the various issues surrounding state education reform efforts and the Colorado curriculum.
The Past Week
Last Monday I spent the day in Alamosa participating in an all day HELM steering committee meeting and that evening I attended our Lindamood-Bell Tips for Home event that took place in our campus Commons. On Tuesday we held our post crisis drill debrief meeting, I attended our first Health Advisory Committee meeting of the year, and I ended the day in Alamosa at the Colorado Association of School Boards regional information sharing meeting. On Wednesday morning I spent time in Monte Vista with middle-high principals from around the San Luis Valley at their Professional Learning Community session. On Thursday I drove to Denver as a special guest of Great Education Colorado to attend their annual fundraiser luncheon, and ended the day in Alamosa attending the Boettcher Rural Teacher kickoff program dinner. On Friday I attended a phone conference related to a presentation I’ll be doing on behalf of the Colorado Department of Education at the National Rural Educator’s Conference later in October.
The Week Ahead
This is Homecoming Week in Center and Brandon Selby's Center High School Student Council has some wonderful events planned to raise school and community spirit!
On Monday I will spend the entire day with Douglas County School District superintendent for curriculum Ted Knight who will visit our campus to work directly with new Skoglund Middle School principal Luis Murillo and Center High School principal Kevin Jones on lesson plan feedback, classroom instruction feedback, analysis of student achievement data, and general issues related to becoming an outstanding principal. On Tuesday afternoon I will be in Denver to chair the Colorado Safe Schools Resource Center advisory board meeting. The CSSRC assists educators, emergency responders, community organizations, school mental health professionals, parents, and students in creating safe, positive and successful school environments for Colorado students in all pre K-12 and higher education schools. I was originally appointed to serve on this board by former Commissioner of Education Dwight Jones, and was reappointed to serve by current Colorado Commissioner of Education Robert Hammond. I believe serving on this advisory board provides the Center School District with great access to resources related to general school safety and crisis response tools.
I will spend the day in the schools again on Wednesday, but that evening I will attend an SLV BOCES cost sharing meeting to explore ways to share resources and expertise with other San Luis Valley school districts. On Thursday and Friday I will be taking personal leave to prepare for and attend the wedding of my son Stefan Welsh to the gorgeous and incredibly smart Quinn Harmon, daughter of Sharie and proud Center High School graduate Ed Harmon. Their ceremony and reception will be in Taos on Saturday October 11th.
Thanks for listening once again and have a great week!
George
- Monday will be, “Help put the Dolores Bears into hibernation by wearing pajamas” day!
- Tuesday is
"Twin it Up"
day, as students and staff members will dress as twins.
- Wednesday is “On Wednesdays we wear pink"
day.
- Thursday is our traditional
blue and white day.
On Thursday afternoon at 2:30 PM there will also be a Pep Assembly that parents and community members are invited to attend, and on Thursday night our Viking Football team plays the Dolores Bears at 7 PM at the Center Community Park.
- On Friday high school classes will dress up as their class themed Disney Movie, with our homecoming parade taking place at 2 PM.
-
On Saturday our Lady Viking Volleyball team takes on the Sargent Farmers at 11 AM.
There will also be a “White Out” themed Dance beginning at 7 PM on Saturday evening.
On Monday I will spend the entire day with Douglas County School District superintendent for curriculum Ted Knight who will visit our campus to work directly with new Skoglund Middle School principal Luis Murillo and Center High School principal Kevin Jones on lesson plan feedback, classroom instruction feedback, analysis of student achievement data, and general issues related to becoming an outstanding principal. On Tuesday afternoon I will be in Denver to chair the Colorado Safe Schools Resource Center advisory board meeting. The CSSRC assists educators, emergency responders, community organizations, school mental health professionals, parents, and students in creating safe, positive and successful school environments for Colorado students in all pre K-12 and higher education schools. I was originally appointed to serve on this board by former Commissioner of Education Dwight Jones, and was reappointed to serve by current Colorado Commissioner of Education Robert Hammond. I believe serving on this advisory board provides the Center School District with great access to resources related to general school safety and crisis response tools.
I will spend the day in the schools again on Wednesday, but that evening I will attend an SLV BOCES cost sharing meeting to explore ways to share resources and expertise with other San Luis Valley school districts. On Thursday and Friday I will be taking personal leave to prepare for and attend the wedding of my son Stefan Welsh to the gorgeous and incredibly smart Quinn Harmon, daughter of Sharie and proud Center High School graduate Ed Harmon. Their ceremony and reception will be in Taos on Saturday October 11th.
Thanks for listening once again and have a great week!
George