Great Things Going On Now
There are a lot of people to be thankful for this week!
First I would like to thank all our teachers and administrators for being so cooperative as we finally begin the process of conducting peer coaching instructional walks. Last week Center High School Principal Kevin Jones conducted some of our first teacher led classroom feedback visits and I have no doubt Mr. Jones, the teachers who came along with him, and the teachers who were being observed learned a great deal from the experience. This week these types of visits will be conducted in the elementary school as well. They are being conducted for the benefit of all teachers and students. As many of you know, Center Schools has numerous teachers who are creative experts in curriculum, student engagement, classroom management, classroom procedures, and general instruction. We have no doubt these instructional walks will serve as an excellent opportunity for teachers to connect and learn from each another.
I want to congratulate Daniel Newmyer for being selected to serve on the Colorado Science Assessment writing committee. CDE made an excellent choice in recruiting Mr. Newmyer to do this!
First I would like to thank all our teachers and administrators for being so cooperative as we finally begin the process of conducting peer coaching instructional walks. Last week Center High School Principal Kevin Jones conducted some of our first teacher led classroom feedback visits and I have no doubt Mr. Jones, the teachers who came along with him, and the teachers who were being observed learned a great deal from the experience. This week these types of visits will be conducted in the elementary school as well. They are being conducted for the benefit of all teachers and students. As many of you know, Center Schools has numerous teachers who are creative experts in curriculum, student engagement, classroom management, classroom procedures, and general instruction. We have no doubt these instructional walks will serve as an excellent opportunity for teachers to connect and learn from each another.
I want to congratulate Daniel Newmyer for being selected to serve on the Colorado Science Assessment writing committee. CDE made an excellent choice in recruiting Mr. Newmyer to do this!
We are also excited to announce that we will have another Americorps crew serving the Center community beginning on November 12. As always, we need to thank our Independent Contracted Counselor Katrina Ruggles for doing the work required to acquire these services from Americorps. Our past experiences with the group have been tremendous and I have no doubt this crew we be a great support to the instruction of our children.
I also want to take time this week to thank Skoglund Middle School Principal Carrie Zimmerman for her continued hard work keeping tack of the middle and high school merit races. Doing so helps our students to focus to a greater extent on their school behavior and completing their class work, and I know the opportunity to win a merit prize for doing so is of great interest to our grade level cohorts.
A big thank you goes out to Center High School Student Council Sponsor Lauren McEvoy for the great job she did guiding our students through a wonderful homecoming week experience! I know this is a tremendous mount of work. I also know the students, staff, and the community truly appreciate how well is was conducted. While on the topic of homecoming I also want to thank Center High School Cheerleader Coach Kim Martinez for the great work she is doing with our cheerleading squad. The school decorations, the performance they put on at the community pep rally, and the entire organization of the pep assembly were among the best I have ever seen. Keep up the great work Kim!
Last, but not least, I want to thank Director of Instruction Lori Cooper, Lindamood-Bell Site Coordinator Melissa Garcia, and Katrina Ruggles for participating in several of last week’s Race to the Top Consortium focus group sessions. The input you are offering will be very helpful to all the students in the San Luis Valley if we are able to secure the grant!
I also want to take time this week to thank Skoglund Middle School Principal Carrie Zimmerman for her continued hard work keeping tack of the middle and high school merit races. Doing so helps our students to focus to a greater extent on their school behavior and completing their class work, and I know the opportunity to win a merit prize for doing so is of great interest to our grade level cohorts.
A big thank you goes out to Center High School Student Council Sponsor Lauren McEvoy for the great job she did guiding our students through a wonderful homecoming week experience! I know this is a tremendous mount of work. I also know the students, staff, and the community truly appreciate how well is was conducted. While on the topic of homecoming I also want to thank Center High School Cheerleader Coach Kim Martinez for the great work she is doing with our cheerleading squad. The school decorations, the performance they put on at the community pep rally, and the entire organization of the pep assembly were among the best I have ever seen. Keep up the great work Kim!
Last, but not least, I want to thank Director of Instruction Lori Cooper, Lindamood-Bell Site Coordinator Melissa Garcia, and Katrina Ruggles for participating in several of last week’s Race to the Top Consortium focus group sessions. The input you are offering will be very helpful to all the students in the San Luis Valley if we are able to secure the grant!
The Past Week
On Monday I conducted office work in Center and then went to Moffat to conduct some Race to the top of the Valley work in preparation for the upcoming October 12 All Valley PLC event. After leaving Moffat I proceeded to Denver to participate in the Public Education Business Coalition superintendent issues panel before chairing the bi-monthly Colorado School Safety Resource Center advisory board meeting.
On Wednesday morning I conducted a lot of office work and participated in a 3 hour Race to the Top Consortium grant application phone meeting. After lunch I attended our last official construction committee meeting. On Wednesday evening I supported Center in hosting roughly 50 board of education directors from around the San Luis Valley at the CASB fall regional meeting.
On Wednesday morning I conducted a lot of office work and participated in a 3 hour Race to the Top Consortium grant application phone meeting. After lunch I attended our last official construction committee meeting. On Wednesday evening I supported Center in hosting roughly 50 board of education directors from around the San Luis Valley at the CASB fall regional meeting.
On Thursday morning I met with Lori Cooper and Director of Technology Julio Paez about our upcoming roll out of iPads for Haskin elementary students in grades K-3. The rest of the day Thursday was spent participating in Race to the Top Consortium grant focus group phone meetings, participating in the homecoming parade, attending the Saguache County Commissioner candidate forum, and finally the community homecoming pep rally.
The better portion of my workday on Friday was once again spent in Race to the Top Consortium grant focus group phone meetings.
The better portion of my workday on Friday was once again spent in Race to the Top Consortium grant focus group phone meetings.
Big Things We Are Working On
Based on the way I spent my time last week it is clear to see that our major focus has been completing our Race to the Top Consortium grant. With the work week conducted this week we have determined our ask will be for 18.5 million dollars to benefit all San Luis Valley school districts in doing the work illustrated in the picture I have attached.
As can be seen in the illustration, our ultimate goal will be to improve the postsecondary workforce readiness of our students upon graduation. This means if a kid wants to go to college to pursue becoming a doctor or a teacher, he or she will be armed with the skills necessary to do so. It also means that if a kid wants to pursue becoming a carpenter or a plumber, he or she will be armed with the skills necessary to do that as well.
As illustrated on the chart, the foundation of our work through this grant will be alignment of curriculum to state and national standards, development of policy to govern how the 14 school districts will work together, use of data to drive instructional decision making, installation of the technology we’ll need to achieve our instructional goals, and continuous leadership and instructional staff development.
Doing this foundational work will lead to our ability to intensely focus on early childhood and K-5 literacy, with our main goal being that ALL students will be able to read and write at grade level in order to participate in the work that takes place at the upper levels of the pyramid. As a student approaches middle school their focus will turn from learning to read to reading to learn. This will be done in a way in which kids get to survey their areas of interest and progress through coursework based on mastery of content, not just time spent in classes. As students enter high school they will gain opportunities to explore the many things they might do for a living after they graduate. At the end of high school each child should then have the opportunity to focus on specific areas of interest critical to their possible future career.
Our Valley consortium grant is still in the developmental phase at this point. It should soon be completed to where it can be available and open to comment from October 12 through October 26. The Colorado Department of Education and the Colorado Legacy Foundation have been wonderful in providing the San Luis Valley with resources needed to make a good run at submitting a quality application. Competition for these grants will no doubt be intense, as more than 400 districts and consortiums nationwide have indicated an interest in applying and only 25 will be awarded. We believe we’ll have a good shot at an award because of our tremendous need and the great work we are doing collaborating in the San Luis Valley. Our grant application is due to be submitted on October 30th. Grant awards should be announced before the end of December.
As can be seen in the illustration, our ultimate goal will be to improve the postsecondary workforce readiness of our students upon graduation. This means if a kid wants to go to college to pursue becoming a doctor or a teacher, he or she will be armed with the skills necessary to do so. It also means that if a kid wants to pursue becoming a carpenter or a plumber, he or she will be armed with the skills necessary to do that as well.
As illustrated on the chart, the foundation of our work through this grant will be alignment of curriculum to state and national standards, development of policy to govern how the 14 school districts will work together, use of data to drive instructional decision making, installation of the technology we’ll need to achieve our instructional goals, and continuous leadership and instructional staff development.
Doing this foundational work will lead to our ability to intensely focus on early childhood and K-5 literacy, with our main goal being that ALL students will be able to read and write at grade level in order to participate in the work that takes place at the upper levels of the pyramid. As a student approaches middle school their focus will turn from learning to read to reading to learn. This will be done in a way in which kids get to survey their areas of interest and progress through coursework based on mastery of content, not just time spent in classes. As students enter high school they will gain opportunities to explore the many things they might do for a living after they graduate. At the end of high school each child should then have the opportunity to focus on specific areas of interest critical to their possible future career.
Our Valley consortium grant is still in the developmental phase at this point. It should soon be completed to where it can be available and open to comment from October 12 through October 26. The Colorado Department of Education and the Colorado Legacy Foundation have been wonderful in providing the San Luis Valley with resources needed to make a good run at submitting a quality application. Competition for these grants will no doubt be intense, as more than 400 districts and consortiums nationwide have indicated an interest in applying and only 25 will be awarded. We believe we’ll have a good shot at an award because of our tremendous need and the great work we are doing collaborating in the San Luis Valley. Our grant application is due to be submitted on October 30th. Grant awards should be announced before the end of December.
Construction News
It was a bittersweet event last Wednesday when we held our last construction committee meeting. From here on out we’ll just be focusing on things the minor things that need to be completed and the punch list items that need to be attended to. We should have another major furniture deli very installed this coming week. In addition, the gym floor should be completed soon. However, we’ll need to stay off the floor for 2 weeks so the sealer can cure.
On Saturday October 13th we’ll even have professional photographers on site to take formal close out pictures of the facility. It has been quite a stretch during the past two plus years. We’ll certainly miss our construction partners, but will sure appreciate the opportunity to get back to focusing fully on what is going on INSIDE the classrooms.
On Saturday October 13th we’ll even have professional photographers on site to take formal close out pictures of the facility. It has been quite a stretch during the past two plus years. We’ll certainly miss our construction partners, but will sure appreciate the opportunity to get back to focusing fully on what is going on INSIDE the classrooms.
The Week Ahead
On Monday Center Schools will have a visit from Santa Fe Trail BOCES personnel who are looking to learn more from us about implementing Senate Bill 191. We also have a meeting about possibly piloting a Teacher-Student Survey process, which will ultimately be a required element of SB 191 teacher and principal evaluations. Monday will end with our quarterly District Leadership Team meeting.
Tuesday is my monthly marathon day as I will attend the monthly San Luis Valley Superintendent Advisory Committee meeting in Alamosa, a school Accreditation Priority Improvement meeting, our monthly District Accountability meeting, then our monthly Board of Education Meeting.
On Wednesday I will attend the weekly Race to the Top Consortium grant phone conference meeting and I will be making a visit to Centauri Middle School as part of the Race to the top of the Valley collaborative so support them in their implementation of the Focal Point curriculum.
On Thursday I will be off to Hugo to attend the Colorado Department of Education Rural Education Council meeting.
There is no school on Friday as Center Schools teaching staff members will be participating in the Race to the top of the Valley All Valley PLC meeting that will take place at the Sargent School District.
Tuesday is my monthly marathon day as I will attend the monthly San Luis Valley Superintendent Advisory Committee meeting in Alamosa, a school Accreditation Priority Improvement meeting, our monthly District Accountability meeting, then our monthly Board of Education Meeting.
On Wednesday I will attend the weekly Race to the Top Consortium grant phone conference meeting and I will be making a visit to Centauri Middle School as part of the Race to the top of the Valley collaborative so support them in their implementation of the Focal Point curriculum.
On Thursday I will be off to Hugo to attend the Colorado Department of Education Rural Education Council meeting.
There is no school on Friday as Center Schools teaching staff members will be participating in the Race to the top of the Valley All Valley PLC meeting that will take place at the Sargent School District.
Video of the Week
As stated above, I had the opportunity to represent rural districts in Colorado at this year's PEBC Superintendent Forum. To learn more about the forum or to even download a podcast to hear it in its entirety, simply go to this link that will take you to an Ed News Colorado article about the event: http://www.ednewscolorado.org/2012/10/05/49124-podcast-video-why-im-optimistic-about-education
If you would like to view a video showing PEBC superintendent forum participants responding to the question, "what makes you optimistic about public education?", just click on this link: http://keepingourfocus.weebly.com/videos.html
Thanks for listening once again. Have a great week!
George
If you would like to view a video showing PEBC superintendent forum participants responding to the question, "what makes you optimistic about public education?", just click on this link: http://keepingourfocus.weebly.com/videos.html
Thanks for listening once again. Have a great week!
George