Examples of Excellence
CCHS students donate their locks during the 2017 hair drive!
CCHS staff discuss how student traits and skills can be measured through non-traditional assessment.
On May 8th the Cañon City High School Pride Club's annual hair drive to support children with hair loss due to medical complications will take place. This is a great opportunity for locals to support children in need. Stylists from Kreations Salon and 109 Hair Design are once again graciously donating their time and talents in support of this effort. Appointments take 45 minutes to allow participants to donate 8 inches or more and to allow stylists to provide donors with a new look of their choosing. Anyone interested in contributing to this event can call Cañon City High School at 719-275-5870 to get on the schedule. Folks can also reply to posts on The Pride Facebook page to make arrangements to participate.
On Thursday April 26th several Cañon City High School staff attended the Colorado Education Initiative's Assessment for Learning Project (ALP) grant kickoff meeting in Denver. This CEI grant opportunity fits seamlessly into work the district has already been doing around our future vision of education. This event allowed high school staff to view the traits and skills we'd like to develop in children through the lens of how we might measure them through a performance assessment such as a capstone or portfolio project. I was quite impressed with how much the CCHS team was able to accomplish in this one day and look forward to when this work is ready to benefit our students.
On Thursday April 26th several Cañon City High School staff attended the Colorado Education Initiative's Assessment for Learning Project (ALP) grant kickoff meeting in Denver. This CEI grant opportunity fits seamlessly into work the district has already been doing around our future vision of education. This event allowed high school staff to view the traits and skills we'd like to develop in children through the lens of how we might measure them through a performance assessment such as a capstone or portfolio project. I was quite impressed with how much the CCHS team was able to accomplish in this one day and look forward to when this work is ready to benefit our students.
Cañon City School District special educators have been working hard to provide informative workshops for parents of special education students. We would like to invite community to attend an information night with guest speaker Theresa Benavidez. Her area of expertise is Applied Behavior Analysis and assisting parents and staff in better understanding children's needs. On the same night, we will also be hosting several programs from around the community for parents to learn about available summer activities. This exciting event takes place on Tuesday, May 8, 2018, at 5:30 PM at the Cañon City Schools Administration Building located at 101 N. 14th Street. During the meeting information on the district's next steps toward developing a Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) will be shared. Those interested in attending can RSVP to their child’s special education teacher or case manager by Tuesday afternoon, May 8, 2018. Folks can also call 719-371-3419 to reserve a spot
Congratulations are due both Cañon City High School Tiger Ladies and the Encore Show Choir as they earned superior ratings at the annual CHSAA Choir Festival. Encore finished in the top three grouping for the 20th straight year. As always, hard work paid off for our kids, and under the tutelage of Todd Albrecht, they exhibited their Tiger Pride once more. Great work!
Finally, a gigantic thank you goes out to the Mayor Troutman and the entire Cañon City Council for their support in purchasing professional video shooting and editing equipment to be used by our new video productions class at Cañon City High School. The value of this equipment is more than $20,000 and it will be put to good use preparing students for the workforce.
Congratulations are due both Cañon City High School Tiger Ladies and the Encore Show Choir as they earned superior ratings at the annual CHSAA Choir Festival. Encore finished in the top three grouping for the 20th straight year. As always, hard work paid off for our kids, and under the tutelage of Todd Albrecht, they exhibited their Tiger Pride once more. Great work!
Finally, a gigantic thank you goes out to the Mayor Troutman and the entire Cañon City Council for their support in purchasing professional video shooting and editing equipment to be used by our new video productions class at Cañon City High School. The value of this equipment is more than $20,000 and it will be put to good use preparing students for the workforce.
The CCSD Board thanked Cañon City governmental leaders for a donation of state of the art video equipment to be used in video productions classes.
The Focus of Our Work
Adam Hartman facilitates board discussion about its governance role.
This year's Kindergarten Roundup takes place Monday, April 30th through Wednesday, May 2nd. We encourage parents of incoming Kindergarteners to stop by their neighborhood school to enroll their child. Doing so is of tremendous help to the distrcit, as it allows us to properly staff our Kinder programs for the coming year. Any child who will turn 5 years old on or before August 1st is eligible for enrollment. Parents who wish to have their child attend a facility other than their neighborhood school need to complete a transfer request, which can be found at any of our school campuses.
Last Wednesday we held a second Master Agreement negotiation session with the Cañon City Education Association. Three committees reported back about straw designs created based on interests and options brainstormed, and this work was considered with one straw design gaining approval and the other two sent back to committee for refinement. CCHS teacher mark Heinen was kind enough to provide the main course for dinner, and Lincoln and Washington's teachers offered up some delicious sides.
Last Monday the Board of Education held a strategic planning meeting aimed at codifying some of the outstanding governance practices it has been displaying. This includes planning for future new board member training, encouraging folks to step up and run for board decisions, and mentoring new board directors. This work was expertly facilitated by Director of Instruction Adam Hartman.
Last Wednesday we held a second Master Agreement negotiation session with the Cañon City Education Association. Three committees reported back about straw designs created based on interests and options brainstormed, and this work was considered with one straw design gaining approval and the other two sent back to committee for refinement. CCHS teacher mark Heinen was kind enough to provide the main course for dinner, and Lincoln and Washington's teachers offered up some delicious sides.
Last Monday the Board of Education held a strategic planning meeting aimed at codifying some of the outstanding governance practices it has been displaying. This includes planning for future new board member training, encouraging folks to step up and run for board decisions, and mentoring new board directors. This work was expertly facilitated by Director of Instruction Adam Hartman.
Override Progress
High School teachers continue to tackle online coursework in preparation for placing Chromebooks in the hands of every grade 9-12 student. As we budget for next year we are also setting aside roughly $88,000 from our 2018-19 override proceeds for use at the Mountain View Core Knowledge Charter School. We also have $85,000 in the budget to be used by our local preschool programs, $150,000 for additional building maintenance and repair projects and another $150,0000 for use to upgrade and purchase new student learning resources. Finally, $350,000 has been set aside for inclusion in this year's salary increase package for staff.
Bond Progress
Last week we had a number of businesses touring our campuses in preparatin to compete for asbestos abatement work related to our summer window replacement projects at Cañon City High School, Lincoln School of Science and Technology, and McKinley Elementary. This Tuesday we'll begin holding weekly Design-Build Construction Team meetings until we are done with our multi-facility repair projects. We also have a session scheduled next Thursday to prepare for the presentation of our grant proposals at the upcoming BEST Board meeting that takes place in mid-May.
Last Week
Cañon City's 2018 Version of Encore!
Last week I had meetings with several concerned parents, and I attended a board of education strategic planning session, a board work session, and a regular board meeting. I also met with Director of Human Resources Misty Manchester, held a Superintendent's Advisory Council meeting, and then dis a practice run on a webinar I am appearing in with our literacy partners at Lindamood-Bell. I also attended an Instructional Leader PLC, several legislative advocacy meetings, and a regional superintendent meeting in Pueblo. On Wednesday I attended a six-hour master agreement negotiation session with CCEA representatives and on Thursday I trekked to Denver and back to attend the Colorado Education Initiative Assessment for Learning Project grant kickoff session and an Early Childhood Leadership Commission meeting. I ended the week by attending a Technology Sector meeting in Florence and catching up on office work.
This Week
Last week we held our second Technology Sector meeting aimed at leveraging local talent to stimulate the growth of technology industry opportunities.
On Monday I'll focus on setting 2018-19 staffing building levels, and I look forward to attending our annual retirement celebration dinner. On Tuesday I'll participate in two interviews for the next PCC-Fremont Campus Dean and I'll attend a weekly design-build construction team meeting. Wednesday is loaded with routine monthly meetings, another PCC-Fremont Dean candidate interview, and recording a webinar for the folks at Lindamood-Bell. Next Thursday we have a seven-hour negotiation meeting scheduled. There is no school on that day for elementary students (elementary staff has a professional development day) and there will also be no school K-12 on Friday and Monday, as we have Blossom Festival days built into our calendar this year.
Thanks for listening once again!
George S. Welsh
Thanks for listening once again!
George S. Welsh
