Echoes from Cañon
Examples of Excellence
Cañon City High School Counselor Stacy Andrews is being honored as Colorado's Counselor of the Month for December!
There is no better place to start this week than to honor Cañon City High School Counselor Stacy Andrews who was honored by the Colorado School Counselor Association as the Colorado Counselor fo the mOnth for December 2017! Stacy was nominated for the great work she is doing with our Counselor Corps Grant, and specifically the work she has done establishing our Freshman Base Camp program as part of Cañon City High School's move toward a Pathways curriculum. Congratulations Stacy!
Last week we got notification the Colorado Department of Education has reviewed the accreditation status of Cañon City High School and determined it has indeed earned a Performance rating, the highest rating category a school can achieve in Colorado. The Cañon City School District asked for a review of CCHS’s status due to discrepancies regarding the percentage of students who participated in assessments last spring. Congratulations go our to the entire CCHS staff!
Last week I had the opportunity to visit Washington and McKinley elementary schools. On Monday, I spent time in Washington, walking and talking with Principal Brian Zamarripa. While there I observed quite strong small group reading instruction, excellent use of their new health care professional, and I was excited to see CCHS early childhood class students on site observing kindergarten classes. Mr. Zamarripa and I talked about walkthrough observation feedback processes and the importance of high-quality learning targets. On Friday, I walked through McKinley with Principal Scott Morton. We took a look at his technology and special education programs. We also observed regular classroom instruction. While there I noticed good quality learning targets and a strong focus on a PBIS behavior support program.
On a final note this week, I just can’t say enough about the fine work our School Resource Officers are doing. Cañon City Police Department officers Jeff Canada and Madison Hock do an outstanding job serving Cañon City High School, Cañon City Middle School, Harrison K-8, Cañon Exploratory School, Lincoln School of Science and Technology, and Washington Elementary School. We are also truly fortunate to have the services of Fremont County Deputy Sheriff Michael Fetterhoff at McKinley Elementary School. Each of these officers do a fine job protecting our schools. Most importantly, each, in their own way, has found positive ways to connect with our students, making sure kids have a positive adult in their life they can count on. Thank you Jeff, Madison, and Michael, for the difference you are making in our community and in the lives of our children!
Last week we got notification the Colorado Department of Education has reviewed the accreditation status of Cañon City High School and determined it has indeed earned a Performance rating, the highest rating category a school can achieve in Colorado. The Cañon City School District asked for a review of CCHS’s status due to discrepancies regarding the percentage of students who participated in assessments last spring. Congratulations go our to the entire CCHS staff!
Last week I had the opportunity to visit Washington and McKinley elementary schools. On Monday, I spent time in Washington, walking and talking with Principal Brian Zamarripa. While there I observed quite strong small group reading instruction, excellent use of their new health care professional, and I was excited to see CCHS early childhood class students on site observing kindergarten classes. Mr. Zamarripa and I talked about walkthrough observation feedback processes and the importance of high-quality learning targets. On Friday, I walked through McKinley with Principal Scott Morton. We took a look at his technology and special education programs. We also observed regular classroom instruction. While there I noticed good quality learning targets and a strong focus on a PBIS behavior support program.
On a final note this week, I just can’t say enough about the fine work our School Resource Officers are doing. Cañon City Police Department officers Jeff Canada and Madison Hock do an outstanding job serving Cañon City High School, Cañon City Middle School, Harrison K-8, Cañon Exploratory School, Lincoln School of Science and Technology, and Washington Elementary School. We are also truly fortunate to have the services of Fremont County Deputy Sheriff Michael Fetterhoff at McKinley Elementary School. Each of these officers do a fine job protecting our schools. Most importantly, each, in their own way, has found positive ways to connect with our students, making sure kids have a positive adult in their life they can count on. Thank you Jeff, Madison, and Michael, for the difference you are making in our community and in the lives of our children!
SROs Canada and Hock.
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SRO Fetterhoff and a McKInley friend.
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The Focus of Our Work
Cañon City High School Early Childhood Education students work with Washington children.
If you follow our board meeting information you may have noticed at nearly each meeting we are in the process of rescinding a large number of policies, while also adopting new or updated ones. About a year and a half ago we conducted a policy analysis and found we have some work to do in getting our manual up to speed. Thus, for a little more than a year now we have been working one section at a time to bring the entire manual up to date. Board-Superintendent Secretary Colleen Carroll deserves much appreciation for guiding us through this difficult process. We hope to wrap up this work by mid-June of 2018
At our board meeting Monday, we set our 2018 mill levy to ensure collection of override dollars as was approved by voters through question 3A. We also increased the mill levy to cover the payback first part of our bond sale related to voter approval of question 3B.
-Our General Fund mill was set again this year at 27.092. This number is determined by the state, and it is the maximum a district can pay for its local share of education costs.
-Our override was set at 5.861 mills, as advertised during the election. This will add an additional $1.385 operations dollars to the district during the 2018-19 school year.
-While we were setting our bond mills for 2018 we also took the opportunity to reduce our 2004 Harrison-CCHS construction levy from 7.690 to 6.973 (a .730 reduction). We were able to do this because the high rate of property tax collection in Fremont County over the past ten or so years has created a surplus of funding on this front. This reduction means we’ll collect $172,431 less toward repayment of this bond, a significant savings to taxpayers.
-As stated last week, for this year’s bond sale we were able to secure a 3.2% interest rate, as opposed to the 6% advertised in the election. Doing so resulted in a reduction of the 1.376 mill increase stated in question 3B to only 1.270, another $19,000 savings.
We conducted our first bond sale last week, for a total of $4 million, and have even already executed the payoff of the Mountain Views Core Knowledge School building loan. Remaining funds will be available to match the $7.5 million in repair projects I discussed last week.
One other important thing the board did last Monday was to approve a slate of additional new courses for Cañon City High School. These include Creative Writing, Video Production 2, Teacher Cadet 2, Career and Tech Ed Math, Certified Nurse Assistant, and a business course revision that establishes Computer Applications 3 as a quarter length class focused on either Microsoft Word or Excel, and Computer Applications 4 as an Excel focus. We will also add Web Design 1 and 2, and Accounting 1 as part of this revision.
At our board meeting Monday, we set our 2018 mill levy to ensure collection of override dollars as was approved by voters through question 3A. We also increased the mill levy to cover the payback first part of our bond sale related to voter approval of question 3B.
-Our General Fund mill was set again this year at 27.092. This number is determined by the state, and it is the maximum a district can pay for its local share of education costs.
-Our override was set at 5.861 mills, as advertised during the election. This will add an additional $1.385 operations dollars to the district during the 2018-19 school year.
-While we were setting our bond mills for 2018 we also took the opportunity to reduce our 2004 Harrison-CCHS construction levy from 7.690 to 6.973 (a .730 reduction). We were able to do this because the high rate of property tax collection in Fremont County over the past ten or so years has created a surplus of funding on this front. This reduction means we’ll collect $172,431 less toward repayment of this bond, a significant savings to taxpayers.
-As stated last week, for this year’s bond sale we were able to secure a 3.2% interest rate, as opposed to the 6% advertised in the election. Doing so resulted in a reduction of the 1.376 mill increase stated in question 3B to only 1.270, another $19,000 savings.
We conducted our first bond sale last week, for a total of $4 million, and have even already executed the payoff of the Mountain Views Core Knowledge School building loan. Remaining funds will be available to match the $7.5 million in repair projects I discussed last week.
One other important thing the board did last Monday was to approve a slate of additional new courses for Cañon City High School. These include Creative Writing, Video Production 2, Teacher Cadet 2, Career and Tech Ed Math, Certified Nurse Assistant, and a business course revision that establishes Computer Applications 3 as a quarter length class focused on either Microsoft Word or Excel, and Computer Applications 4 as an Excel focus. We will also add Web Design 1 and 2, and Accounting 1 as part of this revision.
The Cañon City High School Building Leadership Team includes 14 student leaders.
Last Week
I started my work week with a visit to Washington Elementary and a board work session and meeting on Monday evening. On Tuesday, I attended a CCHS Building Leadership Team meeting, sat in on our monthly touching base session with the Cañon City Police Department, attended a SAC meeting, and held a monthly District Leadership Team meeting. On Wednesday, I met with classified association leaders, presented at the Cañon City High School delayed start professional development sessions, and observed a multi-school professional development at Harrison K-8. That evening, I attended Fremont County Human Services Director Steve Clifton’s retirement party. On Thursday, I drove to Denver and back for an Early Childhood Leadership Commission meeting, returning in time to attend a Cañon City High School Mobile Deployment Committee meeting. I ended the week with a visit to McKinley Elementary School on Friday.
This Week
This week Josh Race, Todd Albrecht, and Andrew Fisher directed another outstanding Fine Art of Christmas performance. Nearly 300 students participated.
This week will be filled with a series of meetings related to budgeting, building projects, developing a working relationship with new Fremont County DHS director Stacy Kwitek, CCHS and McKinley tech deployment, and student behavior matters. I’ll also participate in a Fremont Facilities Corporation quarterly board meeting, interview three Owner’s Representative firm finalists, learn about a Colorado Education Initiative grant opportunity that might support the work we are doing at Cañon City High School, meet about possible furniture upgrades for Cañon Exploratory School, and participate in our annual Central Office Christmas Party.
Thanks for listening once again!
George S. Welsh
Thanks for listening once again!
George S. Welsh