Echoes From Cañon
Our Mission and Core Beliefs
The Cañon City School District is future-focused, providing innovative educational opportunities to successfully prepare all students to meet any challenge they may face.
1. We meet the social-emotional needs of all students, putting Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs before Bloom’s Taxonomy.
2. We believe learning growth matters most, requires risk-taking, and the work we do in our schools has the greatest impact on this.
3. We’re future-focused, believing the development of certain traits and skills will best prepare our students for ever-changing careers.
4. We emphasize what is good for kids over the needs and comfort of adults.
The Cañon City School District is future-focused, providing innovative educational opportunities to successfully prepare all students to meet any challenge they may face.
1. We meet the social-emotional needs of all students, putting Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs before Bloom’s Taxonomy.
2. We believe learning growth matters most, requires risk-taking, and the work we do in our schools has the greatest impact on this.
3. We’re future-focused, believing the development of certain traits and skills will best prepare our students for ever-changing careers.
4. We emphasize what is good for kids over the needs and comfort of adults.
Top 5 Celebrations of 2020
2020 has truly been a challenging year. However, despite a worldwide pandemic and the resulting economic fallout, the students and staff of Cañon City Schools made tremendous strides. As the year winds down, this is a great time to reflect on some significant accomplishments.
In chronological order, I offer these as the most significant achievements of the Cañon City School District during the 2020 calendar year.
In chronological order, I offer these as the most significant achievements of the Cañon City School District during the 2020 calendar year.
Instant shift to digital instruction and full implementation of a one-to-one technology device program, as promised through our successful 2017 mill override, and one year ahead of schedule
Staff meeting and student instruction went fully digital during the 4th quarter of the 19-20 school year
Teachers found ways to deeply engage students in learning
In mid-March 2020 the worldwide spread of COVID-19 hit the United States and, despite what in hindsight appears to have been a minor impact on places like Fremont County at the time, schools all over the country were ordered to shift away from in-person learning to digital and distance delivered instruction. This was no minor directive, and the staff of Cañon City Schools, in the course of only one week, quickly and expertly adapted all it was doing to digital means. This required ensuring Chromebook devices were available to all students, and despite our schedule for securing these for K-5 students during the 2020-21 school year, we were able to quickly secure new ones and place them in the hands of children in record time. By no means was our transition to digital learning a seamless process. However, we all have much to be proud of in the way it was implemented, despite such instruction not being the best way for the average student to experience learning.
Safely reopening all district schools during a worldwide pandemic, and sustaining some form of in-person instruction for all children for the better part of the fall 2020 semester
Despite many challenges, we were able to open our doors to in-person learning
CCMS students filled brand new classrooms in August
With the culmination of the 2019-20 school year, the Cañon City School District staff was immediately tasked with developing a plan to open its doors to in-person learning in August 2020. Doing so required extensive planning and adapting to constantly evolving guidelines provided by the Colorado and Fremont County departments of public health. With plans for virus transfer mitigation in place, including how we would react to COVID outbreaks, on Monday August 17th our K-8 schools once again opened their doors to all children. At the same time, Cañon City High School began to implement a hybrid attendance schedule where students could come to school every other day. This instructional plan worked without incident through the end of the first quarter. However, during quarter number two, as COVID spread significantly through Fremont County, Cañon City High School had to shift to digital learning several times, ending the semester by only allowing students involved in certain programs to attend in-person. Despite these challenges, Cañon City Schools was one of only a handful of districts in Colorado whose doors remained open to students and staff for the better part of the fall 2020 semester, and this was a tremendous accomplishment.
Substantial completion of construction of the new Washington Elementary School despite the impacts of a worldwide pandemic
Staff and students got Washington ready for the first day of school
Before the COVID 19 pandemic hit, our expectation was construction on the new Washington Elementary School structure at 9th and College would be fully complete by mid-July, while it would take until early October to wrap up work on the grounds. As happened in many economic sectors, the worldwide COVID pandemic disrupted supply chains and workforce, impacting what we were able to accomplish on the new school construction project. Despite this, on Thursday August 20th, our new Washington Elementary School building opened its doors to students for the first time and remained in operation for the entire semester despite limited street access to the facility. Work on the school grounds was finally completed several weeks ago, and though there are still some punch list items to address throughout the facility, we are happy to report Washington Elementary has been substantially completed. This means when staff, students, and parents arrive for the spring 2021 semester, they will have access to all parking lots and entrances. Most exciting, some very patient Bears will also now get to enjoy the wonderful new playgrounds we added to the facility thanks to a Colorado Health Foundation grant.
As a reminder, the total value of the Washington Elementary project comes to roughly $25 million. Yet, to pull this off, the Cañon City School District community only had to contribute $6 million, thanks to the district’s successful Colorado Building Excellent Schools Today grant application. We wish to offer special appreciation to our construction partners at RLH Engineering, GE Johnson Construction, and RLA Architecture for the tenacity they displayed in completing this project under extremely difficult conditions.
As a reminder, the total value of the Washington Elementary project comes to roughly $25 million. Yet, to pull this off, the Cañon City School District community only had to contribute $6 million, thanks to the district’s successful Colorado Building Excellent Schools Today grant application. We wish to offer special appreciation to our construction partners at RLH Engineering, GE Johnson Construction, and RLA Architecture for the tenacity they displayed in completing this project under extremely difficult conditions.
First Capstone for All effort completed at Cañon City High School despite a worldwide pandemic and many disruptions to regular education processes
Fall capstone presentations had to be done virtually
Many capstone projects deeply benefit and enhance our community
In the spring of 2015, the Colorado State Board of Education revised minimum high school graduation requirements. These are to be implemented for the Class of 2021. The new standards require graduates to perform at certain achievement levels on state administered math and language arts exams, as well as a slate of other standardized assessments. Because these expectation are more rigorous and all evidence pointed toward the likelihood that more than 30% of Colorado students were not likely to achieve them, the State Board allowed one additional pathway to earning a high school diploma; the successful completion of a rigorous capstone project.
Instead of approaching this change by digging in our heels, we in the Cañon City School District embraced the challenge by conducting a revisioning process, establishing a high quality profile of a successful graduate, and focusing our efforts on developing certain traits and skills in our students we believe will prepare them for success no matter the challenges they face in their future. As we did this work, we recognized the importance capstone could play in measuring the development of our targeted traits and skills. Thus, as a matter of equity and deep commitment to our mission, we made a conscious decision to require EVERY Class of 2021 graduate to successfully complete a project. As daunting a task as this seemed several years ago, it really became difficult to bring the plan to life as we navigated the worldwide COVID pandemic. As a result, the State Board of Education allowed school districts to temporarily opt out of the new graduation requirements. Despite this, and thanks to the incredible effort of the Cañon City High School staff, we decided to move forward. Thus, during November and December 2020 EVERY member of the CCHS senior class had the opportunity to complete and present their capstone project. Though not all students were successful in this endeavor, most were, and some projects presented were absolutely amazing! Moving forward, a handful of students who still need to get over this hurdle will receive time and support during the spring 2021 semester to revise their project, and only by displaying knowledge, agility, and tenacity, will earn their right to receive a Cañon City High School diploma.
As a parent of a member of the Class of 2021, I wish to thank the Cañon City High School staff for the tireless work they did to develop and implement this process. The quality of presentation my daughter and her partner were supported to produce, the nervousness with which they approached their presentation, and the pride of accomplishment they displayed upon successful completion, will carry forward with them in everything they do for the rest of their life.
When everyone had a good reason to put off doing this work, our staff and students chose to move forward. I simply could not be more proud of them!
Instead of approaching this change by digging in our heels, we in the Cañon City School District embraced the challenge by conducting a revisioning process, establishing a high quality profile of a successful graduate, and focusing our efforts on developing certain traits and skills in our students we believe will prepare them for success no matter the challenges they face in their future. As we did this work, we recognized the importance capstone could play in measuring the development of our targeted traits and skills. Thus, as a matter of equity and deep commitment to our mission, we made a conscious decision to require EVERY Class of 2021 graduate to successfully complete a project. As daunting a task as this seemed several years ago, it really became difficult to bring the plan to life as we navigated the worldwide COVID pandemic. As a result, the State Board of Education allowed school districts to temporarily opt out of the new graduation requirements. Despite this, and thanks to the incredible effort of the Cañon City High School staff, we decided to move forward. Thus, during November and December 2020 EVERY member of the CCHS senior class had the opportunity to complete and present their capstone project. Though not all students were successful in this endeavor, most were, and some projects presented were absolutely amazing! Moving forward, a handful of students who still need to get over this hurdle will receive time and support during the spring 2021 semester to revise their project, and only by displaying knowledge, agility, and tenacity, will earn their right to receive a Cañon City High School diploma.
As a parent of a member of the Class of 2021, I wish to thank the Cañon City High School staff for the tireless work they did to develop and implement this process. The quality of presentation my daughter and her partner were supported to produce, the nervousness with which they approached their presentation, and the pride of accomplishment they displayed upon successful completion, will carry forward with them in everything they do for the rest of their life.
When everyone had a good reason to put off doing this work, our staff and students chose to move forward. I simply could not be more proud of them!
Finally, the Fremont RE-1, RE-2, and RE-3 school districts are on the cusp of establishing a forward thinking County Education Collaborative that will open up a world of opportunity to all Fremont County School District students.
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Throughout 2020, the Cañon City Fremont RE-1, Florence-Penrose Fremont RE-2, and Cotopaxi Fremont RE-3 school districts have been hard at work finding ways to collaborate. This led to the submission of a nearly $2 million Colorado Response, Innovation, and Student Equity (RISE) Grant. This funding opportunity came as a result of federal CARES Act dollars allocated to Colorado due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As far back as last January, the three Fremont County school districts saw an opportunity to address education inequities across our region and began seeking ways to share resources and programming, enabling students to participate in a greater variety of learning opportunities than they might otherwise.
As an emerging collaborative, we believe by working together our region of Colorado can achieve outstanding educational outcomes for all students. Our initiative includes the three Fremont County school districts, Pueblo Community College, and a variety of valued regional business partners spearheaded by the Fremont Economic Development Corporation.
Our greatest hope is to leverage each other’s resources and talent to amplify the impact of RISE grant dollars to accomplish the following:
· Expand access to Caсon City’s first rural P-TECH program in Colorado to all Fremont County school district students.
· Ensure every high school student in Fremont County has the opportunity to participate in a highly developed intern and apprentice program that includes more than 110 regional business partners.
· Ensure every Fremont County student has access to an expanded menu of Early College, Advanced Placement, and Industry Certification programs.
· Guarantee every Fremont County student who might learn better through an alternative/exploratory course of study has access to do so.
· Expand equity in learning opportunities across the county in ways we have yet to even imagine.
We submitted our grant in mid-December and we expect to learn if it has been funded by early January. If we are successful in this effort, I have no doubt the launch of this collaborative will be a lead story in next year’s year-end installment of Echoes from Cañon!
As far back as last January, the three Fremont County school districts saw an opportunity to address education inequities across our region and began seeking ways to share resources and programming, enabling students to participate in a greater variety of learning opportunities than they might otherwise.
As an emerging collaborative, we believe by working together our region of Colorado can achieve outstanding educational outcomes for all students. Our initiative includes the three Fremont County school districts, Pueblo Community College, and a variety of valued regional business partners spearheaded by the Fremont Economic Development Corporation.
Our greatest hope is to leverage each other’s resources and talent to amplify the impact of RISE grant dollars to accomplish the following:
· Expand access to Caсon City’s first rural P-TECH program in Colorado to all Fremont County school district students.
· Ensure every high school student in Fremont County has the opportunity to participate in a highly developed intern and apprentice program that includes more than 110 regional business partners.
· Ensure every Fremont County student has access to an expanded menu of Early College, Advanced Placement, and Industry Certification programs.
· Guarantee every Fremont County student who might learn better through an alternative/exploratory course of study has access to do so.
· Expand equity in learning opportunities across the county in ways we have yet to even imagine.
We submitted our grant in mid-December and we expect to learn if it has been funded by early January. If we are successful in this effort, I have no doubt the launch of this collaborative will be a lead story in next year’s year-end installment of Echoes from Cañon!
Thank you!
As I head into the second part of my 24th, and most unusual and challenging year as a superintendent of schools, I wish to thank you all for your patience and support. We are by no means out of the woods as far as this pandemic goes. However, I believe the Cañon City community and its schools has much to be proud about how we have navigated this challenge, and I look forward to coming out the other side of this difficulty with each of you in the coming year.
As always, thank you for listening.
George S. Welsh
As always, thank you for listening.
George S. Welsh
