Cañon City thrives through adventurous spirit, dynamic people, innovative schools, and historic charm.
Echoes from Cañon
Our Mission
The Cañon City School District is future-focused, providing innovative educational opportunities to successfully prepare all students to meet any challenge they may face.
The Cañon City School District is future-focused, providing innovative educational opportunities to successfully prepare all students to meet any challenge they may face.
Our Core Beliefs
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.
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.
Our Core Beliefs in Action

Recently we did a bit of an accounting of the amazing holiday charity efforts made in the community by some of our community partners. A big thank you goes out to Superintendent/Board Secretary Colleen Carroll for coordinating all of this. Colleen reports the Cañon City Middle School construction project team collected the following: 14 Hams from GE Johnson. a $1,500 donation from Cooley and Sons Excavation. A $500 donation from Gary Leimer Inc. A $400 donation from Harmon Bonded. A $110 gift card from Groninger Concrete. The Washington Elementary School construction project team added the following: A $150 gift card donation from Olson Plumbing and Heating. A $100 gift card from Encore Electric. A variety of toys and gift cards from GE Johnson totaling nearly $200 in value.
Mrs. Carroll also reports the Cañon City Elks Club put together food baskets and gifts for 30 of our families. Cañon City Realtors provided food baskets and gifts for 14 of our homeless student families.
With the assistance of Special Services Secretary Heidi Kraft, these items were safely delivered to families before the Christmas Break.
What better way to abide by our first core belief than to actually provide the basic necessities our families need to get through a stretch of difficult time? Thank you all!
This fall staff and students from 51 schools across Colorado attended eight B.I.O.N.I.C. Team Conferences exploring what the program could look like in their schools to empower students to reach out to their peers who are facing tough times. B.I.O.N.I.C. stands for, believe it or not, I care. Harrison School is committed to this program.
At the conferences, attending students and staff members brainstormed two things of concern they are seeing in their schools, and then ways they might be addressed.
It is my understanding because of their participation, the Harrison staff has earned a $500 scholarship allowing them to do the work to become an official B.I.O.N.I.C. Team, which they will do this spring.
Mrs. Carroll also reports the Cañon City Elks Club put together food baskets and gifts for 30 of our families. Cañon City Realtors provided food baskets and gifts for 14 of our homeless student families.
With the assistance of Special Services Secretary Heidi Kraft, these items were safely delivered to families before the Christmas Break.
What better way to abide by our first core belief than to actually provide the basic necessities our families need to get through a stretch of difficult time? Thank you all!
This fall staff and students from 51 schools across Colorado attended eight B.I.O.N.I.C. Team Conferences exploring what the program could look like in their schools to empower students to reach out to their peers who are facing tough times. B.I.O.N.I.C. stands for, believe it or not, I care. Harrison School is committed to this program.
At the conferences, attending students and staff members brainstormed two things of concern they are seeing in their schools, and then ways they might be addressed.
It is my understanding because of their participation, the Harrison staff has earned a $500 scholarship allowing them to do the work to become an official B.I.O.N.I.C. Team, which they will do this spring.
Our Future Focus

Our finance department is hard at work on our annual mid-year budget amendment. The purpose of this is to adjust our budget projections after having completed pupil count, receiving more grants, and settling personnel expenditures. This will be an action item at our board of education meeting on January 27th.
On Thursday I attended Intern and Apprentice Program Coordinator Lisa Tedesko's quarterly Workplace Learning meeting. It was well attended by our community intern and apprentice partners. Cañon City High School Computer Assisted Design teacher Scott Smith reported on progress in his program and Florence Junior/Senior High School's Vocational Agriculture teacher Cynthia Roy presented about job opportunities related to her program. At the meeting, Lisa reported the following statistics from the past three years.
Finally, the district is fast entering evaluation season and this kicks off with the Board of Education soliciting feedback from the staff and community about the performance of the superintendent of schools. Thus, we'd appreciate your taking a moment to inform the process by completing the 15 question survey at this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TJJNHWJ It is designed to only take about 10 minutes to submit.
On Thursday I attended Intern and Apprentice Program Coordinator Lisa Tedesko's quarterly Workplace Learning meeting. It was well attended by our community intern and apprentice partners. Cañon City High School Computer Assisted Design teacher Scott Smith reported on progress in his program and Florence Junior/Senior High School's Vocational Agriculture teacher Cynthia Roy presented about job opportunities related to her program. At the meeting, Lisa reported the following statistics from the past three years.
- In 2017-18 we had 35 students who completed 96 quarter long internships.
- In 2018-19 we grew to 71 employers with which 56 students completed 141 quarter long internships.
- This year we have 118 business partners with which 101 students are on track to complete 211 quarter long internships.
Finally, the district is fast entering evaluation season and this kicks off with the Board of Education soliciting feedback from the staff and community about the performance of the superintendent of schools. Thus, we'd appreciate your taking a moment to inform the process by completing the 15 question survey at this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TJJNHWJ It is designed to only take about 10 minutes to submit.
Our Focus on Safety and Wellness

This week Director of Student Support Services Paula Buser is sharing this message about safety and security:
"As a society, we all are becoming more and more reliant on technology to enhance our safety. Let's not lose sight of the simple acts we can do to keep us and others safe."
She shared this interesting quote with our entire staff:
“The future of the safety movement is not so much dependent upon the invention of safety devices as on the improvement of methods of educating people to the ideal of caution and safety." – Walter Dill Scott, President, Northwestern University (1921)
"As a society, we all are becoming more and more reliant on technology to enhance our safety. Let's not lose sight of the simple acts we can do to keep us and others safe."
She shared this interesting quote with our entire staff:
“The future of the safety movement is not so much dependent upon the invention of safety devices as on the improvement of methods of educating people to the ideal of caution and safety." – Walter Dill Scott, President, Northwestern University (1921)
Last Week
On Tuesday I joined in on some McKinley Elementary instructional observations, participated in a regional Manager's meeting, dropped in on a 21st Century Grant planning meeting, a student summer Chromebook access meeting, and a meeting with Assitant Superintendent of Schools Adam and Cañon Exploratory School Principal Kelly Albrecht. On Wednesday, Adam Hartman and I attended a statewide superintendent convening in Mapleton. On Thursday I had a series of meetings related to staff and programs, and on Friday I worked on expulsion decisions and legislative advocacy.
This Week
This week I'll publish another issue of Echoes from Cañon, attend a board work session and meeting, meet with Cañon City High School Principal Bill Summers and Assistant Superintendent of Schools Adam Hartman about CCHS staffing levels for next year, work on director evaluation documents, hold a directors meeting, participate in an Instructional Leader Professional Learning Community, attend a Colorado Education Initiative-Colorado Department of Education services alignment meeting, attend Rural Alliance/Opportunity Coalition/Pikes Peak Alliance legislative advocacy calls, meet with CCHS Assistant Principal Michelle Johnson about an upcoming Civility Campaign, and attend a Colorado Education Initiative Assessment for Learning Program gathering with the CCHS team in Denver.
Thanks for listening once again!
George S. Welsh
Thanks for listening once again!
George S. Welsh