Echoes from Cañon
Examples of Excellence
A prime example of excellence I encountered this week was during a meeting I attended with Pueblo Community College president Dr. Lana Carter, director of student services Eric Ingmire, and director of academic services Kathy Herrin to learn about the many opportunities the Pueblo Community College Fremont Campus offers our Cañon City High School students. As a result of this outstanding student centered partnership, many CCHS students have the ability to participate in and earn college credit for coursework they take in nursing, auto mechanics, science, language arts, math, and vocational technology programs at little to no cost to themselves or the school district. It is my opinion that Dr. Carter tirelessly advocates for this wonderful collaboration. Some of these courses are taught right on the CCHS campus by CCSD employees, while students can participate in others at the beautiful Fremont Campus facility. K-12/post-secondary partnerships such as this are an absolute necessity in offering our young men and women the rigor and relevancy they desire while pursuing educational opportunities of interest. Such partnerships also allow many of our students the opportunity for a tremendous jump start on college if they so choose.
Speaking of excellence, I also had the opportunity on Wednesday to drop in at Washington Elementary School to observe the operation of our K-5 summer reading and math program, as well as our Extended School Year (ESY) program for students with special needs. CCSD is operating these programs thanks to the efforts of many caring staff members, and as a result numerous children receive much needed additional academic support in a safe and friendly environment. To top it all off the Cañon City School District nutrition services department is even operating a summer lunch program site in the building to make it convenient for attendees to participate. A special highlight of my visit was having the chance to meet face to face with Washington School facilities staff members Cathy Cornella and Janet Wohlberg who displayed an outstanding service oriented attitude and extreme professionalism. I have no doubt that having a summer program in their facility for two years in a row has caused them and their supervisor, head custodian Jason Jones, to face extra challenges as they go about completing their typical summer reconditioning routines. I truly appreciate their flexibility!
The Focus of Our Work
Our superintendent’s council of advisors met early this week and began developing a solid plan about what our district wide return to work events will look like on Wednesday, August 19th. Tentatively, we plan to have the entire district staff gather at Cañon City High School auditorium for back to work information presentations, as well as for a pair of keynote speakers. After this morning session many classified staff members will be released to attend to important opening of school duties at their work sites, while instructional paraprofessionals and certified staff members will continue their learning by attending a professional development fair that offers quite a menu of personal growth options.
At our board meeting last Monday evening the CCSD board of education designated director of finance Buddy Lambrecht as its official for the upcoming November board director elections. Three positions can be filled this fall, with directors Larry Oddo and Lloyd Harwood eligible to refill their current slots, and the seat that has been held for the past 8 years by board president Mike Near being wide open due to term limits. Key dates for community members who are considering a run for the board include August 5th (the first day petitions can be circulated) and August 28th (the final day all petitions can be turned in). If you have more questions about the process you may call the district office at 719-276-5700¸.
At our board meeting last Monday evening the CCSD board of education designated director of finance Buddy Lambrecht as its official for the upcoming November board director elections. Three positions can be filled this fall, with directors Larry Oddo and Lloyd Harwood eligible to refill their current slots, and the seat that has been held for the past 8 years by board president Mike Near being wide open due to term limits. Key dates for community members who are considering a run for the board include August 5th (the first day petitions can be circulated) and August 28th (the final day all petitions can be turned in). If you have more questions about the process you may call the district office at 719-276-5700¸.
At a work session earlier on Monday, the board and I developed communications and relationship norms for the way we will operate regarding routine correspondence, as well as how we will contact one-another in case of emergencies.
Finally, preregistration for the 2015-16 school year is now in full swing and I am told more than 500 students have already been enrolled through our online processes. For parents and guardians with the ability to do so, we encourage you to complete the preregistration process on our website at this link. For folks who may need a little extra technology support we have many great people on hand to coach you through the process at the CCSD administration building at 101 North 14th Street. This service is available Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 4 PM through July 31st. After that parents and guardians will need to visit the schools in their attendance areas to complete the registration process.
Finally, preregistration for the 2015-16 school year is now in full swing and I am told more than 500 students have already been enrolled through our online processes. For parents and guardians with the ability to do so, we encourage you to complete the preregistration process on our website at this link. For folks who may need a little extra technology support we have many great people on hand to coach you through the process at the CCSD administration building at 101 North 14th Street. This service is available Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 4 PM through July 31st. After that parents and guardians will need to visit the schools in their attendance areas to complete the registration process.
Last Week
Last Monday I met with wellness coordinator Kristi Elliot about staff and student wellness, as well as with Dr. Lana Carter about early college opportunities for CCHS students. On Tuesday I met with our superintendent advisory council of directors, CCSD certified association officers Kelly Albrecht and Jamie Davis, Divine Munyengeterwa, the Pikes Peak Education Association Uniserv director, and district lawyer Rocco Meconi. On Wednesday I updated the superintendent web page letter, met with director of finance Buddy Lambrecht to learn how to approve requisitions through our iVisions portal, was taught by board-superintendent secretary Colleen Carroll how to monitor and approve p-card purchases, met with Steve Clifton from Fremont County Department of Human Services, met with board director Lloyd Harwood over lunch, and spent time in the afternoon with Army Staff Sergeant Douglas Arnold and other drop in visitors. As stated above, I also spent some time on Wednesday in Washington School observing our elementary summer school programs. On Thursday I met with Fremont RE-2 superintendent Rhonda Roberts, had a bit of a get to know you meeting with director of human resources Misty Manchester, met with representatives of Gideons International about their annual bible distribution, had lunch with board director Larry Oddo, and spent the afternoon working on correspondence and communication in the office.
I took Friday morning off to continue working on the remodel of my kitchen, but returned to work at noon to meet with CCSD certified education association co-presidents Cloyce Mann and Cindy Cline, CCSD's Colorado Department of Education area representative John Condie, and Heidi Clanton from SunWest Credit Union.
I took Friday morning off to continue working on the remodel of my kitchen, but returned to work at noon to meet with CCSD certified education association co-presidents Cloyce Mann and Cindy Cline, CCSD's Colorado Department of Education area representative John Condie, and Heidi Clanton from SunWest Credit Union.
This Week
During the week of July 20th through 24th I will meet with representatives from Goal Academy, our director of student services Dominic Carochi (to learn about our curriculum platform and various projects he has been taking the lead on), the good folks from Google (about our migration to Google Apps), our superintendent advisory council of directors, and several parents of CCSD children. I hope to take Friday off to do more settling into my new house.
The Way I See It
While attending a lunch meeting with Cañon City Education Association co-president Kelly Albrecht this past Wednesday I noticed a cadre of Cañon City High School teachers informally meeting at the same restaurant, taking precious time out of their summer break to conduct a book study so they can add to their toolbox of teaching skills. The book they were sharing is Teach Like a Champion by Doug Lemov. It focuses on a number of proven instructional techniques aimed at preparing students for the rigors of college. Throughout my education career I have simply marveled at just how much time and effort teachers put into honing their craft, often on their own time. I am not sure just how much the general public understands this. I want to take a moment to offer a shout out this week to those folks I was able to identify at this meeting. They are Steve Carter, Heidi Hubinger, Michelle Curl, Marcy Epperson, Dana Kalipolites, Sean Murphy, Bill Summers, Deb Crocket and Jennifer VanIwarden. Thank you, thank you, thank you for making this personal effort to advance your teaching abilities in the service of the children on the Cañon City School District!
George S. Welsh
George S. Welsh