Echoes from Cañon
Examples of Excellence
CCHS student Alyssa Goodwin describes her internship experience in a new CDE Promising Practices video.
As summer begins, I want to thank Director of Operations Jeff Peterson for managing the many repair and improvement projects we are undertaking. The big ones are related to our BEST multi-facility improvement project while, thanks to rural sustainability and override dollars, he and his crew are getting a nearly double dose of summer work. Each project requires key decision to be made on a daily basis and there is nobody I would trust more than Jeff to do this.
Last week Cañon City High School was featured in a Colorado Department of Education Promising Practices video. CCHS, along with Green Mountain High School, was noted for effectively transitioning to a career pathways curriculum. Special emphasis was also given to the work our high school has done offering students real-life work experience in the course of earning their diplomas.
While the majority of our staff have been settling in for summer vacation, our Nutrition Services team simply shifted gears to its summer program. On May 30th they began feeding kids breakfast and lunch through our free summer meal program. This will be available weekdays at Cañon City High School and, beginning May 4th, in mobile fashion at Cañon Exploratory School, McKinley Elementary, and in Duck Park.
On a final note, I want to thank our district Finance Team for the work they have been doing setting up our payroll system employee portal. The team already has some of our administrative office folks test driving the process and hopes to have it fully in place before the start of the coming fiscal and school year. This will allow staff to receive payroll notices and access tax and benefit information right from their computers. It will also save us quite a bit of money and time by not having to print our hundreds of direct deposit announcements on a monthly basis.
Last week Cañon City High School was featured in a Colorado Department of Education Promising Practices video. CCHS, along with Green Mountain High School, was noted for effectively transitioning to a career pathways curriculum. Special emphasis was also given to the work our high school has done offering students real-life work experience in the course of earning their diplomas.
While the majority of our staff have been settling in for summer vacation, our Nutrition Services team simply shifted gears to its summer program. On May 30th they began feeding kids breakfast and lunch through our free summer meal program. This will be available weekdays at Cañon City High School and, beginning May 4th, in mobile fashion at Cañon Exploratory School, McKinley Elementary, and in Duck Park.
On a final note, I want to thank our district Finance Team for the work they have been doing setting up our payroll system employee portal. The team already has some of our administrative office folks test driving the process and hopes to have it fully in place before the start of the coming fiscal and school year. This will allow staff to receive payroll notices and access tax and benefit information right from their computers. It will also save us quite a bit of money and time by not having to print our hundreds of direct deposit announcements on a monthly basis.
The Focus of Our Work
The CCSD Nutrition Team is ready to take meals on the road this week!
This week Director of Instruction Adam Hartman announced we are moving to a new credit recovery curriculum. This decision was made after exhaustive research and input from staff most impacted. The product we’ll use is called Edgenuity and it is both less expensive and fully aligned to Colorado curriculum standards.
Adam is also culminating our purchase of updated middle school STEM lab equipment. We currently use a product we purchased more than ten years ago and I think we could all agree technology has changed a bit over the last decade. Teachers at CCMS, CES, and Harrison should receive this before the beginning of the school year, along with training and support.
Thanks to our move to the Google Mail platform three years ago and our upcoming one-to-one student device program, Cañon City Schools staff email accounts will be changing. Director of Technology Shaun Kohl has been guiding this process, and the good thing is it is really quite simple. Beginning this week all you need to do to reach one of our folks is know their first and last name. Everyone will have an address that follows this pattern: FirstName.LastName@canoncityschools.org
Finally, I want to thank Director fo Finance Buddy Lambrecht for the financial work he has done setting up the purchase of three new buses for our transportation department. This will net us two 2019 84 Passenger trip buses, cost $126,290 each, and one 2019 71 Passenger route bus at a cost of $109,394. Much like folks do when they purchase a new car, we’ll be able to pay for these over a three year period because we just made the final payment on our last set of new vehicles.
Adam is also culminating our purchase of updated middle school STEM lab equipment. We currently use a product we purchased more than ten years ago and I think we could all agree technology has changed a bit over the last decade. Teachers at CCMS, CES, and Harrison should receive this before the beginning of the school year, along with training and support.
Thanks to our move to the Google Mail platform three years ago and our upcoming one-to-one student device program, Cañon City Schools staff email accounts will be changing. Director of Technology Shaun Kohl has been guiding this process, and the good thing is it is really quite simple. Beginning this week all you need to do to reach one of our folks is know their first and last name. Everyone will have an address that follows this pattern: FirstName.LastName@canoncityschools.org
Finally, I want to thank Director fo Finance Buddy Lambrecht for the financial work he has done setting up the purchase of three new buses for our transportation department. This will net us two 2019 84 Passenger trip buses, cost $126,290 each, and one 2019 71 Passenger route bus at a cost of $109,394. Much like folks do when they purchase a new car, we’ll be able to pay for these over a three year period because we just made the final payment on our last set of new vehicles.
Bond Progress
McKinley Elementary is getting a more secure main entry, new windows and doors, new water lines, and new classroom cabinetry.
Probably the most important work taking place related to our 3B projects is preparation for an upcoming Bond sale to provide a match so we can receive an additional $22.8 million in funds to significantly upgrade the Cañon City Middle School campus. We also have a meeting with CDE personnel late next week to learn our role in participating in a statewide Certificate of Participation sale related to the new school grant we were awarded for Washington Elementary,
As stated above, a lot of work is now taking place related to our $7.5 million BEST multi-facility improvement project. By Friday we’ll be cutting concrete in spaces where ADA restroom improvements are being made at Cañon City High School. Some of this work will be related to the upgrade of our potable water system at the school as well. As you can imagine, this will be quite a noisy process.
This week asbestos abatement related to window replacement will also be taking place at both the high school and McKinley elementary. I believe demolition of current classroom cabinetry begins this week at Lincoln and McKinley.
Work is even taking place at Harrison K-8 with the building of bulkheads and running of new circuits related to security improvements at the main entry.
As stated above, a lot of work is now taking place related to our $7.5 million BEST multi-facility improvement project. By Friday we’ll be cutting concrete in spaces where ADA restroom improvements are being made at Cañon City High School. Some of this work will be related to the upgrade of our potable water system at the school as well. As you can imagine, this will be quite a noisy process.
This week asbestos abatement related to window replacement will also be taking place at both the high school and McKinley elementary. I believe demolition of current classroom cabinetry begins this week at Lincoln and McKinley.
Work is even taking place at Harrison K-8 with the building of bulkheads and running of new circuits related to security improvements at the main entry.
Last Week
Our world was a bit upended last week as Becky and I learned our nephew Morgan, who was a roommate of my daughter Anne who lives in Austin, passed away in his sleep sometime over the Memorial Day weekend. This prompted me to fly immediately to Austin to help sort through things. Becky and Priscilla came later in the week by car to participate in Morgan’s celebration of life, and Priscilla and I drove home over the weekend, leaving Becky in Austin to support Morgan’s direct family, and Anne, through the upcoming week.
This Week
I'll return to work quite a bit behind. On Monday I have a series of routine meetings and time scheduled to complete this publication and catch up on correspondence. I start Tuesday on KRLN radio, then hold a Superintendent’s Advisory Council meeting, and participate in our weekly Design-Build team meeting. On Tuesday afternoon we’ll hold a CCEOE board meeting. From Wednesday through Friday I’ll be part of a team of Fremont County folks who’ll represent the region at this year’s Healthy Schools Leadership Retreat. I’ll multi-task by completing a few communications projects I need to address during this time span as well.
Lessons Learned
As mentioned above, the past week was extremely difficult as we lost a dear family member. Morgan Reed Taborn was a dual US-UK citizen, a passionate fan of English football, dare I say a closet fan of American football and baseball, a Texas history enthusiast, an extremely gifted conversationalist, and just a darn good person. As we’re apt in such situations, I’ve spent the last week seeking meaning. At 36 years of age, he was too young to pass. His jolly spirit and kind nature make it that much more painful. As humans, we grow to trust and love special people like Morgan, with all our heart. We do so at risk because the loss can be excruciating. As too many of you know, the risk is great and the pain can be numbing. However, upon suffering such loss most of us agree we’d do it all again just to have the opportunity to know such exceptional people. Morgan was this kind of exceptional. By no means did he lead a successful life by the measure of career achievement. No, all Morgan did was bring good people together, cause them to smile, and make them feel special. What a blessing that has been in my life, and oh how I’ll miss that in my time that remains.
Thanks for listening once again!
George S. Welsh
Thanks for listening once again!
George S. Welsh
