Echoes from Cañon
Examples of Excellence
At Monday's board of education meeting Mr. Mike Near was honored for a career of service to the Cañon City School District, including the past 8 years serving on the board, 2 as its president.
Mr. Near has a long history of service in our school district. Having also taught elementary school from 1972 to 2006 at both Washington and Skyline Elementary Schools.
Mike’s proudest board accomplishments include the establishment of the Gateway to College program, an increase in the number of students participating in AP and college level coursework, and the expansion of online and alternative offerings for students who learn best in these conditions.
Mr. Near served on our board at a time in which the steepest financial cuts in history were made to public education in Colorado. In 2010 the Cañon City Schools budget was 5 million dollars larger than it was by 2014. Despite this the Cañon City School District was able to maintain workable staffing levels in support of student learning and valued programs. This is what Mr. Near says he has been most proud of, along with a successful battle to keep our old Skyline Elementary School open in the form of Cañon Exploratory School.
The Cañon City School District greatly appreciates the contributions Mike made to the education of its students.
Mr. Near has a long history of service in our school district. Having also taught elementary school from 1972 to 2006 at both Washington and Skyline Elementary Schools.
Mike’s proudest board accomplishments include the establishment of the Gateway to College program, an increase in the number of students participating in AP and college level coursework, and the expansion of online and alternative offerings for students who learn best in these conditions.
Mr. Near served on our board at a time in which the steepest financial cuts in history were made to public education in Colorado. In 2010 the Cañon City Schools budget was 5 million dollars larger than it was by 2014. Despite this the Cañon City School District was able to maintain workable staffing levels in support of student learning and valued programs. This is what Mr. Near says he has been most proud of, along with a successful battle to keep our old Skyline Elementary School open in the form of Cañon Exploratory School.
The Cañon City School District greatly appreciates the contributions Mike made to the education of its students.
Our newest school board member is Kristyn Econome who campaigned for her position from the standpoint of a parent with young children entering our system. Kristyn encourages the community to rally behind the school district. "It's an important aspect of any small community and I'm really proud that people of Cañon City put their faith in me."
Aside from important school board level activity many great things were happening in our schools this week. From the wonderful Fall Pops Concert that took place Monday evening at Canon City High School, to special events surrounding Veterans Day involving district students and JROTC members, to the fine Fall Harvest Carnival that took place at McKinley Elementary School on Friday evening, and finally the Texas Hold ’em Tournament sponsored by The Pride offering high school students an opportunity to engage in positive activity on Saturday evening.
Aside from important school board level activity many great things were happening in our schools this week. From the wonderful Fall Pops Concert that took place Monday evening at Canon City High School, to special events surrounding Veterans Day involving district students and JROTC members, to the fine Fall Harvest Carnival that took place at McKinley Elementary School on Friday evening, and finally the Texas Hold ’em Tournament sponsored by The Pride offering high school students an opportunity to engage in positive activity on Saturday evening.
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The Focus of Our Work
This week many members of our Evaluation Council engaged in professional development related to effective teaching techniques and overall school and system improvement. On Thursday some council members attended the annual Learning Forward conference in Thornton where the major focus was the importance of providing high quality feedback to children about their academic work and behavior. On Thursday and Friday several members of the Evaluation Council also attended the final two sessions of Theory into Practice, with the emphasis also being on providing authentic feedback to students through assessment, as well as on gaining a better understanding of how schools and districts are accredited. The primary goal of our Evaluation Council is to make sure we are implementing our district adopted teacher evaluation process as designed AND to offer supports to teachers to help them display effective practices that will result in achieving more effective evaluations.
This week our District Accountability Committee will meet once again, this time to review the accreditation status of each of our school buildings. This will be done by reviewing our most recent School Performance Frameworks and by analyzing the most recent academic achievement data we have available.
Finally, at this week’s board of education meeting, before turning the gavel over to Larry Oddo, outgoing president Mike Near read this statement authored by Lloyd Harwood, regarding our situation related to students exchanging of digital photos:
This past week our district discovered that a number of our students were involved in a sexting and photo swap exchange that has led to an investigation by the Canon City Police Department and District Attorney’s office. While these actions led to the forfeiture of our season’s last football game, it should be made clear that this is not a football or athletic problem, but a problem that involves many students both male and female. Neither is it just a Canon City problem, but rather a nationwide and societal problem that affects every community across our country. While we would rather not have garnered national attention, we hope this unfortunate situation will shed light on this trend among young people and open the conversation between schools, students, parents and their communities about the proper use of technology as well as the legal and emotional consequences of its misuse. We want the administration and coaching staff to know that we support their decision. We want students and parents to know that we love and support these students as they go through this investigation.
As stated by Superintendent Welsh, "the primary message we are sharing with our kids is this: What has happened here in Cañon City Schools is truly a very bad thing. As a result we realize some could be facing serious consequences. We want everyone to know that despite the mistakes that have been made, each child will be loved, cared for, and shown respect. Additionally, the police, District Attorney, and school district will continue to do everything they can to make sure anyone caught participating in this activity is dealt with fairly and in a way in which he or she will quickly be restored to full trust, confidence, and participation in our school system."
"We also want our students to understand this: For some, any revelation that you may have personally participated in this activity in any way may seem like the end of the world at this moment. It is not. Please don't make it so."
Canon City Schools is rich in quality instruction and can be proud of its many successful programs. We are proud of the achievements of our athletic program, our Band which ranks 4th in the state, a Speech and Debate team that continually has students place at the state level, Choir that is currently ranked number one in the state and has placed in the top three for the past 17 years, a Drafting program that has had students ranking number one in the nation for the past twenty years. These are just a few of the outstanding achievements we as a district, can be proud of. With these things in mind, we move forward as a unified school district in the education of our children.
This week our District Accountability Committee will meet once again, this time to review the accreditation status of each of our school buildings. This will be done by reviewing our most recent School Performance Frameworks and by analyzing the most recent academic achievement data we have available.
Finally, at this week’s board of education meeting, before turning the gavel over to Larry Oddo, outgoing president Mike Near read this statement authored by Lloyd Harwood, regarding our situation related to students exchanging of digital photos:
This past week our district discovered that a number of our students were involved in a sexting and photo swap exchange that has led to an investigation by the Canon City Police Department and District Attorney’s office. While these actions led to the forfeiture of our season’s last football game, it should be made clear that this is not a football or athletic problem, but a problem that involves many students both male and female. Neither is it just a Canon City problem, but rather a nationwide and societal problem that affects every community across our country. While we would rather not have garnered national attention, we hope this unfortunate situation will shed light on this trend among young people and open the conversation between schools, students, parents and their communities about the proper use of technology as well as the legal and emotional consequences of its misuse. We want the administration and coaching staff to know that we support their decision. We want students and parents to know that we love and support these students as they go through this investigation.
As stated by Superintendent Welsh, "the primary message we are sharing with our kids is this: What has happened here in Cañon City Schools is truly a very bad thing. As a result we realize some could be facing serious consequences. We want everyone to know that despite the mistakes that have been made, each child will be loved, cared for, and shown respect. Additionally, the police, District Attorney, and school district will continue to do everything they can to make sure anyone caught participating in this activity is dealt with fairly and in a way in which he or she will quickly be restored to full trust, confidence, and participation in our school system."
"We also want our students to understand this: For some, any revelation that you may have personally participated in this activity in any way may seem like the end of the world at this moment. It is not. Please don't make it so."
Canon City Schools is rich in quality instruction and can be proud of its many successful programs. We are proud of the achievements of our athletic program, our Band which ranks 4th in the state, a Speech and Debate team that continually has students place at the state level, Choir that is currently ranked number one in the state and has placed in the top three for the past 17 years, a Drafting program that has had students ranking number one in the nation for the past twenty years. These are just a few of the outstanding achievements we as a district, can be proud of. With these things in mind, we move forward as a unified school district in the education of our children.
Last Week
From November 9th through 14th I met with my advisory council, and our secondary principals and counselors about being responsive to student needs in light of our photo exchange issue. I also attended a board meeting and work session, held a bi-monthly leadership team meeting, met with police and our District Attorney about the photo exchange investigation, met with Royal Gorge Park executives about ways to collaborate, touched base with Department of Human Services director Steve Clifton, and attended the final session of Theory Into Practice in Pueblo. I also had the pleasure of dealing a few hands at The Pride's Texas Hold 'Em contest on Saturday evening at CCHS.
This Week
Looking ahead the district will be celebrating National Education Week from November 16-20. I also have a Fremont Facilities Corp meeting, Superintendent Advisory Council, a meeting with CCEA leadership about beginning work on a salary schedule study, a Southern Superintendent's meeting, a thank you luncheon for Mike Near, my monthly DHS information meeting, a quarterly PCC advisory committee meeting, and our quarterly District Accountability Committee meeting.
I will be conducting in building office hours this week as follows: Monday November 16th from 8:30 to 9:30 AM at CCHS, from 10 to 11 AM at Washington, and from 12:30 to 1:30 PM at CCMS. Tuesday from 10:30 to 11:30 at McKinley Elementary. Wednesday from 8:30 to 9:30 AM at Lincoln, and Friday from 10:30 to 11:30 AM at CES.
During the week of November 23 through 27 the Cañon City School District will be on Thanksgiving Break and so there will be no school.
Thanks for listening once again!
George S. Welsh
I will be conducting in building office hours this week as follows: Monday November 16th from 8:30 to 9:30 AM at CCHS, from 10 to 11 AM at Washington, and from 12:30 to 1:30 PM at CCMS. Tuesday from 10:30 to 11:30 at McKinley Elementary. Wednesday from 8:30 to 9:30 AM at Lincoln, and Friday from 10:30 to 11:30 AM at CES.
During the week of November 23 through 27 the Cañon City School District will be on Thanksgiving Break and so there will be no school.
Thanks for listening once again!
George S. Welsh
