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
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Some Mountain View Core Knowledge School students earned a field trip to a farm!
The Harrison You Rock-Rock!
Recently the Harrison School staff began passing a cute, painted rock among colleagues. Their rule is, if you receive the "Harrison Rock," it means YOU rock! I understand that when you receive it, you are encouraged to add some decoration to it, then to pass it forward to another staff member without getting caught. I truly appreciate this effort and creativity, as it focuses the staff on gratitudes and the many positive things happening in the building.
Last week two of our community partners, Office Depot and City Auto Plaza, including many of their customers, donated more than $2,000 in classroom supplies to McKinley Elementary. They will be distributed to students who exhibit need. What a wonderful gesture and a great way to support the education and well-being of our kids!
Last week Mountain View Core Knowledge School held its first booster recognition mini field trip of the year. Director Karen Sartori reported, "it was fun to see students of a variety of ages interact and have a great time." The MVCKS staff used the reward trip to recognize students who exhibit the trait of innovation. Kids were not only recognized in front of their peers and parents and treated to this special trip, but their photos will also be on display in the school hallway. I thank the MVCKS staff for rewarding student effort and growth, and for focusing on the development of one of our seven key traits.
I wish to echo a shout out CCHS Principal Bill Summers offered to his counseling team for their dedicated work during last week’s BIMAS2 student social-emotional screening in grades 9-12. He said, "their work is a reminder to us all that our jobs can be emotionally draining and stressful. We need to focus on picking each other up, supporting one another, and frequently asking the question, how are you doing?” I understand nearly all Cañon City High School students completed this round of our bi-annual survey that has led us to identify students who need a bit more social-emotional support.
Last week two of our community partners, Office Depot and City Auto Plaza, including many of their customers, donated more than $2,000 in classroom supplies to McKinley Elementary. They will be distributed to students who exhibit need. What a wonderful gesture and a great way to support the education and well-being of our kids!
Last week Mountain View Core Knowledge School held its first booster recognition mini field trip of the year. Director Karen Sartori reported, "it was fun to see students of a variety of ages interact and have a great time." The MVCKS staff used the reward trip to recognize students who exhibit the trait of innovation. Kids were not only recognized in front of their peers and parents and treated to this special trip, but their photos will also be on display in the school hallway. I thank the MVCKS staff for rewarding student effort and growth, and for focusing on the development of one of our seven key traits.
I wish to echo a shout out CCHS Principal Bill Summers offered to his counseling team for their dedicated work during last week’s BIMAS2 student social-emotional screening in grades 9-12. He said, "their work is a reminder to us all that our jobs can be emotionally draining and stressful. We need to focus on picking each other up, supporting one another, and frequently asking the question, how are you doing?” I understand nearly all Cañon City High School students completed this round of our bi-annual survey that has led us to identify students who need a bit more social-emotional support.
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Our friends from Office Depot and City Auto Plaze were quite generous this week!
Our Future Focus
CCHS science students monitor the Arkansas River.
Last week Cañon City High School teachers Jesse Graski and Carrie Trimble took their students on a science trip to the Arkansas River. While there, they waded in, took biological samples, and recorded their data. What a great way to apply what is being taught in the classroom to real life!
On Friday Cañon City hosted a meeting of the Rural Funders Network. This is a group of philanthropy based representatives who seek to learn more about effective change processes, hoping to replicate them in other places. Cañon City was visited because of the results of outstanding collaboration exhibited by its education system, business sector, and local government partners as evidenced through the acquisition of a P-TECH grant, our state-recognized intern and apprentice program, and the good work put in motion by a recent Civic Canopy planning process.
Cañon City Schools welcomes Kendyl Yates, recently hired as an embedded Department of Humans Services Child Welfare support staff member through Fremont County. We are very excited to have her working with us and look forward to our relationship benefitting kids and families. What a great way fro DHS to show their support of our first core belief, we meet the social-emotional needs of all students, putting Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs before Bloom’s Taxonomy.
On Friday Cañon City hosted a meeting of the Rural Funders Network. This is a group of philanthropy based representatives who seek to learn more about effective change processes, hoping to replicate them in other places. Cañon City was visited because of the results of outstanding collaboration exhibited by its education system, business sector, and local government partners as evidenced through the acquisition of a P-TECH grant, our state-recognized intern and apprentice program, and the good work put in motion by a recent Civic Canopy planning process.
Cañon City Schools welcomes Kendyl Yates, recently hired as an embedded Department of Humans Services Child Welfare support staff member through Fremont County. We are very excited to have her working with us and look forward to our relationship benefitting kids and families. What a great way fro DHS to show their support of our first core belief, we meet the social-emotional needs of all students, putting Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs before Bloom’s Taxonomy.
The CCHS Counseling Team works with district personnel as BIMAS2 results come in.
Bond Progress
Board members Larry Oddo and Shad Johnson were hoping to ride the top-off beam up to where it will be placed!
On Friday afternoon Cañon City Middle School students had the opportunity to affix their signatures to the final steel beam that will be erected on the new structure bordering 12th Street that will house the Commons, a new stage, all Life Skills classes, and a new 8th-grade classroom wing. This beam is scheduled to be put in place on Monday morning, October 7th, around 8 AM.
Last Week
CCHS graduate Shea Garcia and senior Anavay Dominguez were panelists at Friday's Rural Funder's Network gathering.
Last week I published another installment of Echoes, conducted several expulsion hearings, attended the Cañon City Middle School top-off student beam signing, attended a CCHS Home Building Education Program board meeting, attended the annual Cañon City High School show choir ice cream social, appeared on KRLN's Morning Line, held a Superintendent Advisory Council meeting, attended a Colorado Safe School Resource Center advisory board meeting in Denver, worked on federal programs revisions, attended a transformation support grant fair with Assistant Superintendent of Schools Adam Hartman and McKinley Elementary Principal Scott Morton in Arvada, stopped by Wednesday's every other week TechSTART Night Out gathering, and participated in a Rural Funders Network meeting at the Fremont Center for the Arts.
This Week
Fremont DHS is assigning Kendyl Yates to work full-time in our buildings.
On Monday I'll publish Echoes, attend a Versa Tran meeting about grade school geographic boundaries, meet with board members Shad Johnson and Robin Reeser about this year's Colorado Association of School Boards (CASB) legislative resolutions, hold an expulsion hearing, then attend the annual CASB regional meeting in Pueblo. On Tuesday I'll touch base with Director of Student Support Services Paula Buser, and then with the Cañon City Police Department, hold a Superintendent Advisory Council meeting, attend a solar panel relocation meeting, stop by McKinley Elementary to observe some instruction, facilitate a District Leadership Team meeting, then trek to Pueblo for the annual Colorado Association of School Executives regional meeting. I start Wednesday early morning in a meeting about staff iLearn professional development, then I facilitate a Compass Committee meeting, touch base with Health and Wellness Coordinator Brian VanIwarden, and proceed to Denver to attend a meeting about mill levy equity. On Thursday and Friday this week I'm attending to personal matters.
Other Voices
Cañon City High School graduate, and local entrepreneur Dr. Luke Javernick's is proposing a new class to begin at Cañon City High School next year to be called River Science. Here are some details of his proposal:
Linn and Judy Van Norman purchased 675 acres south of Cañon City back in 1997. In 2007, this ranch was placed in a conservation easement held by San Isabel Land Protection Trust. It spans roughly 2 miles of Oak Creek and supports a diverse habitat including bear, lion, elk, turkey, and more.
Excitingly, the Van Norman's are committed to improving the health and sustainability of their lands. Field visits have identified several opportunities to improve wildlife habitat, stream function and health, and forest health. However, immediate threats to this stretch of river include degraded and incised Oak Creek, juniper encroachment of meadows and riparian spaces, juniper density and undergrowth in ponderosa pine (creating fire hazards), eroding gullies, and hydrologic connectivity.
Linn and Judy Van Norman purchased 675 acres south of Cañon City back in 1997. In 2007, this ranch was placed in a conservation easement held by San Isabel Land Protection Trust. It spans roughly 2 miles of Oak Creek and supports a diverse habitat including bear, lion, elk, turkey, and more.
Excitingly, the Van Norman's are committed to improving the health and sustainability of their lands. Field visits have identified several opportunities to improve wildlife habitat, stream function and health, and forest health. However, immediate threats to this stretch of river include degraded and incised Oak Creek, juniper encroachment of meadows and riparian spaces, juniper density and undergrowth in ponderosa pine (creating fire hazards), eroding gullies, and hydrologic connectivity.
Some hopes the Van Normans hold are to enhance cottonwood regeneration along Oak Creek, and to improve forage production for both domestic livestock, wildlife, and ponderosa pine.
Education is at the heart of the Van Norman's desires, as they wish to provide our youth with meaningful land stewardship experience and to create a local exemplar of effective management. Thus, they are proposing this land becomes an outdoor classroom/lab for students to have immediate and long-term hands-on education experiences from which to build capstone projects.
Every day our students are apt to ask the question, "when are we ever going to use this?" A project such as this would allow for an answer, "in about 10 minutes, once we get to the river."
This proposal comes on the tail of a 2018-2019 school year experience where River Science partnered with Cañon City High School's environmental sciences class guided by Carrie Trimble and a Biology class taught by David Laughlin. Teachers focused curriculum on an impactful community project, allowing students to take four trips to the Hayden Pass burn area where water was collected, the quality was tested, and macroinvertebrate counts were conducted to identify the post-fire condition of five tributary creeks and the Arkansas River itself. The end product was a deeply engaging learning experience for students that made an actual difference to the community!
During the 2019-2020 school year, CCHS science classes will continue this Hayden Pass work. However, this project would expand their learning opportunities to the Van Norman property. Most important, it offers a chance to test and actually quantify the success of river restoration techniques.
Education is at the heart of the Van Norman's desires, as they wish to provide our youth with meaningful land stewardship experience and to create a local exemplar of effective management. Thus, they are proposing this land becomes an outdoor classroom/lab for students to have immediate and long-term hands-on education experiences from which to build capstone projects.
Every day our students are apt to ask the question, "when are we ever going to use this?" A project such as this would allow for an answer, "in about 10 minutes, once we get to the river."
This proposal comes on the tail of a 2018-2019 school year experience where River Science partnered with Cañon City High School's environmental sciences class guided by Carrie Trimble and a Biology class taught by David Laughlin. Teachers focused curriculum on an impactful community project, allowing students to take four trips to the Hayden Pass burn area where water was collected, the quality was tested, and macroinvertebrate counts were conducted to identify the post-fire condition of five tributary creeks and the Arkansas River itself. The end product was a deeply engaging learning experience for students that made an actual difference to the community!
During the 2019-2020 school year, CCHS science classes will continue this Hayden Pass work. However, this project would expand their learning opportunities to the Van Norman property. Most important, it offers a chance to test and actually quantify the success of river restoration techniques.
The River Science class is proposed to begin during the 2020 school year. Our goal is to conduct a series of process-based restorations of the riparian area, to conduct proper monitoring, and to document its impacts.
Why do this? The process of river restoration is in dire need of cost-effective solutions that improve the physical, chemical, biological health, and general function of rivers. Unfortunately, most projects being done do not include monitoring, and most fail to document whether actual improvement occurred. How will we ever know what techniques are successful if we do not monitor and document impacts?
Our proposal intends to follow this process:
This Van Norman property project will have immediate benefits to our local education processes, our community, and will improve our natural resources. Because the Arkansas River feeds Canon City's lifestyle, economics, and culture, I believe through research and effective river restoration, we'll give our students an opportunity to ensure our greatest asset is sustained and thriving long into the future.
Dr. Luke Javernick
Of course, the Cañon City School District is quite supportive of this proposal. To make this class a reality, Dr. Javernick is seeking donations for student travel and equipment. Anyone interested in supporting this effort may contact the Cañon City School District at 719-276-5700 and we'll get you in touch with Dr. Javernick
Thanks for listening once again,
George S. Welsh
Why do this? The process of river restoration is in dire need of cost-effective solutions that improve the physical, chemical, biological health, and general function of rivers. Unfortunately, most projects being done do not include monitoring, and most fail to document whether actual improvement occurred. How will we ever know what techniques are successful if we do not monitor and document impacts?
Our proposal intends to follow this process:
- Year 1: Data collection will be conducted to assess baseline conditions. This will include a stream survey, vegetation survey, and groundwater assessment.
- Year 2: Students will continue to collect water data and start planning improvement projects.
- Year 3: Data collection will continue and students will construct improvement projects.
- Year 4: Improvement projects will be completed and impact monitoring will begin.
- Year 5 and beyond: Students will continue to monitor project impacts, evaluating their success.
This Van Norman property project will have immediate benefits to our local education processes, our community, and will improve our natural resources. Because the Arkansas River feeds Canon City's lifestyle, economics, and culture, I believe through research and effective river restoration, we'll give our students an opportunity to ensure our greatest asset is sustained and thriving long into the future.
Dr. Luke Javernick
Of course, the Cañon City School District is quite supportive of this proposal. To make this class a reality, Dr. Javernick is seeking donations for student travel and equipment. Anyone interested in supporting this effort may contact the Cañon City School District at 719-276-5700 and we'll get you in touch with Dr. Javernick
Thanks for listening once again,
George S. Welsh
