Echoes from Cañon
Our Mission and Core Beliefs
The Cañon City School District is future-focused, providing innovative educational opportunities to successfully prepare all students to meet any challenge they may face.
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.
The Cañon City School District is future-focused, providing innovative educational opportunities to successfully prepare all students to meet any challenge they may face.
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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McKinley Principal Scott Morton shares the school's accreditation determination with the staff.
A COMOM volunteer prepares dentures for a patient.
This year, Colorado schools that have been on the Accountability Clock due to Turnaround or Priority Improvement ratings were given an opportunity to submit a “request to reconsider status” to the Colorado Department of Education. This process required schools to participate in CMAS testing at a level that was greater than required in the spring of 2021, and show evidence through those results or data collected locally that justify reclassification. McKinley Elementary School has been on the Accreditation Clock for three years and the staff has deeply engaged in changing the building culture and revisioning itself. In an effort to improve its accreditation rating, the Wildcat staff and students participated in broader than required testing and submitted evidence justifying such a change.
The result? Last week the Colorado Department of Education reached out to us with this message:
Congratulations! The department ran calculations for the expedited pathway of the 2021 request to reconsider process and your district has at least one school that meets the criteria for an improved plan type. Using available 2021 state assessment data, McKinley Elementary School met achievement and growth thresholds equivalent to the 2019 PERFORMANCE expectations.
What does this mean? McKinley Elementary School has advanced from Turnaround status, the lowest rating a school can achieve, to Performance, the highest accreditation rating an individual school can achieve.
We congratulate Principal Scott Morton and the entire McKinley staff on this outstanding accomplishment and look forward to following the school’s continued progress. With McKinley’s deep focus on developing the traits and skills the district has targeted this is a great example of working toward core belief number 3!
On another front, last weekend the Cañon City School district hosted a Colorado Mission of Mercy Free Dental Clinic for Fremont County residents in need. Hundreds of community members volunteered for and participated in this event, receiving upwards of a quarter of a million dollars in free dental care. In support of this effort, the Cañon City School District kept Thursday September 16th and Friday September 17th open on its calendar so operations staff could be on hand to help set up and tear the event down. We offer a big thank you to all the folks who made this possible!
The result? Last week the Colorado Department of Education reached out to us with this message:
Congratulations! The department ran calculations for the expedited pathway of the 2021 request to reconsider process and your district has at least one school that meets the criteria for an improved plan type. Using available 2021 state assessment data, McKinley Elementary School met achievement and growth thresholds equivalent to the 2019 PERFORMANCE expectations.
What does this mean? McKinley Elementary School has advanced from Turnaround status, the lowest rating a school can achieve, to Performance, the highest accreditation rating an individual school can achieve.
We congratulate Principal Scott Morton and the entire McKinley staff on this outstanding accomplishment and look forward to following the school’s continued progress. With McKinley’s deep focus on developing the traits and skills the district has targeted this is a great example of working toward core belief number 3!
On another front, last weekend the Cañon City School district hosted a Colorado Mission of Mercy Free Dental Clinic for Fremont County residents in need. Hundreds of community members volunteered for and participated in this event, receiving upwards of a quarter of a million dollars in free dental care. In support of this effort, the Cañon City School District kept Thursday September 16th and Friday September 17th open on its calendar so operations staff could be on hand to help set up and tear the event down. We offer a big thank you to all the folks who made this possible!
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The COMOM free dental care event took place last Friday and Saturday.
Our Future Focus
Unfortunately, there has been much confusion early this school year regarding how we make decisions regarding who should be quarantined or isolated for how long as a result of COVID exposure.
In order to put the Cañon City School District’s complete focus back on educating children and driving program improvement, we’ve come to an agreement with the Fremont County Department of Public Health and Environment to hand over all day-to-day COVID isolation and quarantine decision-making to their team.
What's different?
Beginning Wednesday, September 22nd, being FCDPHE already has access to COVID test results, there is no need for families to communicate them to the school district.
Related questions are to be communicated directly to FCDPHE located at 201 N. 6th Street, Cañon City, Colorado. Their phone number is 719-275-7450. If you have any questions you can contact them for guidance or visit https://covid19.colorado.gov/practical-guide-for-operationalizing-cdc-school-guidance
Moving forward, when FCDPHE receives information about a positive test related to a CCSD student or staff member, they will conduct all contact tracing and they will notify families regarding the required next steps.
FCDPHE will then notify CCSD when an individual is placed in isolation or quarantine, and for how long and CCSD will faithfully enforce all isolation and quarantine recommendations made by FCDPHE on its campuses.
As this effort evolves, the Cañon City School District will closely monitor COVID transmission trends and make school and district-wide decisions about operations and mitigation strategies aimed at keeping its doors open to all children every day for the long haul.
All along, the focus of the district has been to keep its schools open to as many students as possible, every day, with as few limitations. The community can support our effort by continuing to practice proven mitigation strategies. This means you should stay home if you have symptoms, keep your child at home if they are exhibiting symptoms, wash your hands regularly, and maintain social distance whenever you can.
In order to put the Cañon City School District’s complete focus back on educating children and driving program improvement, we’ve come to an agreement with the Fremont County Department of Public Health and Environment to hand over all day-to-day COVID isolation and quarantine decision-making to their team.
What's different?
Beginning Wednesday, September 22nd, being FCDPHE already has access to COVID test results, there is no need for families to communicate them to the school district.
Related questions are to be communicated directly to FCDPHE located at 201 N. 6th Street, Cañon City, Colorado. Their phone number is 719-275-7450. If you have any questions you can contact them for guidance or visit https://covid19.colorado.gov/practical-guide-for-operationalizing-cdc-school-guidance
Moving forward, when FCDPHE receives information about a positive test related to a CCSD student or staff member, they will conduct all contact tracing and they will notify families regarding the required next steps.
FCDPHE will then notify CCSD when an individual is placed in isolation or quarantine, and for how long and CCSD will faithfully enforce all isolation and quarantine recommendations made by FCDPHE on its campuses.
As this effort evolves, the Cañon City School District will closely monitor COVID transmission trends and make school and district-wide decisions about operations and mitigation strategies aimed at keeping its doors open to all children every day for the long haul.
All along, the focus of the district has been to keep its schools open to as many students as possible, every day, with as few limitations. The community can support our effort by continuing to practice proven mitigation strategies. This means you should stay home if you have symptoms, keep your child at home if they are exhibiting symptoms, wash your hands regularly, and maintain social distance whenever you can.
Applying Our Traits and Skills
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The students at Cañon Exploratory School are already enjoying new furniture purchased to support their instructional model!
In Spring 2021 the Cañon City School district, thanks to an improved financial position in its Capital Reserve Fund related to lease purchase loans ending and tackling many of its most pressing facilities issues with the support of Building Excellent Schools Today grants, was able to develop a three-year plan to significantly upgrade school furniture. Many of our current classroom furnishings date as far back as the mid-1900's. Thanks to a 2005 bond allowing for the building and furnishing of a new Harrison K-8 School as well as a new high school wing, we finally were able to make progress on the classroom instruction equipment front. With the passage of our 2017 bond and the acquisition of BEST grants supporting the building of a new Washington Elementary and a major upgrade of the Cañon City Middle School campus, we have been able to address outdated furniture issues in those buildings. This fiscal year, within our Capital Reserve budget, we committed to upgrading Cañon Exploratory School, and these items were recently installed. Next fiscal year we intend to do the same at McKinley Elementary and Lincoln School of Science and Technology. Two years out, our plan is to complete our upgrade cycle by replacing obsolete furniture at Cañon City High School. When this is done, all classroom furniture will have been installed int eh current century!
Why has this been a major area of focus for us? In an instructional environment where we promote problem solving, innovation, collaboration, and communication, the way we set up our classrooms needs to reflect the work students are doing in them.
Thanks for making this possible for our students and thanks for listening once again,
George S. Welsh
Why has this been a major area of focus for us? In an instructional environment where we promote problem solving, innovation, collaboration, and communication, the way we set up our classrooms needs to reflect the work students are doing in them.
Thanks for making this possible for our students and thanks for listening once again,
George S. Welsh
