RFSD Weekly Community UPDATE
March 5, 2012
From Judy Haptonstall
384-6001
Budget discussions regarding the uses of the mill levy override will be held as part of all board meetings through April 18th. Your feedback and attendance are encouraged either at the district office in Glenwood or at webcast locations at BES and CMS. Budget discussions at the meeting on March 14th will be held from 6:15-7:15.
A reminder to parents and family of students graduating in 2012, the date for graduation is Saturday, June 2nd. Graduation times are 10:00 Roaring Fork High School, 1:00 Glenwood Springs High School, and 4:00 Basalt High School. Bridges graduation will be held on Friday, June 1st.
A Year of Celebrations!
Summer School for 2012
All of the schools are in the process of planning for summer school this year, either through district funding, thanks to the mill levy, or through private funders as noted in the story below. Summit 54 and Mile High United Way will be supporting summer programs for Glenwood Elementary, Sopris Elementary, and Basalt Elementary. Funding from the Manus Foundation is supporting the summer program and Crystal River Elementary and middle schools are working with another private funder to explore the development of a summer program. High schools have all indicated they are planning to provide summer schools in each of the schools through a combination of district funding and student fees. Contact your school’s principal for more information.
Summit 54 Receives Highly Selective Social Innovation Fund Literacy Grant
Grant Made Through Mile High United Way Affirms Summit 54’s Critical Role in Strengthening Early Childhood Literacy In Colorado
Aspen, CO – Summit 54 received a highly selective Social Innovation Fund grant to advance early childhood literacy in Colorado. The announcement was made at the state Capitol yesterday with Governor John Hickenlooper; Lt. Governor Joe Garcia; Paul Carttar, Director of Social Innovation Fund, Corporation for National and Community Service; and Christine Benero, President and CEO of Mile High United Way. The grant will provide $336,000/year for the locally founded charity to sponsor Summer Advantage USA in the Roaring Fork Valley. The grant will be matched by Summit 54 to bring the evidenced-based, 5-week academic and life enrichment program to K-3 graders in the RE-1 School District. The grant was one of only 11 awarded across the state based on a competitive application process through Mile High United Way. The grants are part of a growing statewide movement to strengthen early literacy.
“We are proud to have been selected as a recipient of the Mile High United Way Social Innovation Fund grant,” said Terri Caine, Western Slope Coordinator for Summit 54. “Receiving this grant confirms the strength of the Summer Advantage program and the value it will provide to 400 children in our Valley. Our interest is to help close the achievement gap in Colorado and to provide additional opportunities to children living in poverty. The Summer Advantage program is a good fit for Summit 54 because it combines a strong evidence-based academic program with life enrichment opportunities. Summer Advantage has a proven track record of helping children move 2-3 months ahead in reading, writing, and math in just five weeks. Compare these results with the national norm for kids in lower income families who typically lose 2-3 months of knowledge during the summer -- the difference is profound!”
“Mile High United Way received 38 worthy applications for this early literacy grant,” said Mile High United Way President and CEO Christine Benero. “The fact that so many organizations are committed to literacy in Colorado means that kids across the state are going to have more and more opportunities to learn to read. We’re especially excited to begin working with the Summit 54 and the entire Colorado United Way network on this literacy movement.”
Mile High United Way announced last October that it had received a $3.6 million grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service. As one of only five organizations around the country to receive an award last year, Mile High United Way utilized an extensive review and interview process involving 60 community and education leaders and over a hundreds of hours of review. The grants, called Social Innovation Fund grants, require both Mile High United Way and the final recipients to raise matching funds as part of the criteria for accepting a grant. In addition to the match requirement for grantees, applicants needed to demonstrate their programs’ proven effectiveness and the ability to expand service.
“We want every third grader to read at grade level. That’s what this movement is all about,” said Benero. “The Social Innovation Fund grants enable us to start at birth and work right through third grade to engage at every stage of literacy learning.”
Summit 54 will initiate the Summer Advantage program this summer with two sites – one at Basalt Elementary School and one at Glenwood Springs Elementary School. The Glenwood site will serve students of both Sopris Elementary School and Glenwood Springs Elementary School. The 5-week program will be operated M-F, from 8:00 a.m. to 3 p.m. including hot breakfast and lunch. An optional afternoon program will also be offered free of charge to the students in cooperation with Access Roaring Fork until 5:30 p.m. to accommodate the schedules of working parents.
About Summit54
The mission of Summit 54 is to provide additional educational opportunities to children in Colorado. Summit 54 seeks to collaborate with existing programs and work in close partnership with local schools to maximize limited resources and benefit the greatest number of students. The goal of Summit 54 is to contribute to a more highly skilled work force, thereby reduce poverty, and create stronger, more dynamic communities in Colorado. For more about Summit 54, visit summit54.org. For more information on Summer Advantage, visit summeradvantage.org.
About the Corporation for National and Community Service
The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that engages more than five million Americans in service through Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, Learn and Serve America and the Social Innovation Fund, and leads President Obama’s national call to service initiative, United We Serve. For more information, visit NationalService.gov..
About Mile High United Way
Mile High United Way is the first United Way in the country. Combining the collective strength of more than 40,000 donors, 800 local businesses, over 100 non-profit partners, and local and state government, Mile High United Way has been leading the movement for positive change for 125 years. Mile High United Way unites people, ideas and resources to advance the common good and concentrates on helping people of all ages, in every stage of their lives, through three interconnected areas of change: School Readiness, Youth Success and Adult Self-Sufficiency. For more information, visit www.unitedwaydenver.org. For more information on the Social Innovation Fund grant, visit www.unitedwaydenver.org/schoolreadiness or contact Terri Caine – (970) 618-2219
Update on Superintendent Search
The board will be conducting a workshop with the recruiting firm on the 14th of March from 4:00-6:00 regarding the Leadership Profile for the new superintendent. On April 23rd the search firm will present a slate of candidates to the board with interviews being conducted the week of April 23rd through the 27th by various groups as well as the board. Details regarding the interview process will be determined by the board as part of their workshop on the 14th of March. Semi finalist interview are scheduled for April 30th through May 2nd followed by onsite visits by the board. The target date for the public announcement is scheduled for June 1st, with a new superintendent beginning on
July 1st.
Communications Audit
The Roaring Fork School District and the Colorado Association of School Boards (CASB) will be conducting a Communications Audit which will be done May 14th and 15th. Representative groups across the district will be asked to provide input to facilitators from CASB regarding the effectiveness of communication both internally and externally. More specific details about the Communications Audit should be coming out in the next few weeks.
New Teacher and Principal Evaluations
As of the fall of 2013, districts will be required to have in place new teacher and principal evaluations required by SB-191. A team from the district is attending a training this week with the intent of bringing back a timeline for the development of this new process that will include principals, teachers, community members, parents, board members and district office staff.
Board Members Office Hours
Richard Stettner at BES from 3:30-5:00 – Please call 384-5800 to schedule.
· 3/8
Matt Hamilton at the Third Street Center in Carbondale in the offices of Healthy Mountain Communities and Roaring Fork Community Development Corporation, located near the café. Hours are from 4:30-6:30 the second Tuesday of each month. No appointment necessary, first come, first served.
Daniel Biggs - Please call 970-948-4228 to schedule.
Weekly Calendar
March 7th – Leadership Team meeting at the district office from 8:00-12:00
March 8th – IBB Check-In meeting beginning at 4:30 at the district office
March 9th – Area Superintendents’ Meeting at the district office from 9:30-2:30
Upcoming Events
March 13th – Roaring Fork Public Education Foundation Board Meeting at 5:30 at RFHS
March 14th – Board of Education meeting at the district office - 4:00 p.m.
March 15th – Meeting of special education teachers at 4:30 at the district office