FREE Take One
SAN LUIS VALLEY
PROGRESS
2018 Education
January 31, 2018 719-852-3531 835 First Ave. Monte Vista, Colo.
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Education Progress
Wednesday, January 31, 2018
Del Norte schools see a dream coming true BY LYNDSIE FERRELL
DEL NORTE— The Del Norte School District has spent the last year pursuing their biggest and brightest dream— a new school and now, with all of their hard work and dedication, the dream is becoming a reality. Like many schools within the Valley, several of the buildings in the district are falling apart, aging faster than they can be fixed and are in need of repair almost on a daily basis. The need for a new school was evident and the community expressed the desire to commit. It all began with a simple conversation, one that needed to be had in regards to the first attempt the school made for a BEST grant, back when the grant program was almost brand new. The school board sat down with the new Superintendent Chris Burr and began to review what went wrong and how they could right the situation to ensure a successful grant application if they applied again. The next step for the school was to host a community meeting to explain the process for the BEST grant and begin the long trek towards the dream. During a series of public discussions, Burr explained that the previous BEST grant was denied mainly in part because of the way the school had written the grant. He stated several times that he was confident in the second application because school officials had clarified what they planned to do with the old buildings located throughout the south end of town. The idea was simple, sell the buildings for reuse and have a plan to demolish the ones that are not salvageable. It was this idea, paired with Burr’s attention to detail, that landed the school the BEST grant in July. When the announcement hit home, the community of Del Norte was already buzzing with the rumors of growth, economic stability and a bright future. The school had been awarded $27 million of the $45 million proposed project cost. That left $18 million that needed to come from the community through a bond issue that would be placed on the ballot for the coming November. Now it
was up to the school district, Del Norte and South Fork residents to pull together to see that the bond passed. Organizations like High Valley Community Center, local businesses in both communities and residents throughout the western region gathered at meetings and formed a board focused on spreading facts about the old school buildings and plans for the future of the school. The board hosted several educational meetings for the public, asking anyone who had questions pertaining to the bond issue to attend and hung signs urging constituents to vote for measure 3A. It didn’t take long to see that the community was divided nearly down the middle with people who wanted the school and others that feared the repercussions of a bond. There were whispers among the community as people waited for the outcome in November, “Would it pass?” Efforts from the board and local organizations kicked into high gear in the last few weeks before the election and hopes rose as the day came near. On Nov. 7, the school and community of Del Norte and South Fork came through and won the bond issue by 130 votes. The school would get their wish and the children in the area would get a new school. Now with all of the hard stuff behind them, the school board is working hard preparing the first phase of the project. According to Burr a design will be released to the public in the next few weeks. The halls of the elementary school are full of paintings and drawings from kindergarteners of what they hope to see their new school look like. “We want to release it to the students first. It will be so fun to see the excitement on their faces and hear their ideas. After that, we will release to the public in the next few weeks, hopefully sometime at the beginning of February,” said Burr. There is a long road ahead before the doors of the new school will welcome students, but it is a road many are glad to be on in realizing a dream come true.
Courtesy photos
The above photos were submitted last year with the grant application showing the dangerous front entries of the Devl Norte school buildings.
An issue with the current property is the parking lot where pedestrians, buses and cars converge daily.
State’s graduation rate improves slightly to 79 percent The state’s graduation gap between minority students and white students continued to narrow in 2017. The current graduation gap is 10.8 percentage points, which narrowed by 1.7 points from the previous year. This represents the seventh consecutive year the racial graduation gap narrowed since 2010. In addition, more minority students are graduating within four years. The fouryear graduation rate for minority students is 73.1 percent, an increase of 1.2 percentage points from last year. The table below provides a breakdown of the four-year graduation rate by ethnicity for the Class of 2017.
Equivalency Diploma (HSED). The Class of Tools to understand the numbers 2017 had a completion rate of 80.8 percent, CDE has created a number of interactive reflecting an additional 1,098 students who tools and maps to better illustrate how the received a HSED. graduation and dropout rates look across the state. See www.cde.state.co.us for more Giving students more time Colorado has been resolute in keeping information. students in high school who fall short of Statewide four-year graduation rates graduation requirements or who are particiClass of 2017: 79%, 50,700 graduates pating in their high school’s post-secondary Class of 2016: 78.9%, 49,824 graduates program to earn college credit. Students can Class of 2015: 77.3%, 47,784 graduates remain enrolled beyond their fourth year of Class of 2014: 77.3%, 47,486 graduates high school to graduate in five, six or seven years after entering high school. Statewide five-year graduation rates A total of 10.1 percent (6,498 students) Race/Ethnicity: Grad Rate, Graduates Class of 2016: 84.1%, 53,027 graduates of the students in the Class of 2017 remain American Indian: 64.1%, 352 Class of 2015: 83.3%, 50,955 graduates enrolled and have the opportunity to graduAsian: 89.8%, 1,772 Class of 2014: 81.7%, 50,297 graduates ate or complete in five, six or seven years Black: 71.9%, 2,284 from entering high school. Hispanic: 71.1%, 14,648 Statewide six-year graduation rates For the Class of 2015-16, the five-year Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 76.5%, state graduation rate was 84.1 percent. The Class of 2015: 84.9%, 51,883 graduates 150 five-year completion rate was 86.1 percent. Class of 2014: 84.3%, 51,316 graduates Two or More Races: 80.2%, 1,756 For the Class of 2014-15, the six-year state White: 83.9%, 29,738 graduation rate was 84.8 percent. The sixStatewide seven-year graduation rates year completion rate was 87.4 percent. Class of 2014: 85.3%, 51,492 graduates Graduation rates by gender Additionally, the statewide, four-year graduation rate for females was 82.8 percent Dropout rate at an all-time low The state’s 2016-17 dropout rate remains (25,910 graduates) and the male graduation at 2.3 percent, which was the same rate as rate was 75.5 percent (24,790 graduates). 2015-16. This is the second year in a row Completion rate in which the rate is at an all-time low. In The completion rate is determined by total, the state saw 10,421 students in grades combining all graduates with those who seven through 12 drop out last year. receive a certificate, a designation of Graduation rates by ethnicity and race high school completion, or a High School COLORADO— Colorado’s four-year graduation rate increased to 79 percent for the class of 2017 and is the highest rate since 2010, according to data released recently by the Colorado Department of Education. The class of 2017 had 858 more graduates than the Class of 2016 or 0.1 percentage points higher than the 2015-16 four-year graduation rate of 78.9 percent. Since 2010, Colorado’s high school graduation rate has increased a total of 6.6 percentage points. Extended year rates for students taking five, six and seven years to graduate also showed improvement. “Our steady upward trend is a credit to the teachers, parents and students who are working incredibly hard, but we still have work to do, especially in narrowing the achievement gap,” said Colorado Education Commissioner Katy Anthes. “We see more students who graduate high school with work-ready credentials and who complete several college credits, which means they are ready for next steps after high school to enter higher education, get a living wage job or enter military service.”
Wednesday, January 31, 2018
Education Progress
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New school site plan proposed for Mountain Valley
SAGUACHE — Thanks to the supportive community, Mountain Valley School is well on its way towards realizing the district goals of relationships, innovation and rejuvenation. Relationships with all stakeholders is critical, and district residents are trusting Mountain Valley to create innovative and engaging learning environments, as well as multi-use community and athletic spaces as a new school is designed and built to serve students, families and community for many generations to come. Mountain Valley School Superintendent Travis Garoutte said, “throughout this process, transparency is key. My hope is that everyone has access to accurate information and ample opportunities to share thoughts and ideas during the design and building phases. Our first new school facility community meeting with owner’s representatives NV5 and architects TreanorHL was Nov. 29, 2017 at Mountain Valley School. Over 40 residents were present and met the NV5 and TreanorHL teams that will be working closely with the Mountain Valley community during this process.” Topics covered during that meeting included transparency diagram, design advisory group process, high-level timeline, community input process, design philosophy – designing within context, and open dialogue regarding community vision, hopes, dreams, and fears. After a month of brainstorming and planning, the Design Advisory Group (DAG) is getting close to finalizing the site layout and floor plan for the future Mountain Valley PreK-12 School. There is only one more DAG meeting left, and everyone is getting excited to move from the design phase to the construction phase, which is expected to begin in late May or early June of 2018. Starting from the west side of the property, the site plan below shows a regulation 1,600 meter track with a field inside. This area will be large enough to accommodate an 80-yard field for six-man football or a 100-yard field for eight and 11-man football. A regulation-sized soccer field will also fit inside of the track. The track and field will be utilized for various community activities and sporting events, as well as allow for future expansion of athletic programs at Mountain Valley School. The PreK-12 school is located just east of the
track with educational and community use areas. The wing to the west will be utilized for both school and community activities and events. The two-story north wing will house most of the academic classroom spaces. This site layout allows for increased security on campus, protection from prevailing winds and southern sun exposure on all approach sidewalks, parking lots and playground areas. The preschool playground will be placed off of the preschool classroom, and the elementary playground will be southeast of the track. Transportation facilities and additional athletic event parking are shown on the west side of the property. Adequate parking, secure student drop-off areas and separate bus loading and unloading zones will increase safety on campus during the busy morning, lunch and afternoon hours. School plazas and memorials will be located around the school. The community garden and geodesic dome greenhouse will remain on the south side of the property. The first floor of the school is shown with elementary, media center, team center, administration, art and weight room areas throughout the north wing. The west wing houses the gym, auxiliary gym, locker rooms, concessions, cafeteria, home economics, vocational education, performing arts and storage spaces. Community engagement and access are important at Mountain Valley School. Consequently, the media center and most spaces in the west wing will be available for various community activities and events. The second-floor layout has the high school and middle school areas separated by the media center. A science deck will look out over the beautiful views from Saguache. The two gymnasiums, performing arts spaces, and a hidden mechanical area will be at a two-story height as well. Those with any comments or questions regarding the campus layout and new school design can contact any DAG member (Amber Johnson, Aubrey Hill, David Hammel, Kathy Hill, Lacy Reed, Lisa Jaminet, Bobbie Baughman, Marilyn Fenton, Mark Hammel, Mona Lovato, Paula Lujan, Peggy Williams, Yvonne Morfitt, Eric Frey, May Engquist, Chuck Tidd and Travis Garoutte) or stop by Mountain Valley and visit with administration.
Courtesy photos
Design Advisory Group member Bobbie Baughman shares her thoughts on school site use and placement at Mountain Valley School’s citizens’ advisory meeting last month. The school is completing design plans in preparation for construction.
Site plan provided by TreanorHL
Adams State heading back on academic track STAFF REPORT
ALAMOSA — Though Adams State University’s financials and low enrollment are still an issue, the institution can take a quick breather knowing its efforts are working. The Higher Learning Commission site visiting team recently recommended that the sanction of “Probation” be removed from ASU. ASU was placed on probation in 2016 due to a lack of oversight in the online learning and written correspondence course in the Extended Studies program. HLC visited this past November to review the state of ASU and the final report was released last week “I was thrilled, and I think this is echoed by others on the leadership team, to see that we have a positive recommendation,” said Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs Margaret Doell during a special ASU Board of Trustees meeting on Wednesday to discuss the news. The HLC site visiting team determined that three of the five criteria were met while two were “met with concern.” Work needs to be done with regards to improving general education and financial stability, but nevertheless the report commended ASU for their progress. “Really neither of them was a surprise,” said Doell, “given that we had really not been assessing gen ed and given the financial condition of the university...I think we came off pretty well having it be ‘met with concerns’ rather than ‘not met.’” A follow up visit will be required in June 2020, giving the university only two years to fix a budgetary shortfall instead of the expected three years. The amount is constantly in flux but ASU needs somewhere between $2.1 million and $3 million—likely $2.7 million with the return visit happening sooner than anticipated
—in annual revenue. Cuts have yet to be implemented, but the board stressed on Wednesday that the in-progress contingency plan is now ASU’s regular financial plan. “This is our financial plan,” said ASU Board of Trustees Chair Cleave Simpson. “It is no longer contingent on something. This is what we have to do. We’re committed to working with everyone involved to truly make this successful and it’s going to be truly difficult.” To set an example and help finances, the trustees unanimously approved cancellation of the board retreat and conference in San Francisco, California. Instead the summer retreat will occur locally in the San Luis Valley. “It would not speak very well of us if we were to spend money on a retreat when we’re asking for the university to cut expenses,” said ASU Board of Trustees Vice Chair Kathleen Rogers. “I completely agree that we ought to be doing this as local as possible and as cheap as possible,” added Trustee Reeves Brown. The board also thanked Doell and her team for their hard work in ensuring a positive recommendation from the HLC. “Thank you,” Rogers said. “I don’t think it could be said enough. You guys are amazing to pull this off. You did a very fine job and we so appreciate your hard work.” “To pull that together to get the suggested outcome from the site team is really a tribute to the folks that comprise this institution,” Simpson said. It is important to note that the HLC’s report is only a recommendation. By March 23 ASU President Beverlee McClure will submit a response to the HLC containing updated info and supporting documentation on initiatives that happened since the November visit. McClure
will then meet before the Institutional Action recommendation. Council on April 23 and the IAC can change The entire HLC report can be read online the recommendation if warranted. On June 28 at https://www.adams.edu/hlc/adams-stateand 29 the HLC board will make their final university-final-report.pdf.
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Education Progress
Wednesday, January 31, 2018
Photos by Ruth Heide
The Sangre de Cristo Elementary School students and staff and middle school/high school students and staff celebrate the district’s recognition as a District of Distinction.
Sangre recognized as District of Distinction
MOSCA — For the second year in a row the Colorado Department of Education recognized Sangre de Cristo School District as a District of Distinction. This is the highest academic achievement a school district can achieve. “I believe it’s just affirmation that all the hard work that the teachers, the students and the parents are doing with us is paying off,” said Superintendent Brady Stagner.
“That comes from a lot of hard work,” added Principal John Stephens. “We have a common goal. That is to provide the very best education for each and every student, and we know all students are capable of learning and achieving a year’s growth in a year’s time.” The honor recognizes that Sangre de Cristo School District met or exceeded attainment on performance indicators.
Districts Accredited with Distinction have earned 80 percent or more of possible points on the District Performance Frameworks. The District Performance Frameworks measure student performance in academic achievement, academic growth, academic growth gaps and post-secondary and workforce readiness. Key performance indicators identified in SB 09-163 as the measures of educational
success, and which Sangre de Cristo met or exceeded are: academic achievement; academic longitudinal growth; postsecondary and workforce readiness. State identified measures and metrics for each of these performance indicators are combined to arrive at an overall evaluation of a school’s or a district’s performance. “It’s truly an outstanding honor,” Stephens said.
Five Valley school districts drop in accreditation S TAFF R EPORT SAN LUIS VALLEY— While most San Luis Valley school districts have positive accreditation statuses, five districts were downgraded, according to accreditation statuses released by Colorado Department of Education on Wednesday. Center, South Conejos, Del Norte, Sanford and Sargent dropped in their statuses. However, no districts in Colorado earned the lowest ranking of “Turnaround.” A total of 30 districts received the highest rating of “Distinction,” including North Conejos, Sangre De Cristo and Creede, and 90 received the second-highest rating of “Accredited.” Sixty-five percent of Colorado’s 184 districts and BOCES received the top two accreditation ratings. Only nine districts, including South Conejos, were on “Priority Improvement,” representing just 2.7 percent of all Colorado students. “We are pleased with the success around the state, which is the result of hard work by students, teachers and administrators,” Colorado Education Commissioner Katy
Anthes said in a press release. “These ratings allow us to identify districts that need more state support and intervention, but also districts where we can learn from their success. While we are proud of the progress we are making, we know we still have a long way to go to meet the academic needs of many of our students.” District ratings are based on a number of performance indicators, including student achievement and growth on state assessments as well as postsecondary readiness measures. In late August, districts received their preliminary ratings and had until Oct. 16 to submit additional evidence for the commissioner’s reconsideration. Twenty districts requested reconsideration, and a total of 15 districts had their ratings increased through the request to reconsider process and one additional approval was pending the school performance rating in December.
ment Plan 2016 Rating: Accredited with Improvement Plan Centennial School District 2017 Rating: Accredited 2016 Rating: Accredited Center School District 2017 Rating: Accredited with Improvement Plan 2016 Rating: Accredited North Conejos School District 2017 Rating: Accredited with Distinction 2016 Rating: Accredited with Distinction South Conejos School District 2017 Rating: Accredited with Priority Improvement Plan 2016 Rating: Accredited with Improvement Plan Creede Consolidated School District 2017 Rating: Accredited with Distinction 2016 Rating: Accredited with Distinction Del Norte School District 2017 Rating: Accredited with Improvement Plan Alamosa School District 2016 Rating: Accredited 2017 Rating: Accredited with Improve-
Moffat Consolidated School District 2017 Rating: Accredited 2016 Rating: Accredited Monte Vista School District 2017 Rating: Accredited with Improvement Plan 2016 Rating: Accredited with Improvement Plan Mountain Valley School District 2017 Rating: Accredited with Improvement Plan 2016 Rating: Accredited with Improvement Plan Sanford School District 2017 Rating: Accredited 2016 Rating: Accredited with Distinction Sangre De Cristo School District 2017 Rating: Accredited with Distinction 2016 Rating: Accredited with Distinction Sargent School District 2017 Rating: Accredited 2016 Rating: Accredited with Distinction Sierra Grande School District 2017 Rating: Accredited 2016 Rating: Accredited
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Education Progress
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Studying the life cycle
Haskin Elementary students go into great detail about the life cycles of mammals and insects for a class project. Courtesy photo
Neenan school designs help build community BY LYNDSIE FERRELL CREEDE— When the community met with owner representatives through the BEST program to begin the process of designing the new school in Creede, one of the main focuses was to make the building more community-friendly than the previous school. Throughout the design phase of the school, the Neenan Company worked closely with local school officials to make sure the building was open, friendly and fit into the scenery around the site of the new school. Over the past two years, since the school was completed, the community of Creede has undergone several adjustments, getting used to having the school out of city limits. According to new Superintendent Lis Richard, the struggle to keep the community of Creede interested and involved in the school has been a challenge, but one that is being overcome and the way the school has been designed has helped tremendously. “We are using some of the public areas to bring the community back to the school and enhancing other public areas to fit the needs of the community as much as we can,” said Richard. Senior Project Manager Sergio Ortiz and Architect David Kurtz (with the Neenan Company) commented on the final project stating that after two years, the Creede School is a prime example on how the BEST program positively affects the communities where schools are built and has a direct correlation to the improved learning environment where students have excelled academically. “The library for example was unique to the community of Creede, where the public could securely visit the facility during school hours without risking the safety of the students,” said Ortiz. Ortiz continued, explaining that most of the time new school projects have to consider public use inside the school for things like sporting events, but that the library at the Creede School is a unique and beautiful addition to the new school. “We had to design it in a way that would allow the public to use the facility while keeping students secure and safe inside the rest of the building and we were able to achieve that,” finished Ortiz. Richard made the statement that the school is working with the library board that was reformed after nearly 30 years of inactivity to have the library open to the public for more hours during the week and on holidays in order to get the public out to the school more often. In addition to adding more hours, the Mineral County Commissioners recently ordered a sign that will be
Photos by Lyndsie Ferrell
The new Creede School has become a place for the community and has played a huge part in academic success for students. The building’s design has paved the way for community members to enjoy.
placed at the end of Cosair Drive, directing traffic to the public library. Other design specifics that are unique to the school include the open center space that takes up most of the front of the building. The lunch/community room was built with high vaulted ceilings illuminated by natural light and has been used for community events, such as the November Veterans Day breakfast. Just off to the left of the center space, there is a large classroom equipped with an eastern-facing wall that can be slid to the side to open the room even more. “When designing this space, the school wanted an area where larger classes could be held and provide a way to expand the community space for large events,” said Kurtz. After visiting with school officials over the last several weeks, Neenan representatives wanted to highlight the benefits of having the new school to the community and encourage them to continue to be involved with the school. “We are very proud of that building. It represents the community of Creede and I am proud of how it turned out,” finished Kurtz. The school has risen academically in state accreditations in the two years since the building was completed and school officials feel that the new, healthy environment provided by the new school was a major reason for the increase. In 2016, the school moved up to a “distinction level” within the state rankings, which is the highest level of accreditations that a school can receive. “The design is only one part of connecting the school with the community; utilizing lo-
cal materials and businesses brought pride from community members and made the school even more part of the community,” said Kurtz. The school continues to flourish in the community and plans to increase community involvement even more in the future.
A new sign helps direct the public to the school library where they enjoy the benefits of a combined public space.
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Education Progress
Wednesday, January 31, 2018
New Monte Vista school board hard at work BY ANTHONY GUERRERO
MONTE VISTA— From a new board, to an exciting field trip, discussion of drug testing, to recognition for science fair students it is a busy and exciting time at Monte Vista School District. As the spring semester gets started there are many new things to look forward to. The board members and dedicated educators are hard at work tackling difficult subjects and working to make a memorable experience for those that are students of Monte Vista. Late 2017 and early 2018 saw the election and seating of two new board of education members. Dr. Orlando DeHerrera and Kurt Holland were elected by acclimation after the resignations of Beverly Martinez and Elizabeth Conner. The board is now completely male and composed of Dr. Matt Nehring, Gary Wilkinson, David Reschke, DeHerrera and Holland. The board reorganized and each member stepped up to leadership positions within the board and as representatives in different school-related committees. The new board was tasked with a difficult subject at their first meeting. Parents, teachers and principals stated they felt random mandatory drug testing for athletes or all students should be practiced in the district. The board listened to stories from concerned parents regarding possible drug use. They also heard ideas and examples of how testing for illegal substances might work within the district and its athletic programs. Since then the board has had continued discussions on the subject and are working to ensure a fair and legal policy. In January the board also heard from a fourth grade teacher. She is hoping to take the fourth grade class on a field trip of their lifetimes. The plan is to take the students to experience
Photo by Anthony Guerrero
The new Monte Vista Board of Education is hard at work tackling difficult subjects and making a difference for Monte Vista students. From left to right: David Reschke, Orlando DeHerrera, Matt Nehring, Kurt Holland and Gary Wilkinson. the Denver Museum of Nature and Science on an overnight trip. Students will get to see the museum and several educational and fun presentations as well as visit the Denver Zoo. The trip will be used as an incentive to motivate students to prepare as well as possible for state standardized testing. To accomplish this trip the students are conducting a read-a-thon as a fundraiser. Many of the young students have not yet seen Denver in their early lives, so it is
hoped it will truly be a memorable experience that they will treasure forever. Board member Wilkinson and previous high school science teacher has also been excited to be working on recognition for the many talented Science Fair students that have graced the halls of Monte Vista High School. Monte Vista is unique in having had so many students qualify to attend the International Science and Engineering Fair. As sports and band have
places to display their achievements Science Fair will now as well. In early February an unveiling of a special project being worked on towards this end will be held. These topics and others will likely be the points of discussion and celebrations throughout the rest of the 2017-18 school year. For students, parents, teachers, board members and administrators it is a truly exciting time to be a Monte Vista Pirate.
Conejos County schools strive for excellence
A N TO N I TO — T h e S o u t h C o n e j o s Schools entered a period of change in 2017. With a new superintendent, Dr. Emma Rae Martinez, bringing with her a wealth of experience, the school district has changed staff and, apparently, excellence. Originally from Conejos County, Dr. Martinez spent a number of years as principal at Twain High School in San Diego, Calif. and decided to return home. The biggest change is at the middle school level. Threatened with serious action by the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) in 2015, South Conejos Middle School staff and students renewed their commitment to learning. This year, the middle school has received one of the CDE’s highest awards, as a “Center of Excellence.” It was the only San Luis Valley school on the list. Each year, the Colorado Department of Education recognizes public schools in the state with a student population of which at least 75 percent are at-risk pupils and that demonstrate the highest rates of student longitudinal growth, as measured by the Colorado Growth Model. On the school performance framework that is used by the state to evaluate schools, these schools have demonstrated impressive results on the indicator relating to longitudinal academic growth. A new challenge this year is planning and administering a school health grant that focuses on cutting opioid abuse and educating students in ways to eat, live and play to reach and preserve health.
North Conejos With Centauri High School consistently ranked among Colorado’s best schools, the middle school took the limelight, with Gov. John Hickenlooper’s Distinguished Improvement Award.
Courtesy photo
Sargent School District Superintendent Greg Slover
Slover takes over as Sargent superintendent BY CHELSEA MCNERNEY-MARTINEZ
Photo by Sylvia Lobato
New South Conejos Superintendent Emma Rae Martinez is originally from Conejos County and commented that “it was time to return home” from her previous post in California. Centauri Middle School began tutoring with a focus on mathematics on Jan. 23, 2018. Manassa Elementary School earned the prestigious John Irwin Award, given to schools that demonstrate exceptional academic achievement over time, exceeding the expectations rating on the academic achievement indicator of school performance frameworks reflecting exceptional performance in math, English language arts and science. Nearby Sanford and Centauri were both Accredited with Distinction.
MONTE VISTA—Sargent Schools welcomed new Superintendent Greg Slover, on July 1. Slover, who had most recently been a principal in New Mexico for the past six years, has 17 years of experience as a principal. In addition, he was a high school English teacher and has coached basketball, football, track, tennis and golf. He attended South Planes Junior college in Levelland, Texas as well as West Texas University in Canyon. Slover has five children; two daughters attend Sargent Schools, and Slover’s two older sons live in Texas; one is a police officer in Amarillo and one works for the Valero oil company. His youngest son graduated last spring from Adams State University with a degree in sports psychology. Slover and his wife of two years, Shannon, who is “a wonderful speech therapist,” have been coming to the South Fork area for several years, even before they met one another and recently purchased property there. They decided they wanted to stay in the San Luis Valley and Slover had just turned down a
superintendent position in Texas because it didn’t fit his family’s needs, when Shannon found the Sargent position online. Slover interviewed for the position the same day his son graduated from Adams State. His son had also praised the Sargent district, having coached at Centennial High School; he thought very highly of the school and its students when the two schools played one another. Slover also goes fly-fishing on the Conejos River at the Superfly events every April, and he and his family enjoy the skiing and hiking opportunities. Regarding his vision for Sargent Schools in the next five to 10 years, in a July interview Slover stated, “I would hope to at least maintain our currently high academic status, hopefully increase in size and be a school that people look to for excellence.” Slover looks forward to maintaining as many programs as are feasible, but will analyze them more specifically over the next academic year, adding “It’s hard to make projections when school isn’t in session and there are no kids in the hallways.”
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Education Progress
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New board welcomed at Sargent BY A NTHONY GUERRERO MONTE VISTA— Three new board members took the oath of office and three outgoing board members were honored at the Monday, Nov. 27 meeting of the Sargent Board of Education. The board also reorganized as a result of the new members. Outgoing Board President David Steinert administered the oath of office to new members Tyler Mitchell, Michele Peterson and Tyler Kyffin. The new members were also presented with certificates of election. “I would like to thank (Erik Pfannestiel and David Bower) for the four years of work. It was great to work with you guys and sometimes challenging but it was rewarding. I think we made a difference here during our time on the board. I want to thank you guys for the giving of your time,” said Steinert. The board then elected their new officers. Heather Paulson was elected president, Gina Mitchell vice-president, Tyler Mitchell secretary, and Michele Peterson was elected treasurer. Superintendent Greg Slover presented a recognition of the three outgoing board members. “I want to thank these three guys for serving on the board and for what they’ve done. It’s a lot different to be on one side of the table than the other. It’s a
Photo by Anthony Guerrero
Outgoing Board President David Steinert administered the oath of office to new members Tyler Kyffin, Tyler Mitchell and Michele Peterson thankless job but a very important job. We preciation. We couldn’t give you what you lot of people who have served on the board appreciate your efforts,” said Slover. deserve for what you’ve done here for the at one time or the other. It’s a build up They outgoing board members were community and the good of the school. We thing. We had our turn, and now it’s your presented with a plaque with a clock and do thank you,” said Slover. turn to take us up another step or two,” said their years of service. “It’s just a small ap“We wish you all the best. You’ll find a Steinert.
School technology advancing to the future BY A NTHONY GUERRERO
SAN LUIS VALLEY— Advancements in technology are being seen throughout many of the San Luis Valley’s school districts. The new technologies being implemented are more cost effective, optimize communications between students and teachers, and are having a positive impact on Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) courses. According to Patrick Sewell, district network administrator for Monte Vista, Sargent and Mountain Valley, many local schools are transitioning from higher cost Windows-based operating systems to lower cost Chromebook and Chromebox devices powered by Google. “All three of these districts have or are moving towards a one-to-one device to student ratio. These Chromebooks are in the sub $300 range whereas PCs were costing the districts upwards of $1000 each. The adoption of Google apps, such as Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides-the Cloud-based Office Suite, which is free for K-12 institutions is displacing the need for more costly Microsoft Office licenses,” said Sewell. The districts also have iPads that are used in various areas, mostly in the K-12 classrooms. “Sargent is looking to replace their older iPads with touchscreen Chromebooks in the next year,” he said. In addition to the Chromebook-based transition Sargent and Monte Vista are also upgrading to the newest projection technology. Sewell reports that the two schools are slowly replacing old LCD displays and Smartboards with newer Epson Interactive Projectors. Schools throughout the Valley have been embracing and implementing a more STEM-based curriculum. Technology that is in use and available is helping to move this effort forward. Districts are procuring the technological devices needed to support this program says Sewell. For example, the Monte Vista and Sargent school districts are
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Technology in Valley Schools is improving and changing with the times. Smartboards are soon expected to be replaced with Epson Interactive Projectors. putting in 3D printers to use in the STEM courses. Technological advancements are improving communication between students and teachers as compared to as recently as a decade ago. The Chromebooks, apps and cloud-based ease of communication and sharing helps collaboration as do videos, email and instant messaging. “The endless catalog of online educational resources are constantly accessed by teachers and students. Having one-to-one devices facilitates this vast resource,” stated Sewell. Technology is always and rapidly changing. The future when it comes to devices is
not too far in the horizon. Sewell says that while looking towards the tomorrow of technology blockchain technology is the popular answer to ponder. “We’ll see what happens tomorrow. It will be interesting to see how
society changes as a result of increased screen time. There is obviously a demand for a technically apt workforce and schools are attempting to respond to that. What side effects will this have?” ponders Sewell.
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Education Progress
Wednesday, January 31, 2018
Trinidad enrollment up, expansion planned BY ANTHONY GUERRERO
ALAMOSA— Trinidad State Junior CollegeValley Campus (TSJC) is off to an excellent start for the 2018 spring semester. The campus is seeing a continued increase in enrollment and has plans to expand to other areas of the San Luis Valley. TSJC has been positively experiencing an enrollment increase since January 2017. The trend continues this year. It is estimated that when student enrollment is again calculated after the college census date, TSJC will report an enrollment increase of four to five percent, according to Greg Boyce, director of communications. Aiding in that enrollment increase is the return of adult education programs and other educational opportunities being offered at the Valley Campus. The adult education program is back this year and thriving. The loss of grant funding for Trinidad State’s Valley Campus adult education program last spring seemed dire, but after a commitment of college resources and a whole lot of hard work, the program has bounced back with new energy and focus. An important person that has helped move the program forward is Tammie Mack, director of Trinidad State Adult Educational Services. Mack supervises high school equivalency programs (GED) in Walsenburg and in Trinidad. Last July
she assumed management of the program at the Valley Campus and by August the program was reorganized and running full steam ahead. A new education wing with state-of-the-art classrooms at the Valley Campus is another positive benefit students are profiting from. The wing is 6,700 sq. ft. on two floors on the corner of Bell Street and 4th Avenue in Alamosa. The second floor features two science labs equipped with the latest technology. They are separated by a lap prep room where experiments are prepared for courses in biology, chemistry and physics. In cases of emergency a utility controller called ISIMET can shut down water, natural gas and/or HVAC. An acid waste system is also separate from the waste water system. The first floor of the wing has two classrooms and meeting space. TSJC also expanded its College for Kids program into the Valley Campus in July 2017. The offering in Alamosa was patterned after the same event that has been held at the Trinidad location for many years. Children aged seven through 11 engaged their minds during fun and active learning sessions. This is a collaborative effort of the University of Colorado Natural History Museum, the San Luis Valley Area Health Education Center and TSJC. Finally, and most excitingly for Valley residents, TSJC plans to expand to another area of the San Luis
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For the first time in 2017 College for Kids was hosted at the Alamosa Campus patterned after the same popular program from the Trinidad Campus. Valley. “An expansion in the San Luis Valley has from our rather cramped Alamosa Campus. Our long been in our plans, and we took a giant step in goal is to offer additional program in the skilled that direction in December. Just before the holidays, trades. We can’t say more at this time, but we hope we received a generous donation of $500,000 to as- to be able to share the exciting details in the comsist us! This money will help us either buy existing ing months,” said Carmen Simone, president of land or an existing building in the Valley, separate Trinidad State Junior College.
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Alamosa BOE celebrates School Board Appreciation Month
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Alamosa School District Board of Education members Mandy Jackson, Erica Romero, Arlan Van Ry, Jan De Sautell, Christine Haslett and Dr. Thomas Miller stand with a celebratory cake at a recent meeting after reading a proclamation from Alamosa School District that declares January School Board Appreciation Month. “On behalf of the district, we certainly appreciate you for all that you do,” said Alamosa School District Superintendent Robert Alejo.
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3475 $ 75 Valley 46
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