D49 Board President Danielle Lindorf's Jan. update

Board Update Statement 1-14-2010


I want to thank our parents, community members and staff for joining us tonight. We are happy to be moving forward in this district and have many updates we would like to give you at this time.

First, the Board met on December 17th and we were able to discuss our communication standards, the BEST grant possibilities, receive information about the bonding process, get an overview of our financial status and discuss the results of the school calendar survey and the subsequent recommendations for our 2010/2011 calendar. This was a public meeting, and the minutes will be available to all once they are approved by the Board.

During our regular Board meeting on December 10th, we received some input from D-49 staff concerning the Employee Involvement Committee (EIC). After further investigation regarding this and other Board committees, we have chosen to begin discussions at our January 27th work session about reforming all Board committees to better serve the needs of the Board and community. We expect a proposal from Dr. Schoeppey regarding the formation of a council that could replace the EIC, but will preserve several of its past functions. We value our teachers and support staff and would like to offer them a direct line of communication to the Superintendent.

Over the past few weeks, we have been informed that there could be some improvements of the drop-off and pick-up flow at Sand Creek and Vista Ridge High Schools. Our transportation department is currently working on these scenarios, and parents/guardians of students who attend these schools should be receiving an e-mail regarding any changes that will take place to improve student safety and traffic flow efficiency.

Further on in the meeting, you will see in agenda items 7.03, 7.04 and 7.05 three proposed boundary changes that the Board will be voting on. We would like to thank the different committees, administration and board members who have faithfully served to bring these and other recommendations to the Board. During the fall, there were several overcrowding relief options that were presented to the public. Some of them included creating a K-6 option along the eastern corridor, creating a 6-8 middle school within Sand Creek High School, changing elementary school boundaries in the western part of the district, or moving Patriot Learning Center into the available space at Sand Creek. Although there is merit to each of these possibilities, as a Board, we do not feel like any of these choices would be best for our students at this time. Therefore, we would like to hold off on these recommendations and only propose a few “maintenance” boundary changes for Board approval. I want to clarify at this time that we will be allowing all students who are currently in grades 2-4 and grades 9-11 within these boundaries to grandfather into their current elementary and high schools, respectively, if their families choose to. This will guarantee seats for these students during the duration of their tenure at their school. Detailed letters will be sent to the families who are affected by these boundary changes to give them all of the information they will need to proceed with the next school year. We are still facing overcrowding and growth opportunities, but would like to ask our capable school administrators and parents to work with us one more year as we research our bonding possibilities. Dr. Schoeppey has a preliminary report for the Board, following my comments, dealing with his recommendation to stay ahead of the growth in our communities.

The last update I would like to present tonight is that our administration has been working diligently on implementing new and higher standards and expectations for our students, staff and administration in accordance with the board's vision for the district. One of the major changes in the district is our district-wide commitment to accountability with the revision of the work of the DAAC Committee. A review team with representatives from each school in the area assessed and recommended for approval to the board the school improvement plans (SIP) of each school, including our charter schools. In addition to the comprehensive review, each school participated in an Achievement Conference with their school team, where the administration conducted a building walk-through and provided additional feedback on the plans. This information was used to revise plans, utilize the data to make decisions, and focus on the requirement to improve student achievement by at least five (5) percent. Immediately following this process, the administration has been conducting formal observations and utilizing the new evaluation process approved by the board in November. To further enhance the goals established by the board and the administration, principals meetings have been changed to professional development workshops that center on the skills that principals need to effectively support the goals of the district. The superintendent has created a Leadership Team Packet to allow for dissemination of critical information and for central administrators to develop a critical task calendar that can be referred to annually. This allows the superintendent to maintain all principal meetings for professional development. In order to support this new direction from the superintendent, some restructuring of central office positions have occurred to establish accountability for improved achievement at the building level and to provide central office support and guidance to develop instructional leaders who are responsible for carrying out the mission of the school district. These restructuring efforts will be continued as the board and administration evaluate our budget needs and realign resources to improve student achievement and meet the goals established by the board.

We encourage our community and parents to support these changes by remaining positive, engaged and excited about providing D-49 students with the resources to be successful in their education.

Danielle Lindorf
President/ D49 Board of Education

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