February 29th Work Session-Revenue Generation

 

WORK SESSION AGENDA

LEWIS-PALMER BOARD OF EDUCATION WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2012

 6:00 pm — Administration Building

 

 

 

 

At the February 16th meeting of the Lewis-Palmer Board of Education:  Possible revenue generators

– In response to continued state and federal cuts to education funding, the Board began discussion of a possible MLO (Mill Levy Override) at some time in the future. There are many factors to consider and the Board will continue this discussion at a work session scheduled for Wednesday, February 29th.  

The Work Session Agenda is posted here.

Zero Tolerance Rules Force District School’s Harsh Stand on Shared Inhaler

Under Colorado law, four actions trigger automatic expulsion: sale of controlled drugs, serious assaults, robbery and bringing weapons to school, said Janelle Krueger, a Colorado Department of Education consultant in charge of the Expelled and At-Risk Student Grant Program.

 

 Beyond that, districts set their own discipline policies.

Lewis-Palmer’s policy doesn’t mandate expulsion for the infraction Alyssa and Breana committed. “There is an ability to make a distinction about the intent or the circumstances,” said district spokeswoman Robin Adair.

The Lewis-Palmer district as a whole is, by most measures, successful.

Serious discipline problems are uncommon. In 2009-10, the district recorded only 157 out-of-school suspensions. Out of about 5,000 students, only three were expelled that year.

Expulsions are “extremely rare,” Adair said. “Obviously, the best place for kids is to be in school. If we can keep them in school, that’s the first choice. We don’t take lightly the decision to remove a student from the classroom.”

Last week, Alyssa was back in school. Tim McKinney said he’s convinced that is because he advocated for her.

Breana wasn’t so lucky.

“I’m expelled,” she said last week. “They said I could go back next year.”

Read more: Zero-tolerance rules forced Colorado school’s harsh stand on shared inhaler – The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/recommended/ci_19997417#ixzz1nQWVPxUA
Read The Denver Post’s Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse

LPSD#38 February BOE Meeting Highlights

February Board of Education Meeting Highlights

The February Board of Education Meeting Highlights have been posted on the LPSD#38 website.

Click Here to see the February Minutes

Bootstrap 2012 – Videogame Programming with Algebra

Teach Your Students to Program, Mathematically
Bootstrap teaches students to program their own videogames in an algebraic programming language, exposing them to key math concepts. Middle- and high-school teachers around the country have implemented the curriculum as a one-month module, a weekly activity or an afterschool program.

 

In Bootstrap, Your Students will Practice and Apply

• Solving word problems
• Coordinate planes and Graphing
• Functions and Variables
• Function Composition
• Inequalities in the Plane
• The Pythagorean Theorem

To go to the Bootstrap 2012 Registration Web Page: CLICK HERE

Colorado Association of Science Teachers April Meeting

The Colorado Association of Science Teachers invites YOU to join us on Saturday, April 14, from 9 am- 4 pm at the EastCentral BOCESin Limon for:

The 21^st Century Science Classroom, with special guest Barry Cartwright, CDE Science Specialist

What does an effective science program in the 21^st century look and feel like? 

What role does data and data analysis play in the 21^st century science classroom?  

In this interactive workshop teachers will collaborate and explore research based techniques to engage students with Colorado’s 21^st century skills and the Colorado Academic Standards in science. 

To Go to CAST Webpage for full article:  CLICK HERE

CDE Weekly Scoop Feb 23

This weeks edition of the CDE Scoop is now on line.  You can view it HERE.

D-38 Bus Fee Gazette Article

Students in Lewis-Palmer School District 38 may have to pay to ride the bus next year. “If it doesn’t happen we have to cut somewhere — teachers, texts, para support,” said Superintendent John Borman.D-38’s transportation costs are $2 million or about 6 percent of the district budget, officials have said. There are 46 bus routes, including 7 special need routes, that collectively log about 3,000 miles a day.

The board is expected to vote on the issue at its March meeting.

Read more: http://www.gazette.com/articles/bus-133669-students-thursday.html#ixzz1mgK3PNXk
 

 

Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day

 

Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day enters its second decade of outreach on February 23, 2012

CLICK HERE

 

For the past eleven years, women engineers have introduced more than one million girls and young women to engineering. More than just one day, Introduce a Girl to Engineering is a national movement that shows girls how creative and collaborative engineering is and how engineers are changing our world.

Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching

The National Science Foundation is currently accepting nominations and applications for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) program. PAEMST is the highest recognition that a kindergarten through 12th grade mathematics or science teacher may receive for outstanding teaching in the United States. Awards may be given to mathematics and science teachers in each state and U.S. jurisdiction. Up to 108 awardees may be recognized each year. Presidential awardees receive a certificate signed by the President of the United States, a trip for two to Washington DC to attend a series of recognition events and professional development opportunities, and a $10,000 award from the National Science Foundation. Awardees also join an active network of outstanding educators from throughout the Nation.Anyone–principals, teachers, parents, students, or members of the general public–may nominate a teacher by completing the nomination form available on the PAEMST website. To submit a nomination, you’ll need the teacher’s name, email address, and school contact information. If you know more than one teacher deserving of this award, you may submit more than one nomination. Teachers may also initiate the application process themselves at the PAEMST website.

Go to the PAEMST website

Top Ten Ways to Become a High-Performing System (Part One)

Hundreds of reforms are introduced into school systems around the country every year in curriculum pedagogy, governance, technology, and so on. Unfortunately, most fail to achieve the substantial improvements in student achievement that their advocates hoped for and, overall, U.S. educational performance has been flat for the past twenty years.

We now know that a number of other countries have gotten a lot better than us, accelerating educational improvement in a short time and on a large scale. Their success in improving hundreds of schools is inspiring. But what exactly has enabled them to raise their game and become global high performers? And are there lessons for U.S. schools?

To see the complete article click here.

Hickenlooper signs Colorado teacher tenure bill

The following article was published in the Colorado Springs Gazette.  To see the complete article click here.

 

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

DENVER — Gov. John Hickenlooper has signed a bill to implement new teacher tenure rules in Colorado.

The rules set up a four-tier rating system for teachers and principals. Teachers would have to get three consecutive “effective” ratings to receive employment protections, or tenure. Teachers who already have tenure would not lose that status unless they had two straight years of “ineffective” ratings.

Teachers would be evaluated on factors including student test scores. The evaluation standards will be tested in certain school districts next school year.

The bill that Hickenlooper signed Wednesday came after more than a year of work by teachers, parents, school board members and community advocates to develop the standards.

Read more: http://www.gazette.com/articles/hickenlooper-133559-signs-teacher.html#ixzz1mZQ4PqwW

 

Observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Day

The following article was posted on Ourtrilakesnews.com under the Opinions Heading. To see the complete letter, click here.

Since retiring from an administrative position with Lewis-Palmer School District 38, I really haven’t felt the need to question, comment, or discuss in public any actions taken by District 38.

But, after I learned that D-38 was observing MLK Day in the buildings and not releasing students or staff for the day as a holiday I felt it was necessary for me to share my thoughts on that decision.

 

Having been one of those who “built” the calendar for D-38 for several years I know how difficult it is to try to put together a schedule that meets the needs of everyone. However, to exclude MLK Day as a holiday worthy of releasing students and staff is to me a great disservice to the man and his message. I was unable to find any other district on the Front Range that did not release students and staff for this widely-recognized Federal Holiday.

Trust me, I know that few or none would have used the day off to actually travel to Memphis or Washington or Selma. I also know few would have rented films or read books about Dr. King. I am also sure that many teachers and others did an amazing “job” of teaching about Dr. King in the D-38 schools.

Then what is the point of this letter? Great Question! Simply stated … having the day off is not about going to a memorial or reading about Dr. King. It is about honoring a message of equity and equality. Just as Memorial Day is about honoring fallen service men and women. Just as Thanksgiving is about honoring family and giving thanks for all we have. Just as Labor Day honors workers and all they do. Just as President’s Day honors all of our Chief Executives and their service to the United States. Aren’t all or most holidays about honoring and reinforcing a message of some sort?

Dr. King’s Day is also about civil rights and civil liberties. It is about one person becoming the face for many. It is about being able to say that a person of color had a hand in changing this country for the better through a message of peace, love and understanding. It is about a message telling all children that their dreams can become a reality regardless of race, religion, gender, creed or ethnicity. As one minority child has shown, that dream can take you all the way to the Oval Office and become the President of the United States.

MLK Day is about honoring all of those men and women, minority and non-minority who marched, spoke, sang, prayed, wrote and died so that others could have THE DREAM that Dr. King preached about on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in a city that should and must represent the rights of all. Isn’t that the message that should be sent by having a “day off” for a national holiday honoring Dr. King?

When students have that day off from school to go skiing, shopping, to the movie or just to share some time with a parent, that child might stop and think “in D-38, we don’t just get a day off because of snow, we get a day off to honor a man who dreamed of a better world for his children and the children of others.” I would encourage the district to consider reinstating MLK Day as a released holiday (as it was in the past) and to continue using an outstanding faculty to teach about Dr. King’s message prior to the holiday release date.

Sincerely,

Ted L. Belteau

Monument