News from Sheridan
School District No. 2
Contact: Mark Stevens
[email protected]
303-495-8699 (mobile) • 720-328-5488 (office)
News Release
March 14, 2019
Alice Terry
Elementary School Highlights Progress in Reading, Mathematics; Students and
Staff Recognized
Alice Terry Elementary School principal Diego Romero gave
the Sheridan Board of Education a
glimpse of academic progress and also lauded three students,
three teachers, and his food
service staff.
“We are all there for the same reason,” said Romero. “Our
students come first no matter
what—no excuses.”
Second grade teacher Ashleigh Elsner, said Romero, runs a
“warm and inclusive classroom
environment” and has not missed one day of school.
Kindergarten teacher Stacy Waechter has
dedicated herself to Sheridan students for 29 years, he
said, and willingly mentors and supports
her colleagues.
And special education teacher Kathy North, said Romero, has
built strong community
partnerships and has organized an ongoing food drive that
delivers food weekly to 28 needy
families, in collaboration with St. James Presbyterian
Church.
Food service staff members Nancy Bottlemy, Penny Deden, and
Michelle Nevarez were
recognized for “working together in harmony” with the
school. They create meals from scratch,
said Romero, and create menu items to match instruction
themes (such as “Dinosaur Toast”).
Kindergartner Ava Huff was recognized for her strong reading
skills, for counting up to 200, and
for being a “born leader.” And both first grader Jose
Mosqueda Paramo and second-grader
Michelle Macias Montoya were recognized for being strong
readers and overall excellent
students.
Romero shared data reflecting progress from the beginning of
the year as well. For instance,
the number of kindergarteners reading on grade level has
grown from 3 percent at the
beginning of the year to 30 percent now. And in math, the
number of kindergarteners on grade
level has grown from 3 percent at the beginning of the
school year to 43 percent today.
The number of students more than two years behind grade
level in both reading and
mathematics has dropped dramatically across all three grade
levels served at Alice Terry
(kindergarten through second-grade).
Romero told the board that the recent addition of
Instructional Support Assistants has been a
big support in terms of being able to deliver “very
targeted” instruction to both students who
are behind and strong performers, too.
Superintendent Pat Sandos praised the school for its
progress. He noted the “caring and
compassionate” school environment and thanked the food
service staff for their “extra touch”
in supporting student work.
District
Accountability and Advisory Council
District Accountability and Advisory Council (DAAC) chairman
Adrian Vigil, who is a teacher at
Alice Terry Elementary School, provided an overview of the
group’s work this year, which has
been focused on increasing enrollment.
The District Advisory and Accountability Committee (DAAC)
represents a cross-section of
parents, district staff, and the community. It serves only
in an advisory capacity to the Sheridan
Board of Education.
Vigil recapped various efforts to improve “social
connections” in the community through
carnivals, games, movie nights, and family nights. He noted
that DAAC recently held a “Chili ‘n
Chat” at Sheridan High School to gather community and parent
ideas. Parent classes have been
held to support parent understanding of technology, reading
and math strategies, and Infinite
Campus.
Vigil said the DAAC is intent on “celebrating the culture of
learning” and is working on extension
and enrichment activities with Sheridan High School and
nearby Mullen High School, too.
DAAC will return to a school board meeting in May with an
additional update.
Online Registration
Superintendent Sandos briefed the board on efforts to shift
to an online student registration
process. Testing of the system is underway, he said, and it
will be implemented later this year in
time for the 2019-2020 school year registration process.
Beyond Textbooks
Chief Academic Officer Shirley Miles briefed the board on a
recent trip to Arizona with Sheridan
staff to see Beyond Textbooks in action, in schools where
the program has been fully integrated
in classrooms. Beyond Textbooks involves a philosophy of
planning, teaching, and sharing
among teachers. It also ensures that teachers are keeping
students on track and on pace with
what Colorado state standards expect students to learn.
Miles said Sheridan staff “are on a good path” to improve
the rigor, including work on the “reteach” and “enrichment” strands of the
Beyond Textbooks program. Miles told the board that,
at the urging of Superintendent Sandos, the implementation
of Beyond Textbooks will focus
this year on a few key elements, such as posting learning
targets and Demonstrations of
Learning (DOL) expectations, with new elements being added
next year.
Safety Grants
Chief Operations Officer Cyndi Wright provided the board
with an overview of two grants that
the district recently received to improve school safety and
security. The grants will provide a
multitude of items including new public address systems in
Alice Terry, SOAR Academy, Early
Childhood Center and Sheridan High School; improved key-card
access systems at all front
doors; improved visitor management badging; improved cell
phone coverage; window
replacements; and radio interoperability.
Wright also announced installation of LED lighting for all
buildings, both interior and exterior,
and the stadium lights as well. The lighting has a 10-year
warranty and the investment will pay
for itself, in electrical savings, in 2.6 years.
Delayed Start
Superintendent Sandos also outlined new “Delayed Start”
procedures that will be used when
weather is bad—but not bad enough to declare a full “Snow
Day” or other weather-related
closure. The delayed start will mean that schools will start
90 minutes later than a normal
school day and buses will run their routes 90 minutes later
than normal. When a delayed start
is declared, parents will be notified by automatic email or
telephone message and
announcements will be posted on the district webpage and on
social media, too.
Consent Agenda
All consent agenda items were approved.
About Sheridan School
District 2
Located southwest of Denver, Sheridan School District 2
seeks high-level post-secondary
options for all students through continuous improvement of
quality instruction. More:
www.ssd2.org
#