News from Sheridan
School District No. 2Contact: Mark Stevens
[email protected]
303-495-8699 (mobile) • 720-328-5488 (office)
News Release
Feb. 13, 2019
Fort Logan Northgate
School in the Spotlight
Fort Logan Northgate School recognized its Middle School
Leadership Class, noted the
contributions of two key staff members, and highlighted
signs of progress in schoolwide reading
and mathematics achievement at the Sheridan Board of
Education meeting Tuesday, Feb. 12.
Assistant principal Beth Joswick praised the school’s ongoing partnership with the Institute for
Environmental Solutions, which has yielded a sustained
landscaping project on the northeast
corner of S. Irving St. and W. Quincy Ave. The students in the
Leadership Class have planted
trees and shrubs, worked on flood water mitigation, and
studied erosion control techniques.
Principal Nelson VanVranken recognized the commitment and
dedication of fourth-grade
teacher Michael Taglienti and health/attendance clerk
Natashia Cordero. VanVranken noted
that both are bilingual speakers and both “really work to connect with our families.”
VanVranken said Cordero “is always very patient and welcoming” with visiting parents and
community members.
Superintendent Pat Sandos lauded third-year teacher
Taglienti for his hard work and
dedication. “You are an excellent teacher,” said Superintendent Sandos. “Your relationships
with kids are incredible.” Taglienti is leaving Fort Logan Northgate after this school year with
plans to head to medical school.
Looking at academics, assistant principal Joswick presented
data indicating strong growth in
reading and mathematics scores since the beginning of the
school year. The data indicates
many more students are moving closer to grade-level work.
Fort Logan Northgate School moved to a new, rigorous reading
program and has worked for
years in partnership with the University of Colorado Denver
to improve mathematics
instruction. “In my nine years in Sheridan, this is the most exciting math data I’ve seen,” said
Joswick.
VanVranken said the focus schoolwide is on boosting student expression, both conversation
and writing, in all content areas. The school is seeking to
increase student-led learning, raise the
bar on the level of rigor being taught, and set an expectation that students “own” the cognitive
load.
Students should produce 80 percent of the conversation in a
thriving classroom, said
VanVranken, and too often it’s the teachers who are doing 80 percent of the talking. “The one
doing the talking is the one doing the learning,” said VanVranken.
Superintendent Sandos said the school’s “hard work” is starting to “bear fruit” and
congratulated the school on the steady progress.
Instructional Support
Assistants
Blanche Kapushion, Director of Student Achievement, said
that 14 out of 15 Instructional
Support Assistants (ISAs) have been hired and 12 of those
have already been trained and placed
in schools to work alongside classroom teachers in
kindergarten through third grade.
The addition of ISAs was made possible through the successful approval of the district’s mill
levy ballot proposal last November. “These are fourteen top-notch, high-quality people doing
this work,” she said.
Kapushion said a candidate for the 15th ISA is being
interviewed this week. All incoming ISAs
received two weeks of professional development before
starting classroom work.
Kapushion thanked district staff for the “seamless” hiring process. “It was a total team effort
and we are off and running,” she said.
Financial Audit
Chief Financial Officer Kristen Colonell told the board that
the financial audit is complete and
submitted to all the appropriate state agencies. Colonell
thanked the business office staff for
their work during the two-week process. The audit resulted in an “unqualified opinion,” which
means that the district’s financial records are being presented in an appropriate and fair
manner.
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