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Board of Education Recap August 16th, 2019
News from Sheridan School District No. 2

Contact: Mark Stevens

[email protected]

303-495-8699 (mobile) • 720-328-5488 (office)

 

News Release


August 16, 2019


Spotlight on Sheridan High School at Board Meeting Tuesday, Aug. 13


Sheridan High School co-principals Eileen Doolan and German Echevarria provided an overview of the school’s initiatives and challenges during the Sheridan Board of Education meeting this week (Aug. 13.)

 

The co-principals’ presentation included recognition for Advanced Placement (AP) Spanish teacher Christen Rogers de Reyes and eleven AP student “stars” in her class. 


“Every student can learn and can reach their full potential,” said Doolan. She emphasized the importance of setting defined outcomes for students and for staff members to hold themselves accountable for student learning. 


Echevarria presented the school’s six school beliefs. Among them: “We believe that in order for students to be successful, they must advocate for themselves by seeking help and clarity from adults and/or peers.” Also, “We view students’ challenges and failures as opportunities to improve learning and skills.”


Echevarria presented school demographic and academic performance data, drawing attention to the results on the SAT. The college entrance exam is a “huge gatekeeper” for students, he said, and even students who are not necessarily college bound need solid scores. “The SAT will allow them to have as many doors open for them as possible after they leave Sheridan, he added.


A student who first goes to work in a trade, said Echevarria, might later decide to go back to school and will need a solid SAT score to give them as many choices as possible.  Echevarria said the school is concerned about recent declines in Sheridan High School’s average SAT scores and is working to bring the scores up to benchmarks that indicate college and career readiness.


“We can talk about the data and look at the lack of growth, but we have to look at how we refine our focus to make changes as quickly as possible,” said Echevarria, adding that the school will ensure each classroom establishes daily learning targets and demonstrations of learning for students.


The key, he said, is for each teacher to understand “who got it, who didn’t, and who is almost there—and then how you refine your instruction for the next day.”


The core of all the work, he added, is trust and strong relationships between teachers and students. “Students won’t take risks without good relationships,” he said. “I am really committed to making sure we have high expectations, but you also have to provide high support. You can’t say ‘here’s the bar, good luck.’”


Doolan lauded the excellent staff at Sheridan High School and the availability of an additional “academic engagement tutor” who helps students with additional instructional support and with keeping them on task. The school also offers an increasing number of online courses through a Virtual Academy. Doolan added that teachers are supported through regular observations.


Superintendent Pat Sandos thanked the school leaders for their work and focus and for purposeful work to reach students who are below grade level on mathematics and language arts.


Sheridan High School Athletics – History

Roger Rowland, secretary/treasurer of the Sheridan Historical Society, presented a report and research on the history of athletics at Sheridan High School. He urged hiring the most talented coaches and maintaining consistency in the staff from year to year. The entire 66-page report is online here.


School Year Start

Superintendent Sandos said he visited every classroom in the district on the opening day of classes (Aug. 13) with Chief Academic Officer Shirley Miles. “There is a lot of enthusiasm with the administrators and the teachers,” said Sandos. “A great start, I felt.”


Colorado Association of School Executives

All Sheridan administrators attended the late July annual CASE (Colorado Association of School Executives) conference in Breckenridge and that “allowed staff to build relationships with each other and build relationships around the state,” said Superintendent Sandos. “It was great learning time for all of us.”


Online Registration

Superintendent Sandos thanked Stephanie Wright for organizing and running the district’s first attempt at online registration this year. It was nice for families to be able to go to one location for all students, “Everybody just jumped in and did what they could to support it,” he said. Wright had a list of things she would like to implement to improve the process to help it run more smoothly, he said, next year.


Consent Agenda

All consent agenda items, including a renewed contract for Superintendent Sandos, 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

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