News from Sheridan School District No. 2
Contact: Mark Stevens
[email protected]
303-495-8699 (mobile)
News Release
Feb. 13, 2020
Sheridan High School Students Celebrated
The Sheridan Board of Education and a packed meeting room of
parents and community members celebrated four Sheridan High School students at
the board meeting this week—two students who finished at the top of a statewide
essay contest and two who are semifinalists for major scholarship
opportunities.
Gerardo Avellaneda Santana finished first place in the
Colorado Association of Bilingual Education’s essay contest among 112 entries
from around Colorado; Sorwath Sherzad finished third. Both Santana and Sherzad
read their moving essays aloud. Sherzad wrote that her life “completely
changed” after learning a second language. At first, she said, she “sat alone,
ate alone” but became a “completely new person” after learning English. “I can
communicate with whoever I want,” she said.
Santana, reading in both English and Spanish, discussed his
struggles with “language identity” but soon grew to understand that
“bilingualism is a blessing and not a curse.” Santana said he is “ready to
demonstrate to the nation” that bilingualism is a strength. “You may say I’m a
dreamer,” he said, invoking a bit of John Lennon, “but I’m not the only one.”
Sheridan High School principal German Echevarria said the
school is “extremely honored” to have students like Sherzad and Santana.
Whether they go on to the workplace or college, he added, being bilingual “is a
resource no one can ever take away.” Echevarria said the top finishes in the
essay contest are “a testament to their hard work, their commitment to their
education, to their families, and to the faculty and staff.”
Echevarria and board members also celebrated Amanda Dinh, a
semifinalist for the Daniels Fund Scholarship and Gabrielle Marcojos, a
semifinalist for the Boettcher Scholarship. Both scholarship programs are highly
competitive. Daniels Scholarship recipients are selected for their strength of
character, leadership potential, commitment to serving their communities,
academic performance or promise, well-rounded personality, and emotional
maturity and
stability. Daniels Scholars are supported financially in
attending any four-year college in the United States. Boettcher Scholarship
recipients are provided with full-ride tuition to any accredited four-year
college in the state.
Superintendent Pat Sandos lauded the parents. “They are up
here because you are out there supporting them,” he said. “That is an
incredible group of young people and to watch them, listen them, and see their
leadership makes my day. We are chock full of great leaders.”
Fort Logan Northgate School—In The Spotlight
Fort Logan Northgate School principal Bill Blandón also
highlighted high-achieving students as part of his update for the board about
progress at the school. Blandón said 60 students across all grade levels (grade
three through eight) earned straight A’s and maintained a 4.0 grade average in
the first semester.
Students Alivia Ruybalid (third grade), Sophia Martinez
Barrientos (fourth grade), Anthony Nguyen (fifth grade), Emario Garcia (sixth
grade), Naiomi Tafoya and Joshua Vigil (both seventh grade) and Leo Chamu
(eighth grade) were selected to represent those 60 students.
Blandón also saluted the contributions from teachers Kloe
Cauble, Chad Moravec, and Ken White for their work on the school’s
instructional leadership team and for their work on the mathematics
collaboration with the University of Colorado Denver.
Reviewing Fort Logan Northgate School data, Blandón noted a
broad increase in students who are on grade level in reading and mathematics along
with a reduction of students in the bottom tier. Blandón credited the work of
Instructional Support Assistants and the instructional leadership team for its
efforts analyzing data and defining the needed professional development of
teachers.
Blandón said attendance is up but the school is dealing with
an increase in students who are given out-of-school suspensions. Fort Logan
Northgate School is going through a “discipline reset,” he said, to improve
school climate and to reduce bullying. Out of school suspensions don’t help
with achievement. “If our kids are not in the classroom, they are not going to
be learning and they are not going to be improving,” said Blandón, who was
joined by assistant principals Cori Canty and Margaret Peña Stanley.
Changes at the school include expanded library hours,
enrollment of 15 students in the AVID program, Spanish language classes in all
grade levels, and shorter passing periods for grades six, seven, and eight. The
shorter passing periods means 10 more minutes of instruction every day.
The school, said Stanley, is working on the improved
implementation of the Positive Behavior Intervention Support program and
improving parent and community communication.
The discipline discussion prompted board member Sally Daigle
to press for more details on how to improve school climate. She urged staff to
look for “root causes” to the trend.
Superintendent Pat Sandos said the school is “doing the
right work” and re-examining all its approaches to improving school safety and
climate. “Building culture takes time,” he said.
Additional Notes
Superintendent Sandos also provided a brief recap of the
Colorado Association of School Executives conference, which was shortened by a
day due to weather, and said the district is monitoring proposals in the
Colorado state legislature regarding Early Childhood Education and school
funding.
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
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