News from Sheridan School
District No. 2
Contact: Mark Stevens
[email protected]
303-495-8699 (mobile)
News Release
Jan. 15, 2020
Sheridan High School Spotlights
Positive Trends
Sheridan High School leadership
shined a spotlight on students, staff, new programs, and positive trends with
attendance and achievement at the Sheridan Board of Education meeting this
week.
Sheridan High School principal
German Echevarria introduced students Gerardo Avellande Santana and Emilze
Lopez as examples of students who are active in school, engaged in a wide
variety of school activities and programs, and who take pride in their
learning.
High school attendance was
above 92 percent during the first semester, said Echevarria. That’s a 2 percent
increase over the year before. Echevarria credited the “strong relationship”
teachers have with students and he praised parents, too. “I have never worked
in a building or district that had this kind of attendance,” he said. “Kudos to
the families that instill this in the students.”
Behavior data has improved too,
he said, and that’s likely attributable to a school-wide “reset” around student
expectations. Both in-school and out-of-school suspensions are down.
In addition, fewer students are
failing courses. Only 18 percent of students received one or more grades of F
last semester. The school is working to lower that to 10 percent or less. The
number of students on Individualized Education Plans who received an F grade
has dropped by 50 percent, he said.
Forty-two new students were
inducted into the National Honor Society this fall, added Echevarria, and there
was a 70 percent decrease in the number of students who were ineligible for
athletics due to not meeting academic benchmarks.
The school is emphasizing its
“re-teach” efforts, particularly in mathematics, for students who are not on
grade level.
Sheridan High School provides
credit recovery program (30 students are enrolled), supports concurrent
enrollment at Arapahoe Community College (29 students last semester), and
offers courses via an online Virtual Academy, too. Sixty percent of this year’s
seniors have already been accepted to a two- or four-year college.
Principal Echevarria noted that
major changes are coming for students who will need to meet new graduation
requirements, including a menu of college and career-ready demonstrations,
beginning with the Class of 2021. He also spotlighted the work of teacher Kelly
Landgraf for her work in helping students prepare for the graduation changes
through re-teach efforts, Capstone projects, National Honor Society, and more.
Superintendent Pat Sandos
lauded high school leadership for “building a culture of high expectations”
among all students.
Junior Gerardo Avellande
Santana also provided the board with a detailed overview of his efforts to
implement a mentor program to help all students “develop character and
confidence” and become successful in high school.
School Board Recognition
Superintendent Sandos read a
proclamation from Colorado Gov. Jared Polis declaring January as School Board
Recognition Month. Superintendent Sandos also praised the five members of the
Sheridan Board for their hard work, on all on a volunteer basis, and focus on
student needs. “You are by far the most kid-centered, kid-focused board members
I have ever met,” he said. “We just can’t thank you enough.”
School-Based Budgeting
Chief Financial Officer
Elizabeth Duncan presented the board with her plans to improve the process of
school-based budgeting. She said the work will lead to a process that is “more
clear, more documented, more consistent” and puts the business office in partnership
with schools to analyze what’s working. The plan, she said, is designed to link
resources to goals. School district offices will be subject to the same
scrutiny, she said. “Our ultimate goal is to be good stewards of taxpayer
dollars,” she said.
Additional Notes:
- Christine Muldoon,
Director of Equity, Language and Culture, discussed the district’s efforts
to support the U.S. Census. She emphasized the importance of an accurate
count for the community of Sheridan and the state to ensure all citizens
have adequate, appropriate representation in the political process and
receive their share of federal resources, too. Individual schools will
support the census process, too. The process begins in March.
- Chief Academic Officer
Shirley Miles outlined the District Advisory and Accountability
Committee’s “Culture Day” on Thursday, Jan. 23 at Sheridan High School
featuring posters, dancing, mixed martial arts, and food to celebrate and
honor the district’s diversity.
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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