All members of the El Paso County Colorado School District 49 Board of Education were present except for Marie LaVere-Wright, president, and Joshua Frey, director, who were both absent with prior notice.Before the regular meeting, the BOE held a ìFantastic 49î event and recognized the Teacher of the Year selection from 17 schools: Laura Anderson, Meridian Ranch Elementary School; Jennifer Aubain, Springs Studio for Academic Excellence; Susan Beiner, Springs Ranch Elementary School; Layne Cerrone, Evans International Elementary School; Teresa Hinote, Academy for Literacy, Learning and Innovation Excellence; Sheila Kelly, Odyssey Elementary School; Karen Leonhardt, Horizon Middle School; Tami Lupton, Woodmen Hills Elementary School; Lori McCoy, Remington Elementary School; Lura Moore, Skyview Middle School; Nathan Pearsall, Vista Ridge High School; David Ritz, Stetson Elementary School; Adrianna Ryland, Pikes Peak Early College; Tim Scheck, Falcon Middle School; Katie Stafford, Ridgeview Elementary School; and Nathan Wood, Sand Creek High School.Each Teacher of the Year winner will compete for the state-level Teacher of the Year award, which will be announced in late 2018.Chief officersí updatePeter Hilts, chief education officer, said he and a team of D 49 staff trained 50 staff members in Ellicott School District 22 on restorative practices.Pedro Almeida, chief operations officer, said ALLIES and Bennett Ranch Elementary School are both fully up and running. ìThe beginning of the school year had lots of big transitions and the team is doing a superb job across the district,î he said.Action itemsThe board unanimously approved the following:
- Appointment of John Graham, vice president, as the BOE representative to attend the Colorado Association of School Boards delegate assembly
- Opening of an account with Ameriprise Financial Services Inc., for the sole purpose of receiving an estate donation and closing the account once all related transactions have occurred
- A resolution to revise certain waivers from Colorado Statutes to address the Colorado Department of Educationís denial of Liberty Tree Academy charter schoolís application
- A safety and security specialist position and a senior safety and security specialist position to allow a specialist for each zone
Discussion itemsLou Fletcher, culture and services director, said the Kidsí Corner program has changed its name to Before and After School Expeditions 49, or BASE49.Matt Willhelm, project manager with Wember Inc., updated the board on the districtís 3B project list. He said construction at VRHS is on schedule for completion on Sept. 7; lightning has caused some delays at the Vista del Pico elementary school site, but construction is still on schedule for completion in June 2019.Willhelm said secure entries at all schools are complete and the turf on the SCHS football field will be completed before the first football game.Dave Watson, director of safety and security, provided an update on his teamís operations and said the Safe2Tell program has received reports now that school is back in session. ìAlmost 40 percent of the reports are mental-health related,î he said. ìLast year, we saved four students in the act of self-harm or a suicide attempt.î The increase D 49 has seen is consistent with other districts across Colorado Springs and the state, Watson said.The safety and security team has also created an enhanced security community advisory team, which consists of about 40 volunteers from the district, he said. The ESCAT team includes district leaders, teachers and parents who will discuss how to improve the districtís security postures, Watson said.Dave Pratt, safety and security specialist, said the security team had three full days of training, done within the framework of restorative practices that included input from two SCHS students. ìIt was real and honest and they held us accountable,î he said. ìWe got a lot of clarity about what they are dealing with.îBrett Ridgway, chief business officer, presented information on the proposed ballot initiative and said the ballot language makes it difficult for residents in the district to relate to the current situation in D 49. The D 49 communications team put together a survey; and, using that data, they generated a list of frequently asked questions to post online to help address concerns from the community, he said.Peter Hilts, chief education officer, discussed the proposed minor revisions to policies on the evaluation of chief officers. The board moved this item to an action item at the next regular meeting.Hilts also presented the parameters for future Mission Innovation proposals and said those proposals will be solicited by the districtís administration. Of the proposals submitted, the administration will select a few to support and present to the board, he said. Each proposal should include a minimum resource amount of $50,000 or require one full-time equivalent position, specific innovation and transformation stages and a principal or director statement of support, Hilts said.ìThe adjustments to the Mission Innovation program are intended to encourage district staff to think big and come up with potentially transformative ideas,î he said. The administration plans to implement the new parameters for the program this school year, Hilts said.Graham said the CASB delegate assembly will take place in October, and the district has to decide whether to keep pushing for previous resolutions they would like to have approved again this year, or bring new ones to the table. He requested additional input from faculty and staff by Aug. 31.The next regular meeting of the BOE is Sept. 13 at 6:30 p.m. in the board room at the D 49 Education Services Center.
