The Falcon School District 49 Board of Education held its regular meeting Aug. 9.The Colorado Department of Education has approved two more Innovation Plans: Evans International Elementary School and Remington Elementary School.District 49 parent Mark MacKenzie presented the Falcon Education Foundation with a $500 donation. ìThe education delivery my children have received is excellent here, from the top down and the bottom up,î MacKenzie said. ìI want to say thank you.îThe board unanimously approved reauthorization of the Pikes Peak Board of Cooperative Education Services contracts, which include an audiologist, occupational therapist assistants, a vision specialist and deaf and hard-of-hearing program teachers and interpreters.The Pre-K 21 Century Skills/STEM coordinator job in the Power Zone was also approved. The position is charged with overseeing the growth, support and collaboration of the 21st century skills focus and STEM curriculum in that zone. The Power Zone will fund the position.The board approved a contract for charter oversight services through Charter School Solutions. The contract will ensure that district charter schools are managed according to new standards adopted by the BOE, said Kim McClelland, iConnect Zone leader. Denise Mund, owner of Charter School Solutions, presented information about the company and the benefits of the contract. Mund is a former Colorado Department of Education director who managed the Schools of Choice unit.The total cost for Charter School Solutionís services will not exceed $80,000 for the 2012-2013 school year, and a portion of the fees will be covered by each charter school, she said.Sean Dorsey, Sand Creek Zoneís innovation leader, proposed a change to the entire zones 2012-2013 calendar year. The change would shift two half days (Oct. 12 and Feb. 8) to full days off; make Nov. 30 a student in-session day, rather than a staff development day; and designate May 3 as an assessment day in exchange for students in session on April 26. Dorsey said, under this proposed change, the amount of contact between teachers and students would remain the same. It will provide more time for parent/teacher conferences at the elementary and middle schools, and provide an assessment day for elementary schools. This item was moved to an action item for a future meeting.The board discussed adopting an iPad authorization use agreement for schools in the Power Zone participating in the One to One Technology Initiative. Currently, 270 students have access to iPads to use during specific classes.Mike Pickering, professional development administrator, said, ìWe want to be able to send the iPads home with the students and we canít currently do that.î The agreement is needed to protect the districtís interests, while allowing students access to an educational tool. The item was moved to an action item for a future meeting.The next regular board meeting is Sept. 13 at 6:30 p.m.
