The Falcon District 49 Board of Education held its regularly scheduled meeting Feb. 9 and quickly moved through its agenda, unanimously approving all action items.Among the items approved: new course proposals for Vista Ridge and Falcon High schools; unified improvement plans for the Power Zone; revisions to primary/pre-primary education policies; revisions to weighted-grading policies; a memorandum of understanding for completion of the Falcon Community Builders for Classrooms at VRHS; and the annual vote on e-rate eligible service providers.Board President Tammy Harold presented information on the boardís decision to hire an independent investigator. ìThe Board of Education has solicited the services of a highly qualified independent investigator to review certain confidential student discipline matters and related records,î Harold said. ìThe board will provide no further comment regarding matters pertaining to individual students or to specific disciplinary matters.îT.E.A.M. PresentationIn Becky Carter’s absence, Don Begier of the executive office of education services presented information on the Teach Evaluate and Mentor (T.E.A.M) teaching program. Begier said the T.E.A.M positions act as ìinstructional coaches.î He said, ìThese positions provide expert instruction modeling for and co-teaching with teachers to show how it (teaching) works.î Last year, the district had nine instructional coaches; now it has three T.E.A.M members to replace the coaches.Begier said while there are sometimes conflicts between T.E.A.M coaches and senior teachers, the program is meant to encourage teachers. ìIt’s about being a resource for a teacher who wants to get some more knowledge,î said Catherine Tinucci, principal at Skyview Middle School.Sand Creek Innovation Zone leader Sean Dorsey said, ìThis (T.E.A.M.) is the best way to go. I plead for you to keep these positions and add more in the future.îStaffing breakdownBegier and Brett Ridgway, chief business officer, presented information on the districtís staffing structure. They addressed concerns that the ratio of support staff to teachers isn’t balanced, specifically after the transition to the Innovation Zone organization.One concern is that the district might have made too many cuts in both areas. Support staff is rebounding, but the teacher area isn’t. ìWe’re still calibrating. Weíre trying to figure out where we need to put the support and get the biggest bang for our buck,î Begier said.BOE Vice President Joan Johnson noted that, according to the previous board’s decision, Innovation Zones weren’t allowed to add new staff without approval of the board. ìWe need to be cautious that we don’t continue to grow at the cost of having teachers in the classroom,î Johnson said.ìWe need more teachers and we need them at the secondary level, especially,î said Bob Felice, Power Zone Innovation leader. ìInnovation Zones were purposeful risks but we’re confident that we made the right choice.îOther discussion itemsThe board discussed revisions to graduation requirements. The Innovation Zones currently don’t require the same amount of credits to graduate because of different class formats, which is an issue, Johnson said. ìI’m concerned that one child will be penalized if they move from one zone to another,î she said.ìThere are pros and cons to the different class formats but allowing parents to choose which format works for their kid is what the Innovation Zones are all about,î said Christopher Wright, board director. The item was moved to an action item for March.The board also discussed necessary revisions to the district wellness policy, which would bring the district in line with state standards; revisions to district staff policies; and new course adoption at Sand Creek High School. The items were all moved to action items for future meetings.Other district newsStudents from SCHS and VRHS are teaming up to form a unified Color Guard. They will compete at local, state and national levels.
