The month of April has flown by, and we are already finalizing graduation plans for our senior students. For the first time, Falcon School District 49 will be holding three graduation ceremonies: Falcon High, Sand Creek High and Vista Ridge High, which is celebrating its inaugural senior class. I have had the privilege of recognizing some of our outstanding seniors this week at the 3.75 receptions. I am always impressed with the hard work of our students and staff.I am working at length with district leaders as we prepare the budget for next year. I have met with CEO Becky Carter, our Innovation leaders and some of the board members to prioritize our needs as we anticipate a significant cut in funding from the state. We will continue to work to communicate with our staff and community as we make difficult decisions in an effort to direct resources where they will have the biggest impact on our students’ success.The Sand Creek Innovation Zone will be reconvening its Innovation Assembly to prioritize ideas generated during the convention in March. Innovation leader Sean Dorsey will be bringing the zone together to host a community advisory board meeting on Wednesday, May 4 at 6 p.m. at Sand Creek High School. Businesses from the Powers Boulevard area have been invited and will learn more about the innovation plan and will be asked to show their support.In the Vista Ridge Zone, Innovation leader Bob Felice is working with leaders within all of the schools to look at the programs they will focus on within the zone to meet their ultimate goal of positively impacting student achievement. The zone is also considering candidates for a critical leadership position. The coordinator of curriculum, instruction and assessment coordinator will develop K-12 curriculum alignment and help to define the zone’s identity.Innovation leader Mark Carara met with all of the principals in the Falcon Innovation Zone this week to discuss specific innovation proposals for next year. Building and zone-wide proposals are currently being considered, and principals will continue discussions with their staff members over the next three weeks. The next Falcon innovation assembly will be held at Woodmen Hills Elementary May 16 at 6 p.m. The zone is also discussing staffing plans for the 2011-12 school year.The School Choice/Options Zone has been meeting with leaders at Falcon Virtual Academy and Patriot Learning Center to establish staffing plans and look at priorities and possibilities within these schools for next year. Innovation leader Kim McClelland met with each school to begin the dialogue around drafting school-specific innovation plans. Kim is also reaching out to administrators at our charter schools to discuss the needs of the charter community. In addition, the Choice/Options Zone is hosting summer school this year, and additional information is now available on the D 49 Web site.Our district works to be as efficient and effective as possible with our resources, while meeting the needs of every learner in each of our schools. We recently wrapped up an external audit of our Special Education Department. That audit report is available on our district Web site under the Special Education page.The final month of the school year will be packed with activity, and I look forward to working with our community to continue supporting our students in a successful end to the school year.
