D 49 Board of Education meeting wrap-up
By Deb Risden
The El Paso County School District 49 Board of Education held its monthly meeting Nov. 6. All board members were present, except Debra Schmidt. Kayla Maldonado, internal communications manager, presented the Fantastic 49 recipients. The following were recognized:
- Kadie Murray, kindergarten teacher at Bennett Ranch Elementary School, for her work helping students with learning challenges and supporting all students and her colleagues
- Sarah Luce, math teacher at Vista Ridge High School, for her work in rolling out Wolf Time, an intervention period aimed at making sure no student falls through the cracks, as well as how she interacts as a leader among her peers
Superintendent’s update
Peter Hilts, superintendent, said mid-year testing is getting underway. He said the results will be available around the first of the new year, showing growth and achievement levels from the beginning to the middle of the year. Hilts reported he has finished all school performance meetings and is now working on department performance framework meetings, where he meets with the leaders of every department. He said he is also kicking off the annual Voice of the Workforce learning tour, during which he and a cabinet member meet with every department at every school between now and the BOE’s annual planning summit in February. He said the district’s strategic objective of improving student writing skills is beginning to show improvement.
Student Board of Representatives’ update
Avery Romney, Vista Ridge High School student, said the SBOR held a leadership conference a couple weeks ago. She said it was valuable to have the opportunity to get together as a board to interact with others and talk about what is happening with the other schools.
Lily Payne, Vista Ridge High School student, reported that the school’s show choir recently competed in Nebraska, the first time one of the school’s choirs has been to a national competition in many years; they won in two categories.
Board update
Lori Thompson, president, attended the second annual State of the District where guest speakers included Colorado Springs mayor, Yemi Mobolade. She attended the SBOR meeting and learned about the group’s recent planning summit. She commented on the high level of participation in membership and encouraged representation from different schools at the BOE meetings.
Jamilynn D’Avola, vice president, attended a training at Harrison School District 2 on the language rich classroom. She said the focus was on how to integrate language into all subjects and ensure that English language learners from different backgrounds are helped with English studies. D’Avola attended the recent district accountability advisory committee meeting. She said Rebekah Brooks, D 49’s chief financial officer, was the guest speaker and explained the district’s finances in an easy-to-understand format.
Marie LaVere-Wright, secretary, said the Falcon Education Foundation has distributed the teacher grants for 2025. She said the teachers will be formally recognized at the December BOE meeting. She gave an example of one of the grants for a high school math program, which incorporates hands-on learning activities in the classroom.
Mike Heil, treasurer, attended the State of the District event that focused on building partnerships for schools. He said COSILoveYou representatives attended and discussed bringing community organizations and groups together and holding listening sessions with school principals to learn what is needed. Heil learned that students at Falcon Elementary School would be getting a new coat through one of the partnerships. Heil attended the DAAC (district accountability advisory committee) meeting and commented that the changes made with subcommittee meetings has been positive and is bringing new energy into the meetings.
Action items
The BOE unanimously approved the following:
- New Course Requests — HSED/GED courses for the online expulsion program
- Resolution for American Education Week Nov. 10-14
- Policy and procedure review
Passed by a majority vote of 4:1:
- Mountain View Academy charter renewal for five years, with minimal conditions
Discussion items
Brytni Brennan, coordinator of charter school relations, provided the annual performance reviews for charter schools, as required by Colorado law. Brennan said the charter schools are evaluated in academics, finance, operations and governance. All D 49 charter schools are in good standing. Some notable mentions were GOAL Academy’s achievement of its highest school performance framework scores to-date; Pikes Peak School of Expeditionary Learning’s state average ratings; Pioneer Technology & Arts Academy earned its second highest performance levels to date after significant progress. Needing improvement is Mountain View Academy for declines in academic achievement and James Irwin Elementary, a newer school that is expected to show improvement in its second year of operation. Overall, Brennan said all schools show strong collaboration with the district.
David Nancarrow, director of communications, provided a communications department performance report for the months of June through October. Nancarrow said the report indicates upward trends in activity in the digital space. He said other notable accomplishments included developing and producing a Peakview all-staff event at Sand Creek High School, the creation of a video about bus drivers and their commitment to safety and publishing 40 stories during a weeklong push for back-to-school coverage. He said the department worked on the second annual State of the District event that acknowledged schools are foundational to the communities they serve. The department is working on a new issue of Discover D49: The Magazine, 49 Voices podcasts and employee of the year communication pieces.
Hilts said the district is moving forward with the relocation of Falcon Elementary School to the Bennet Ranch Elementary campus. He said the move is prompted by plans to expand Highway 24, which would cause the loss of safe carpool space. He said the plan includes office expansion and other program relocations. Funding will come from developer fees in lieu of land. He said the transportation and nutrition departments are working with the schools for a smooth transition of services. He said preschool spaces are highly regulated, such as requiring appropriate access to restrooms, water and decibel requirements. Hilts said it appears the previous locker rooms at Falcon Middle School will be a good place to convert to a preschool, as it includes infrastructure needed. He said the district is working hard to be smart and cost efficient and this type of conversion is an example of good brainstorming to find solutions. Hilts said they are on track for completion late summer/early fall of next year.
The next regular meeting of the BOE is Dec. 4 at 6:30 p.m. in the Peakview Hall at the Creekside Success Center in Colorado Springs.
