AHS Weekly Update- Week of March 28th, 2011

There’s so much happening at Animas High School and our students are focused on a strong finish to the 2010-11 school year! Please take a moment to review the following updates:

SLCs this Week
Flower Power
Safe Driving Class
Spring Sports Swap
AHS Online

SLCs this Week
Student Led Conferences are this Wednesday from 4 to 6:30 PM. Students have scheduled the exact time for conferences in their Humanities classes. Parents/guardians, please note the refinements to our SLC rubric which include an assessment piece on professional dress and a place to sign up for follow-up meetings with teachers. We look forward to seeing you at SLCs!

Flower Power
Animas High School is holding its annual Flower Power Fundraiser until April 8. Flowers can be ordered by checking out our website at www.animashighschool.com. Flowers will be delivered directly to your home and are 100% guaranteed. 50% of sales will directly benefit educational programs at AHS.

Safe Driving Class
Animas High School will be offering a Safe Driving Class for AHS students on Wednesday, April 13 from 3:30-5:00 p.m. Topics will include Colorado traffic laws, cost of citations, crash dynamics, TRUE crash stories and more. Presenters are Diane Downing, Child Passenger Safety Instructor; State Trooper Doug Wiersma and Greg Childress of the Durango Fire and Rescue Authority. This event is sponsored by the Southern Ute Community Action Program and AHS. Please RSVP to pac@animashighschool.com or call Diane Downing at 563-9907.

Spring Sports Swap
Our 1st annual Spring Sports Sale will take place on Saturday, April 16 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Boys and Girls Club. Clean out your closets now and donate lightly used gear to Animas High School at 3206 North Main Avenue. Or sell your own gear on the day of the sale and give 20% to AHS. For more information, contact pac@animashighschool.com or call Susan at 903-3434.

AHS Online
Are you receiving your student’s weekly grade update email? How about looking at your student’s DP? Their teachers’ syllabi? Remember, there are many online resources available to keep you current on all things AHS!

Our Homepage:
www.animashighschool.com

9th Grade DPs:
http://faculty.animashighschool.com/~rmcknight/NewHorizon1-0/digitalportfolios.html

10th Grade DPs:
http://faculty.animashighschool.com/~rmcknight/purpleseries/purpleseries/digitalportfolios10th.html

AHS Faculty Page with links to Faculty DPs:
http://www.animashighschool.com/HOS/faculty.php

AHS Head of School’s DP:
www.animashighschool.blogspot.com

One too many years of cuts

One too many years of cuts
Written by Todd Engdahl on Mar 24th, 2011. | Copyright © EdNewsColorado.org

The Senate Education Committee held a 3½ -hour hearing to take testimony from 40 witnesses on the effects of budget cuts expected in the 2011-12 school year.

Much of the testimony was familiar, with school board members, administrators and teachers telling of employees laid off, salaries frozen, furloughs imposed, purchases deferred and other savings squeezed out of district budgets.

But there was a tone that hasn’t been heard as much during budget debates in previous years – that the upcoming reductions will directly harm classroom instruction.

The session also surfaced some novel ideas about dealing with the problem – like using state funds to match local property tax increases in every state district, an idea floated by committee member Sen. Keith King, R-Colorado Springs and the administrator of a charter school.

And one witness, former State Board of Education member Randy DeHoff, argued that it’s “a mistake” to focus on funding alone. “Much of K-12 funding has little effect on the achievement of students” but is tied to state and federal requirements. “The better question is … given the level of funding available, how can that funding be used more effectively?”

DeHoff also argued that the current structure of public education is outmoded and will be disrupted by the rise of online learning. “We can lead that change or we can watch it, but it will take place.”

Here’s a sampling of the warnings voiced at the hearing:

“This year it will affect the classroom. … We are looking at so many cuts I don’t know how much further we can go.” – Karen Stockley, Thompson board member

“What is there left to give? Is education really a place where we can do more with less?” – Doreen Groene, Brighton teacher

“We’ve kept our classrooms almost intact [but] there is not another $21 million in reductions we can make” without affecting classrooms. – Mary Chesley, Cherry Creek superintendent

Cuts “are going to compromise the future of our kids.” – Kevin Schott, Basalt High School principal

“We have no choice but to affect classrooms.” – Leslie Kiesler, Mesa board member

“We’re unraveling something pretty remarkable that we’ve built.” – Don Haddad, St. Vrain superintendent

“It’s hitting muscle” after four years of cuts. – Amanda Sheets, AFT-Colorado

Some witnesses echoed DeHoff in saying that state and federal mandates contribute to district financial problems.

“You shouldn’t have that many laws,” said former state Sen. Norma Anderson, holding up the thick book of state school laws.

Referring to a pending bill that specifies amounts of physical activity in elementary schools, Anderson asked, “Do you really need to?”

As for the CSAP tests, Anderson said, “Get rid of them. I carried the bill, but get rid of them.”

Haddad, referring to what he called “flawed ideological initiatives,” said, “There is a clear nexus between” reform initiatives and school costs.

“We have to have some mature conversation that recognizes that these things cost money.”

A mandates bill is pending in this year’s session, but its likely impact is narrow.

Several witnesses touched on the issue of conflicting fiscal provisions in the state constitution that have affected state and district revenues.

Lyndon Burnett, president of the Agate school board, said, “There is no cure short of constitutional reform.”

Margie Adams, board chair of Great Education Colorado, scolded legislators for failing to support a proposed school-funding referendum last year and for discouraging such efforts this year:

“We couldn’t do it last year; we’re told we can’t do it this year. In the meantime, the cuts build up and we’re losing another generation.”

While the hearing was intended for information gathering, King used it as platform to float some policy ideas, including his just-announced idea to reduce cuts through a combination of state funding and local property tax increases. King also is backing a plan to allow school districts to save money by reducing their contributions to employee pensions while increasing such payroll deductions for employees.

At the very end of hearing, when most of the crowd had left, King invited Jane Urschel of the Colorado Association of Schools Boards and Tony Salazar of the Colorado Education Association to the witness table to ask what they thought. Both were cool to the pension contributions swap, voicing concerns about its effect on the health of the Public Employees’ Retirement Association.

The hearing was prompted by the Hickenlooper administration’s proposed $332 million cut in K-12 total program funding. While the latest state revenue forecasts indicate it may be possible to reduce that amount somewhat, school spending is caught up with several other budget issues, including the size of the state reserve for next year.

Disagreement over those issues appears to have hung up completion of the 2011-12 budget bill by the Joint Budget Committee, which has a 3-3 partisan split.

Thursday’s hearing was promoted by committee chair Sen. Bob Bacon, D-Fort Collins, and by CEA, CASB and the Colorado Association of School Executives as a way of raising public awareness about the financial situation facing schools. The three groups organized several of the witnesses.

See the original article here:

Brutal day for education bills

Brutal day for education bills
Written by Todd Engdahl on Mar 23rd, 2011
Copyright © EdNewsColorado.org

The “kill committees” did their work Wednesday, defeating bills on charter school facilities, state aid for private college students and regulation of school-management firms.

The first two, sponsored by Republicans, died in the Democratic-controlled Senate State Affairs Committee. The third had bipartisan sponsorship but died in the Republican-majority House State Affairs Committee. The two panels are where majority leadership traditionally sends bills they want to stop.

All three bills raised interesting issues and were somewhat controversial, but none were consequential. Their fates were not necessarily a surprise, but for two measures last-minute “hail Mary” amendments created a bit of suspense before the final votes.

Here are the victims:

- House Bill 11-1055, which would have allowed charter schools to request use of vacant district buildings and appeal to the state if denied, died in the Senate committee on a 2-3 vote.

- House Bill 11-1168, which would have doubled College Opportunity Fund stipends for low-income private college students, was defeated in the same committee by the same vote.

- Senate Bill 11-069, which would have required an existing state study panel to also look into educational management organizations, was killed in the House committee on a 2-5 vote.

The three votes were party line, with Democrats in the majority in the Senate committee and Republicans in the House panel. After the motions to pass the bills failed, all were postponed indefinitely.

Here are the details:

Charter facilities – As originally introduced by freshman Rep. Don Beezley, R-Broomfield, HB 11-1055 would have allowed charter schools to request use of vacant district buildings and land and, if refused, appeal to the Department of Education. If the department ruled a building was suitable for a school, the charter would have received get it rent-free. There was a similar provision giving Charter School Institute schools access to vacant state land and buildings.

The bill was a legislative priority for the Colorado League of Charter Schools but raised concerns among other groups. The House Education Committee amended the bill to take vacant land out of the measure and require charters to pay CDE for the costs of building evaluations.

On the motion of the sponsor, the bill was further changed on the House floor with amendments that took state buildings out of the measure entirely, created an additional appeal process to the State Board of Education by either a charter or district and established an exemption for districts that have long-term facilities plans that include charter schools.


Sen. Nancy Spence, R-Centennial
In the committee Wednesday, Senate sponsor Sen. Nancy Spence, R-Centennial, offered another amendment that would have set up a process for districts to sell a building even if a charter wanted it, but that wasn’t enough to turn the tide.

Elisabeth Rosen, a lobbyist representing the Colorado Association of School Executives and several other groups, opposed the bill, while a battery of charter school witnesses supported it.

Lindsay Neil, head of Colorado Stand for Children, testified in support of the bill and complained about it being assigned to State Affairs, saying that had undermined her faith in the legislative process.

Vice Chair Sen. Bob Bacon, D-Fort Collins, complained that Spence’s amendment – which actually was written by Sen. Keith King, R-Colorado Springs – “has come in the last hour.” But Bacon committed to working with King and Spence on a possible substitute, compromise bill that might be introduced before the legislative session adjourns.

The measure’s potential impact appeared to be limited. A legislative staff analysis estimates there are 20 vacant buildings in six districts around the state, with an average of 10 new charters opening a year.

College Opportunity Fund stipends – HB 11-1168 would have doubled College Opportunity Fund stipends for low-income private college students. Colorado Christian University wanted the bill; a lobbyist for the University of Denver and Regis University opposed it in testimony Wednesday. They’re the only three schools that would have been covered by the bill. Pell-eligible students at the three schools currently receive 50 percent of the stipend assigned to students at public colleges.

Colorado Christian President Bill Armstrong, a Republican former U.S. senator, urged the committee to pass this bill.

Spence offered a last-minute amendment, also ghost-written by King, that basically would have delayed implementation of the bill until college funding improves, but that was defeated.

Although lobbyists for public colleges didn’t testify, the bill could have had the effect of reducing direct state support of public higher education. In a budget-cutting year that alone would have been enough to doom it.

Education management organizations – SB 11-069 would have directed the Charter School and Charter Authorizer Standards Review Committee to study standards for educational management organizations and whether such organizations should be regulated. It also proposed a definition of such groups and required the Department of Education to post on its website information about such groups active in Colorado.


Sen. Evie Hudak, D-Wetminster
Although carried in the House by Rep. Tom Massey, R-Poncha Springs, the bill was the brainchild of Sen. Evie Hudak, D-Westminster. She started out with a bill to regulate such organizations right away but watered that down in the Senate because of opposition.

The three bills joined a list of controversial and/or partisan education proposals already killed this year, including:

House Bill 11-1204 – Energy efficient school buildings (Democratic)
House Bill 11-1247 – Beverage container deposit to supplement State Education Fund (Democratic)
House Bill 11-1270 – Parent trigger bill to close struggling schools (Republican)
Senate Bill 11-011 – Student votes on Colorado State University board (Democratic)
Senate Bill 11-079 – Requiring districts to study outsourcing of non-instructional services (Republican)
Letter grades for schools make brief appearance
Hudak had a little better luck in the Senate Education Committee Wednesday, which voted 5-3 (another Democratic-Republican split) to pass House Bill 11-1126, of which she’s the Senate prime sponsor.

The bill would require parent notification and meetings at schools that have been designated by Department of Education for improvement, priority improvement or turnaround plans because of inadequate student growth.

Spence said parents don’t understand those labels and proposed an amendment that would assign letters grades to such schools C for improvement, D for priority improvement and F for turnaround. The idea of letter grades is popular in some education circles, and they are used in some states.

The amendment was defeated, but Sen. Mike Johnston, D-Denver, said, “Leave it to Sen. Spence to raise a big and very important idea.” Johnston said some of his education policy wonk friends don’t understand Colorado’s accountability categories, adding, “I think Sen. Spence is on to a very important idea that we should discuss at length” – later.


Sen. Keith King, R-Colorado Springs
Hudak got even more trouble from King, who said her bill was out of sync with the state’s schedule for release, appeal, review and implementation of school improvement plans. He proposed an amendment, which was defeated, but vowed to raise the issue again on the floor.

Hudak got a little testy about the debate, at one point saying she “strongly urged” her committee colleagues to resist all amendments. Other members chuckled.

The committee voted 8-0 to pass Senate Bill 11-173, a watered-down bill that requires fire inspectors to inquire about school district progress in implementing all-hazard drills and installing communications systems that link to emergency response agencies.

Sponsor Sen. Steve King, R-Grand Junction, has been a tireless crusader for school safety but has run up against school district resistance to mandates with this and previous pieces of legislation.

He vented a bit in his final remarks, saying, “I think there are school administrators who don’t understand our passion on this issue. … Until they look into the open eyes of a dead child, they never will.”

He warned that the next Columbine tragedy “is not a question of if, it’s a question of when and how bad.”

In other action – and inaction
The House Wednesday gave 48-17 final approval to House Bill 11-1254, the measure that updates the state’s definition of bullying and creates a donation-funded grant program for anti-bullying programs.

The Joint Budget Committee did not make final decisions on balancing its proposed 2011-12 budget and meets again Thursday. The budget bill is scheduled to be introduced next Monday but may have to be delayed because the committee hasn’t reached a decision. The committee’s decision will have an important influence on the size of education budget cuts next year.

See the original article here:

AHS Weekly Update- Week of March 21st, 2011

It’s that time of year again when there’s so much going on at Animas High School it becomes hard to include all our program updates in our weekly email. With that in mind, please make sure you are connected to the school’s multiple online resources.

Follow our school’s progress via the Head of School’s blog at www.animashighschool.blogspot.com See recent media stories and images related to AHS on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pages/Animas-High-School/129694133734262 and as always, find out more about our students and programs at www.animashighschool.com

There are many ways to stay abreast of the action here on campus! We hope you utilize these resources and help us celebrate our students’ success! Please take a moment to review the following updates:

CSAP Make-ups
AHS Ambassadors @ Soup for the Soul Event
Pushing the Elephant
Shakespeare Tonight at FLC
Flower Power Fundraiser
AHS Spring Sports Swap

CSAP Make-ups
CSAP testing continues with make-up sessions occurring at AHS this week. Please be aware that testing is in progress if joining us on campus this week. 2011 State CSAP testing ends this Friday, March 25th.

AHS Ambassadors @ Soup for the Soul Event
AHS Student Ambassadors will be assisting with the Mercy Health Foundation’s Soup for the Soul event happening this Wednesday, March 23rd at the La Plata County Fairgrounds. Ambassadors have been scheduled to participate both in the morning and at the evening’s dinner service. Animas High is honored to be a part of this important annual event!

Pushing the Elephant
Animas High School students and FLC's "East Africa Service Project" will participate in a panel discussion in association with the FREE Sneak Preview of the award winning, PBS Independent Lens documentary PUSHING THE ELEPHANT.

Come see AHS students share their knowledge of African and Congolese history in their discussion of this film about refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
MARCH 24 at FORT LEWIS COLLEGE in the Vallecito Room at 6:00 pm

“One person alone cannot push the elephant, but many people together can.”
– Rose Mapendo

Shakespeare Tonight at FLC
As a result of our work with Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the FLC Community Concert Hall has invited Animas High School to a professional production of the play for half-price! ($11 for balcony seats).

The Aquila Theatre Company will be presenting their innovative take on the play on Tuesday, March 22 at 7:30 pm at the Concert Hall. There will also be a pre-show discussion with the performers, free and open to the public, at 6:30 in the Vallecito Room of the Student Union Building.

To purchase tickets for your child, please call (970)-247-7657 or
visit the ticket office (707 ½ Main Avenue - corner of 7th & Main).
To take advantage of the special pricing, you must identify yourself with Animas High School and ask for the ½ price tickets before finalizing the sale. This is a wonderful opportunity to reinforce the learning experience that we all recently shared studying and performing this play. Students are strongly encouraged to attend!

Flower Power Fundraiser
It’s that time of year again to start thinking about the warm days of summer and time well spent in your gardens! It’ also time for AHS’s second annual FLOWER POWER fundraiser. On Friday, March 18th, AHS kicked off our Flower Power Fundraiser which runs until April 8th. Students have received catalogs and can sell plants locally or long distance via the web. Flower Power is extremely user friendly this year with online ordering linked directly off of AHS’s homepage. www.animashighschool.com

Our goal is for every student to sell $ 150.00 worth of flowers/plants to friends, relatives, neighbors, etc…The products are shipped directly to the customer and flowers are available nationwide. This is a great chance for those long distance family members and friends of AHS to log on and support our school! So as you dream of longer days and warm sunshine, we encourage you to utilize the Flower Power campaign for all your spring planting needs!

AHS Spring Sports Swap

»Op-Ed » State does not make education feel like a priority

***HOS Note- One of the coolest moments I've had in my whole educational career happened earlier this year while on the road with the Mayor's Youth Advisory Council. Students from AHS, DHS and Grace Prep had just spent the day representing Durango at the National League of Cities. Returning to our hotel, I was astonished as well as inspired when I found the students collectivly working on their studies. It was the neatest thing to see as a teacher- Students from different schools, various grades, varying abilities and perspectives all working together. (And by working together I mean the kind of interactions we see daily at AHS: independent learning, enegagement, dialouge, respect, etc.)

Clare Ochsner, the author of this piece was one of those students around the table that evening and her leadership and accomplishments in high school have prepared her well for college. She has a refined opinion here and it's this type of perspective that she brings to all MYAC meetings. Congrats Clare and thanks for making Durango proud!***

»Op-Ed » State does not make education feel like a priority
from www.durangoherald.com
Article Last Updated: Saturday, March 19, 2011 4:13pm

Signs of the apocalypse: the Haitian earthquake, global warming, last week’s tsunami in Japan and the failing American public education system. It’s safe to say that recent, drastic budget cuts to education and unfavorable legislation can be included in the latest apocalyptic events. In no way does the horror of an earthquake or tsunami compare with budget cuts, but such melodramatic hyperbole is necessary to communicate the bleak state of American education in 2011.

Our country’s future relies heavily on America’s youths. The latest generations of students will become the power brokers, CEOs and innovative thinkers who will solve the world’s toughest problems. An investment in education is an investment in the future.

That being said, does it really make sense to undercut public education? International competition to dominate the global economy calls for an educated population, equipped with the skills to contend against rising powerhouses. China has become the bogeyman lurking in the closet, and American public education, once on the forefront of learning, is failing. China is rising up to take our place.

Overcrowding because of multiple cuts and understaffing is plaguing the nation. I have felt the repercussions of recent cuts and effects of reducing the deficit at Durango High School. In 2008, my freshman year, the average sizes of my classes were around 17 students. Now the average class size has swelled to well over 25 students. Most classes are filled to maximum capacity, with an empty seat nowhere to be found. In one of my classes this year, when all 26 students were in attendance, at least a couple of kids had to sit on plastic chairs.

The new oversized classes make life harder for everyone. Teachers struggle to keep a crowded room of teenagers focused, and the students who are focused must try to ignore the constant din of rowdy classmates.

Two years ago, the guarantee of teacher layoffs hung over the high school like a gloomy, stormy sky. Newly hired teachers and veteran educators alike feared for their positions. At the end of that year, many students lost their favorite teachers who had become mentors and even friends. In one case, a popular teacher was laid off for what seemed to be a matter of over-qualification. Doesn’t it seem wrong that schools can’t afford quality, skilled educators, and students aren’t even guaranteed a desk? Students need every resource and opportunity to achieve personal excellence.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper recently proposed a $332 million net reduction next year in total spending for public schools. The deep budget cut would come to about $500 less per student. What will this mean for families, especially ones with multiple students? Foreseeable methods of compensation, such as paying for textbooks out of pocket and excessive class fees, are unreasonable and unjust.

All other viable options for deficit reduction should be exhausted before even considering slashing education funding.

Before I wrap up, I’d like to open one last can of worms. Monday, President Obama called for an overhaul of the No Child Left Behind Act. He said, “I want every child in the country to head back to school in the fall knowing that their education is America’s priority.”

Right now, I feel that public education is not a priority. The incentives created by NCLB for improvement have caused states to lower their standards in order to access more funding. The emphasis on standardized testing as the main means of assessment has encouraged a narrow set of skills, rather than concentration on acquiring understanding of the full curriculum. Schools that perform the most poorly are not awarded extra funding and sometimes punitive measures are taken. Struggling schools need the most aid for improvement, not punishment.


Clare Ochsner is a roving editor at El Diablo, the Durango High School student newspaper. She is the daughter of Frederick and Deborah Ochsner of Durango.

Youth council brings freshideas to Colorado Legislature Youth council brings fresh ideas to Colorado Legislature

***HOS Note- Daniel FC and his peers are doing some nice work on this year's Colorado Youth Advisory Council. We look forward to seeing the Council finish out the year strong in Denver as they continue their work with the CO Senate. ****


Youth council brings fresh ideas to Colorado Legislature Youth council brings fresh ideas to Colorado Legislature
http://www.durangoherald.com/

By Joe Hanel Herald Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: Thursday, March 17, 2011 11:25pm


Durango High School sophomore Brenna Christensen, left, testifies at the state Capitol.

DENVER – All the usual suspects were at the Capitol this week to testify on a bill that would let parents close their low-performing public schools – lobbyists for school boards, superintendents, the teacher’s union, the charter schools’ association.

But lawmakers also heard from a voice that rarely is heard at the Capitol – actual students.

Durango High School sophomore Brenna Christensen provided the perspective of teenage Coloradans on behalf of the Colorado Youth Advisory Council, a 3-year-old group created in part by Sen. Ellen Roberts, R-Durango.

The youth council officially takes a neutral position on House Bill 1270, a bill that is opposed by public school leaders and teachers and supported by charter-school advocates, because it would allow parents to vote to convert a school to a charter without the blessings of the school board.

But Christensen raised concerns in her testimony that the bill did not ask for student involvement.

“Change can be stressful on kids,” Christensen said. “Kids don’t like change if they’re not involved.”

The House Education Committee voted 8-5 to kill HB 1270.

Legislators in the committee’s stuffy basement room perked up when they heard Christensen’s testimony. It was the kind of input Roberts had in mind in 2008, when she sponsored the bill that created the Youth Advisory Council.

The council has 40 students from around the state who meet in person four times a year, in addition to working together online. They study bills before the Legislature and pick out which ones affect youths, then craft positions and talk to legislators.

Christensen was the first council member this year to offer formal testimony in a committee.

“That’s really what COYAC is about, is bringing that perspective, which has gotten overlooked because we can’t vote,” said Christensen, daughter of Katherine and Steve Christensen.

She serves as vice president of DHS’s sophomore class, but she has never testified publicly before. She did not read from a script.

Cheyenne McCoy of Dolores had never been to the state Capitol before she joined the advisory council two years ago.

“I’ve learned more from this than any government class,” said McCoy, daughter of Patrick and Vangi McCoy. “On the news, it just says a bill passed. But there’s so much that goes into it.”

The council met Sunday afternoon and Monday, and the members agreed to draft letters of support to Gov. John Hickenlooper for two bills that appear to be on their way to his desk. The bills would allow students to take their own prescription medication at school and require youth sports coaches to pull kids out of games if they suspect a concussion.

McCoy, who plays volleyball and basketball, supports the concussion bill and said she has a friend who has suffered five concussions – too many, in her opinion.

Roberts recruited Animas High School sophomore Daniel Fallon-Cyr to be on the council because she thought a charter school student would offer a valuable perspective.

Fallon-Cyr said he probably would have supported HB 1270, but he agreed with Christensen’s testimony that the bill failed to get student input.

“She definitely hit all the points that hadn’t been hit. It got the committee thinking that youth should be involved,” said Fallon-Cyr, son of Mark and Maureen Fallon-Cyr.

He is on his first year on the council, and he’s impressed by how much self-directed work the students do, without marching orders from The Civic Canopy, a nonprofit group that provides logistical and financial support to the youth advisory council.

“It’s just kind of amazing what we can get done without being guided,” Fallon-Cyr said.

Some of the council’s most pressing needs are recruiting members and keeping them participating. Members serve two-year terms, so each year, 20 seats are open. There is one person from each of the state’s 35 Senate districts, plus five at-large members.

Participation is a constant challenge. By the end of Monday’s meeting, 22 of the 40 members were present to vote.

The members also are hoping to increase their visibility and influence at the Capitol, McCoy said.

They’re starting with the little things.

Their chairwoman led Monday’s meeting by banging a paper cup on the table. The last vote was to spend no more than $30 to buy her a proper gavel.

jhanel@durango herald.com

DENVER – All the usual suspects were at the Capitol this week to testify on a bill that would let parents close their low-performing public schools – lobbyists for school boards, superintendents, the teacher’s union, the charter schools’ association.

But lawmakers also heard from a voice that rarely is heard at the Capitol – actual students.

Durango High School sophomore Brenna Christensen provided the perspective of teenage Coloradans on behalf of the Colorado Youth Advisory Council, a 3-year-old group created in part by Sen. Ellen Roberts, R-Durango.

The youth council officially takes a neutral position on House Bill 1270, a bill that is opposed by public school leaders and teachers and supported by charter-school advocates, because it would allow parents to vote to convert a school to a charter without the blessings of the school board.

But Christensen raised concerns in her testimony that the bill did not ask for student involvement.

“Change can be stressful on kids,” Christensen said. “Kids don’t like change if they’re not involved.”

The House Education Committee voted 8-5 to kill HB 1270.

Legislators in the committee’s stuffy basement room perked up when they heard Christensen’s testimony. It was the kind of input Roberts had in mind in 2008, when she sponsored the bill that created the Youth Advisory Council.

The council has 40 students from around the state who meet in person four times a year, in addition to working together online. They study bills before the Legislature and pick out which ones affect youths, then craft positions and talk to legislators.

Christensen was the first council member this year to offer formal testimony in a committee.

“That’s really what COYAC is about, is bringing that perspective, which has gotten overlooked because we can’t vote,” said Christensen, daughter of Katherine and Steve Christensen.

She serves as vice president of DHS’s sophomore class, but she has never testified publicly before. She did not read from a script.

Cheyenne McCoy of Dolores had never been to the state Capitol before she joined the advisory council two years ago.

“I’ve learned more from this than any government class,” said McCoy, daughter of Patrick and Vangi McCoy. “On the news, it just says a bill passed. But there’s so much that goes into it.”

The council met Sunday afternoon and Monday, and the members agreed to draft letters of support to Gov. John Hickenlooper for two bills that appear to be on their way to his desk. The bills would allow students to take their own prescription medication at school and require youth sports coaches to pull kids out of games if they suspect a concussion.

McCoy, who plays volleyball and basketball, supports the concussion bill and said she has a friend who has suffered five concussions – too many, in her opinion.

Roberts recruited Animas High School sophomore Daniel Fallon-Cyr to be on the council because she thought a charter school student would offer a valuable perspective.

Fallon-Cyr said he probably would have supported HB 1270, but he agreed with Christensen’s testimony that the bill failed to get student input.

“She definitely hit all the points that hadn’t been hit. It got the committee thinking that youth should be involved,” said Fallon-Cyr, son of Mark and Maureen Fallon-Cyr.

He is on his first year on the council, and he’s impressed by how much self-directed work the students do, without marching orders from The Civic Canopy, a nonprofit group that provides logistical and financial support to the youth advisory council.

“It’s just kind of amazing what we can get done without being guided,” Fallon-Cyr said.

Some of the council’s most pressing needs are recruiting members and keeping them participating. Members serve two-year terms, so each year, 20 seats are open. There is one person from each of the state’s 35 Senate districts, plus five at-large members.

Participation is a constant challenge. By the end of Monday’s meeting, 22 of the 40 members were present to vote.

The members also are hoping to increase their visibility and influence at the Capitol, McCoy said.

They’re starting with the little things.

Their chairwoman led Monday’s meeting by banging a paper cup on the table. The last vote was to spend no more than $30 to buy her a proper gavel.

jhanel@durango herald.com

Why Do Some Parents Choose Charter Schools for Their Children?

Why Do Some Parents Choose Charter Schools for Their Children?
By Ronald W. Holmes, PhD
Thursday, 17 March 2011 22:33

Curtis Mayfield’s song lyrics, “If you had a choice of colors, which one would you choose my brothers”, may be applied in the colors of people’s houses, appliances, furniture, cars, clothing or Greek organizations. Similarly, the civil rights movement provided Americans many choices or opportunities to enhance their standard of living.

Some of these choices included hotel preferences such as Holiday Inn and Hyatt Regency; dining preferences such as Bahama Breeze and Pappadeaux; gas preferences such as Shell and Chevron and airlines preferences such as Delta and Southwest. Depending on the quality of these products, costs and services, people may become customers of these companies and encourage other people to patronize them too.

As a result of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, parents have the choice to allow their children an opportunity to attend traditional public schools in their communities. These schools, however, must offer students a quality education. When they do not, parents have the right to choose other alternatives to educate their children. One alternative is a charter school. Without micromanagement by the government, this type of school is operated as a school district, part of a school district, for-profit organization or non-profit organization. With this in mind, the questions to be asked are, why do some parents choose charter schools for their children? Are charter schools meeting the academic needs of students compared to traditional public schools?

According to the National Center for Education Evaluation (NCEE), there are over 5,000 charter schools serving 1.5 million students, representing three percent of all public schools in 40 states and the District of Columbus. Charter schools are the largest vehicles for school choice to parents in America’s public schools according to the Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO). Without an alternative to public education, parents might be restricted to having their children attend a low performing traditional public school in their communities.

Charter schools were first originated in 1991 through the passing of legislation in Minnesota. These schools are given more autonomy than traditional public schools to create innovative curricula, programs and services to meet the needs of specific students. They are responsible for improving students’ achievement according to established goals of their charters or contracts as negotiated between the governing bodies such as local school boards, state education agencies, universities, and business organizations. They must meet the goals of the charters in order to continue operating.

While some parents are choosing charter schools to educate their children, the findings of CREDO research notes different performance based on the type of students attending the schools. Charter schools “organized around a mission to teach the most economically disadvantaged students in particular seem to have developed expertise in serving these communities”.

In fact, these students, along with English Language Learners (ELL) students, performed better than traditional public school students in reading and mathematics. This is supported by a study conducted by the NCEE with regard to charter schools students’ performance in mathematics from low socio-economic families. It is also supported by the findings of C.K.
Steele-Leroy Collins Charter Middle School in Tallahassee, one of the first charter schools in Florida serving African-American students from various socio-economic backgrounds, which has maintained overall satisfactory performance on Florida’s state assessment exams. To the contrary, CREDO notes, that “students not in poverty and students who are not ELL on the average do notably worse than the same students who remain in the traditional public school systems”.

President Obama promotes charter schools as a central component of his Education Reform Program. He has significantly increased funding to create more successful charter schools, improve struggling charter schools and eliminate failing charter schools through competitive grants such as the Race to the Top. As a result, 46 states and the District of Columbus became recipient of these funds to improve America’s public education by means of charter schools and other initiatives.

While charter schools operate without the micromanagement of the government and are exempted from certain local and state regulations of traditional public schools, many of them do not take advantage of a number of federal discretionary grant programs that could specifically support their charters’ mission. For example, the U.S. Government Accountability Office reports that only 7% of America’s charter schools applied for discretionary grant programs such as advanced placement incentive programs, school leadership programs and teacher incentive fund during the school year 2008-2009. The reasons for not applying for the grants were due to lack of awareness, staffing and experience in writing competitive grant applications.

There are a plethora of federal resources available to fix America’s schools. We just have to make sure that the resources are funneled to our future workforce (the students). America’s schools are not producing enough graduates to be the best in the world. They are seen as inferior to countries such as Europe, German and Japan. We have to produce more graduates with salable skills in order for our students to compete successfully in a complex and global marketplace. While America’s schools are struggling, some parents choose charter schools to educate their children. In fact, an outcry of social unrest and upheaval across the country contributed to the rapid growth and development of the charter school program.

In 1983, the National Commission on Excellence in Education published “A Nation at Risk” due to America’s academic underachievement on the national and international scales. Twenty-seven years later, we are still faced with the same dilemma, if not worst. It is time for change. It is time to really make sure no students are left behind academically and socially in America’s schools. On February 18, the National Save the Family Now Movement, Inc. (NSFNM) will lead a charge in Memphis, Tennessee to provide a roadmap for this to happen. NSFNM’s goal is to “do big things” in the words of President Obama and provide a strong vehicle for improving America’s schools. It is NSFNM’s choice to make a difference in the lives of our youth. Stay tuned!

Dr. Ronald W. Holmes is a former teacher, school administrator and superintendent. He has a track record of transforming schools and can be reached at rwholmes@capitaloutlook.com

The real qualities of teacher excellence

***HOS Note- A brief article from Washington Post that the faculty recently used for a professional development workshop.***
The Washington Post Online
Posted at 08:15 AM ET, 03/17/2011

The real qualities of teacher excellence
By Valerie Strauss

This post was written by Joanne Yatvin, a longtime public school educator, author
and past president of the National Council of Teachers of English. She is now teaching part-time at Portland State University.

By Joanne Yatvin

Most of us, I think, can name the qualities that go into being a good cook, a good friend, or a good worker. But could we quantify those qualities? Would each quality have the same weight? And what if our two best friends had different qualities that when tallied up showed a wide discrepancy?

All of this must seem hopelessly complicated and, very likely, inane. Who would want to measure one friend against another? But that is exactly the inanity going on in states and school districts bent on measuring the quality of teachers so some can be awarded merit pay and others can be fired.

To make matters worse, the people setting up the measurement formulas don’t seem to know what the qualities of a good teacher are. Most of them can name only the ability to generate high student test scores, while the rest go blank after adding the ability to manage classroom behavior.

Although I can’t resolve the numbers dilemma, I can, from my own long experience as a teacher and a principal, name a set of qualities that I believe mark excellence in a teacher, and I want to do that here. To me the most important one is the ability to inspire students to want to learn more about what has been taught in class, whether that is math, writing, science, or civility.
Why do I choose that quality instead of the ability to increase student knowledge and skills?

From reflecting on my own education and questioning friends about theirs, I have confirmed what I had long suspected: we don’t use or even remember much of what was taught and tested in school. But we do hang on to those few things that pushed us toward our careers, hobbies, or habits in the first place. I turned out to be an English teacher and a writer who remembers many of the books, plays, and poems I read in school. Even now, I can quote a few Shakespearian soliloquies and recite the prelude to The Canterbury Tales—in Middle English!

But don’t ask me who the president of the United States was during the French and Indian War or even what that war was about. Don’t ask me to find the Congo on an unmarked map of Africa. Even the advanced math and biology I studied at college have faded from my memory completely.

To help you get a fuller picture of my concept of teaching excellence, here are some other teacher qualities I think are important.

A good teacher:

*Is aware, as far as possible, of each students’ academic strengths and weaknesses

*Plans lessons that cover the range of students’ instructional needs and connect to their interests

*Adjusts lessons while teaching in response to students’ questions and actions

*Demonstrates respect and trust for students that they, in turn, give back to her/him and their classmates

*Establishes a system of small group and independent learning that allows students to experience the roles of leader, follower, partner, and innovator
*Discusses behavior or work problems with the offenders privately, out of respect for their dignity.

*Makes an effort to include an encouraging comment or two when critiquing student work

*Begins each day with enthusiasm and optimism, putting aside past disappointments

Although I feel my list is still incomplete, it is long enough to convey my concept of good teaching and make clear why it can’t be measured or even perceived by evaluators who don’t know a teacher’s work firsthand.

The most reliable evaluator is a good principal who visits classrooms regularly and gathers additional information informally from conversations with teachers, students, and parents. As the result of this kind of evaluation process , a good principal is able to move the best teachers into positions of greater responsibility and honor and to help struggling teachers improve or decide to leave the profession they are not suited for.

DRO Herald- LTE: Education status quo offers wrong goals

***HOS Note- Always interesting to keep in tune with the pulse of our community related to educational matters.***
www.durangoherald.com
Opinion »Letters to the Editor » Education status quo offers wrong goals

Article Last Updated: Wednesday, March 16, 2011 8:24pm

It is my hope that 9-R teachers, students and parents will wake up and respond to the curtain that is descending on public education.

Devotees of the much publicized “Waiting for Superman” movie thought it was a vehicle for emphasizing the beauty of charter schools, but researching the people and money behind the film exposes a corporate manifesto looking to sap the power of public employee unions, especially the teachers’ union, because public education is the single biggest expenditure for every state.

Winners always protect the status quo because that status quo created the rules that made them the winners. The forces driving education reform in the U.S. today are all speaking from the winners’ circle. Winners always believe the rules of the game are fair and that they deserve to be winners.

The true status quo of public education is that it struggles under the crushing weight of poverty, not the burden of “bad” teachers or the press of bloated unions.

There are things that education cannot do. In particular, the notion that putting more kids through college can revive the middle-class society we used to have is wishful thinking. It’s no longer true that having a college degree guarantees that you’ll get a good job, and it’s becoming less true with each passing decade. Student loans now have passed credit cards among the largest sources of private debt. We can’t get to where we need to go just by awarding workers college degrees, which may be no more than tickets to jobs that don’t exist or don’t pay middle-class wages.

Calls for accountability always come from those standing outside accountability themselves. Yes, it is an obvious good to have better-educated students to compete with other economies. However, it’s complete nonsense to insist that low public school test scores hobble our economy when it was the highest-achieving graduates of our elite colleges who designed and sold the financial gimmicks that preceded our current financial predicament.

The “winners” may be winning, but that doesn’t mean they’re right.

Bill Bowlby, Durango

»Op-Ed » Thriving children- A strong education will strengthen all

»Op-Ed » Thriving children- A strong education will strengthen all

Article Last Updated: Tuesday, March 15, 2011 9:18pm

Children in La Plata County have several things going for them compared with state averages: They are less likely to be born to an unwed mother or to be born into a family in poverty, and their birth weight will be higher.

And beginning a few years later, when it comes to all-important education they will do better than the average. They will attend an all-day kindergarten, learning test scores will be higher, and they will be slightly more likely to graduate from high school.

One in seven children in La Plata County is born to a mother with less than a high school education; the state average is one in five. Because it is the mother’s education level rather than the father’s that usually determines how far their children will go in school, that is also significant.

Another leg up.

On the other hand, a negative: La Plata County children are less likely to have health insurance.

These statistics, and more, are from the latest Colorado Children’s Campaign report and draw mostly from 2009 data. The county-by-county report was released last week.

Although children in La Plata County do fare better than the average, especially in the critical education categories, the percentages should be much better in order to return a productive and rewarding life.

Third-grade test scores should be higher for all children; college – at least two years – should be completed by every student. That means beginning college-track courses in the middle school years, with a strong academic push through – and including – the senior year of high school.

Parents with two years of college – or more – are much more likely to have their children enroll and be successful in college. With college usually comes more family income and better health. Those with higher incomes are also less likely to smoke. Recent statistics show the unemployment rate among the college-educated is half what it is for the less-well-educated during this current recession.

If you see an opportunity to encourage a young person to take their schooling more seriously, or to expand their horizons with an educational project of some sort, do it. It would be rewarding to have La Plata County’s scores climb in subsequent Colorado Children’s Campaign reports. That would mean that more children will have a stronger possibility of a more enjoyable and productive life.

Children in La Plata County have several things going for them compared with state averages: They are less likely to be born to an unwed mother or to be born into a family in poverty, and their birth weight will be higher.

And beginning a few years later, when it comes to all-important education they will do better than the average. They will attend an all-day kindergarten, learning test scores will be higher, and they will be slightly more likely to graduate from high school.

One in seven children in La Plata County is born to a mother with less than a high school education; the state average is one in five. Because it is the mother’s education level rather than the father’s that usually determines how far their children will go in school, that is also significant.

Another leg up.

On the other hand, a negative: La Plata County children are less likely to have health insurance.

These statistics, and more, are from the latest Colorado Children’s Campaign report and draw mostly from 2009 data. The county-by-county report was released last week.

Although children in La Plata County do fare better than the average, especially in the critical education categories, the percentages should be much better in order to return a productive and rewarding life.

Third-grade test scores should be higher for all children; college – at least two years – should be completed by every student. That means beginning college-track courses in the middle school years, with a strong academic push through – and including – the senior year of high school.

Parents with two years of college – or more – are much more likely to have their children enroll and be successful in college. With college usually comes more family income and better health. Those with higher incomes are also less likely to smoke. Recent statistics show the unemployment rate among the college-educated is half what it is for the less-well-educated during this current recession.

If you see an opportunity to encourage a young person to take their schooling more seriously, or to expand their horizons with an educational project of some sort, do it. It would be rewarding to have La Plata County’s scores climb in subsequent Colorado Children’s Campaign reports. That would mean that more children will have a stronger possibility of a more enjoyable and productive life.

AHS Weekly Update- Week of March 14th, 2011

Welcome Back from Spring Break! I hope this email finds everyone well rested and recharged for the final months of school. Please take a moment to review the following updates:

Project Week
CSAPs
AHS Robotics
Shakespeare at FLC
Flower Power

Project Week
On Friday, March 18th, AHS students will be presenting their 2011 Project Week Experiences at assembly. The results of our students’ efforts were tremendous this year and we look forward to hearing about all their experiences and success. Thanks to everyone who assisted in making 2011 Project week an incredibly fun, scholastic and SAFE time! A special appreciation to all the parents who stepped up to drive/chaperone/cook- We couldn’t do it without your support- Thank You!

CSAPs
AHS Students are participating in state CSAP testing this week. If you’re on campus, please help us maintain a quiet and focused environment. Students are testing every day through Friday with make-ups next week.

AHS Robotics
The momentum just keeps rolling for AHS! Coming off an incredibly strong finish in the AZ First Tech Challenge State Championships, Animas High’s Pandemonium Robotix team headed off to Denver last weekend for the CO state championships. Competing against 30 other teams, the Ospreys made it through all seven qualifying rounds! The final round pits the top teams against each other by creating alliances composed of the top finishing schools.

We are happy to report that Pandemonium Robotix came home the First Place Alliance Winner after teaming up with schools from CA. and NV. Animas High School triumphed as the top high school robotics team in the state and we now have the potential to be selected via national lottery for the World Championships this April in St. Louis. The team’s winning robot and trophy are on display at campus. A huge congrats goes out to Mr. Heerschap and all the students who took home top honors last week and for their strong work this year!

Shakespeare at FLC
As a result of our work with Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the FLC Community Concert Hall has invited Animas High School to a professional production of the play for half-price! ($11 for balcony seats).

The Aquila Theatre Company will be presenting their innovative take on the play on Tuesday, March 22 at 7:30 pm at the Concert Hall. There will also be a pre-show discussion with the performers, free and open to the public, at 6:30 in the Vallecito Room of the Student Union Building.

To purchase tickets for your child, please call (970)-247-7657 or
visit the ticket office (707 ½ Main Avenue - corner of 7th & Main).
To take advantage of the special pricing, you must identify yourself with Animas High School and ask for the ½ price tickets before finalizing the sale. This is a wonderful opportunity to reinforce the learning experience that we all recently shared studying and performing this play. Students are strongly encouraged to attend!

Flower Power
It’s that time of year again to start thinking about the warm days of summer and time well spent in your gardens! It’ also time for AHS’s second annual FLOWER POWER fundraiser. On Friday, March 18th, AHS kicks off Flower Power which will run until April 8th. Students will receive catalogs and be able to sell plants locally or long distance via the web. Flower Power is extremely user friendly this year with online ordering linked directly off of AHS’s homepage. Our goal is for every student to try and sell $ 150.00 worth of flowers/plants to friends, relatives, neighbors, etc…The products are shipped directly to the customer and flowers are available nationwide. This is a great chance for those long distance family members and friends of AHS to log on and support our school! So as you dream of longer days and warm sunshine, we encourage you to utilize the Flower Power campaign for all your spring planting needs!

Skiing Stowers brothers reach national finals

***HOS Note- It's always great to see our Osprey's flying high! Congrats Hank, Ty, Cole, Jamie and Nolan on this season's success! ****

Skiing Stowers brothers reach national finals
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March 11, 2011 - 2:01 am
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www.durangoherald.com

Brothers Hank and Nolan Stowers earned enough points last weekend at the USASA Southwest Colorado Series in Telluride and will be headed to the National Freeride Championships at Copper Mountain in April.

The brothers posted first- and second-place finishes in their respective age groups for skier slopestyle and will join teammates Ty MacGuffie and Jamie Wanzek on the trip.

MacGuffie and Wanzek qualified earlier this season.

The Telluride event included the top USASA freestyle slopestyle skiers from Purgatory, Crested Butte and Telluride.

USASA (United States of America Snowboard Association) is the national governing body for snowboarding and freeride skiing competitions in North America.

With first-place finishes last weekend, MacGuffie and Wanzek won all three events in the Southwest Colorado series.

Cole Korte posted a second-place finish to keep his hopes alive for nationals.

Chance Conaty placed fifth and still has an outside chance to make it to the show.

Other Durango Freestyle team members competing at Telluride included Parker Norvell in sixth place, Toby Goldman in seventh place and Tatum Duke in 10th.

“It was great to see Hank and Nolan step up and get to Nationals,” said J.C. Jones, head coach of the Durango Freestyle Park and Pipe program.

“We are looking forward to the challenge that Nationals will bring.”

USASA Nationals has become the messa for freeride events.

The 10-day national celebration will bring together hundreds of snowboarders and skiers, ages 7 to 70, from the 32 different regional qualifiers across the country.

Athletes will compete in slopestyle, halfpipe, skiercross, boardercross, giant slalom and slalom.

The Durango Freestyle Park and Pipe team will compete in Snowmass next weekend – the last opportunity to earn a trip to nationals.

dstrode @durangoherald.com