A message from Superintendent Chris King - Availability and distribution of the H1N1 vaccine in Boulder Valley
BVSD Health and Medicaid Services Coordinator Susan Rowley reported the following H1N1 information:

• Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment states on their website that the H1N1 vaccine had begun to arrive in Colorado. This first round was reserved for high risk health care workers – primarily those doing bed side care for high risk patients. 
• Notification will be given on the state health department’s website when this changes. No update has been posted yet.
• Based upon direct communication from both Broomfield and Boulder County health departments, the amount of vaccine sent and available is significantly less than anticipated – only 20 percent of what was originally expected. This shortfall will force local health departments to rethink distribution and clinic commitments at the current time. This shortage is not expected to last, but is affecting clinics scheduled in the next month and pushing off those scheduled for the future.
• School districts are typically not acting as the vendors for the vaccine. Some are providing venues for delivery. Those districts are at the mercy of the supplies sent to the local health departments. BVSD has offered to provide vaccine sites if needed. While county agencies appreciated our offer, we were told our sites, with one exception, were not needed at this time.
• Vaccine clinic sites, number and hours have been based on the health department’s assessment of the surrounding community and the number of health care providers already in place that can act as vendors or locations for distribution.
• Continuous planning and strategy meetings have taken place between BVSD and both the Broomfield and Boulder County health departments this fall, with the most recent on October 15 and the next planned for October 30.

BVSD Communications and Health Services are continuously updating the link on the main BVSD website under “flu news” with our own letters and links to both Boulder and Broomfield counties’ health departments. Our website also provides links to CDC and Colorado health department websites. 

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Open Enrollment for the BVSD 2010 Flexible Spending Plans

Health, Dependent Care and (Public) Transportation Spending Accounts are during the month of November. These plans are also referred to as Section 125 Plans. The plan year is January 1 - December 31, 2010. Completed forms must be turned into Human Resources by November 30, 2009.

The reason employees sign up for one of these plans is to reduce taxable income through pre-tax deductions that are then used to pay for eligible expenses. These deductions reduce your current taxes and your PERA eligible salary. Because these deductions reduce your PERA eligible salary, employees within six years of PERA retirement may not want to participate.

Eligible participants in the health care spending account active on November 30, 2009 receive a matching contribution from the district up to $120.

To enroll, go through the online enrollment available through Employee Self-Service. Click on the Lawson Employee Self-Service link, then BVSD Employee Self-Service, then Open Enrollment and make your selections.

BVSD Blood Drive - Wed., Nov. 4 from 1:30 - 5:30 p.m.
Boulder Valley Schools is hosting a blood drive on Wednesday, November 4, 2009 from 1:30-5:30 p.m. in the Flagstaff Room. Bonfils Blood Center needs thousands of blood donors each week to meet Colorado’s needs and to be prepared for any unexpected events. To schedule an appointment online, please visit Bonfils website and reference site code 2721 when searching for a donation location. If your drive is more than a week away, extend the date by clicking on the calendar icon to ensure your drive is listed in the search results. Please contact Susana Aquirre at 303-447-5022 to schedule an appointment to donate blood. Be sure to remember to eat a full meal and drink plenty of water before donating blood.

Whether you are a 23-year-old employee just starting a new career in Boulder Valley, or your 23-year anniversary with the district is right around the corner, it is a good time to seriously think about saving for retirement. In addition to your PERA benefits, BVSD offers seven voluntary tax-deferred savings opportunities: 401(k) through PERA, five different 403(b) providers, and one 457(b).

BVSD’s next savings plan seminar will be on Monday, November 9 at the Ed Center (Aspen Room) from 4:00-5:30 p.m. with a presentation from 4:30-5:00 p.m. Representatives from each plan, including PERA, will be there to explain how these tax-deferred plans operate and answer questions. Todd Dunning, of Great-West Retirement Services, will be presenting information on the 457(b) and 403(b) plans available to BVSD employees.

In particular, this presentation will discuss the saver’s tax credit and who may qualify. The saver’s credit can help offset part of the first $2,000 that employees voluntarily contribute. The saver’s credit is in addition to the tax-deferred benefits that already apply and can increase a taxpayer’s refund or reduce the tax owed.

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Nederland schools get connected to the new wide area network
The original scope of the wide area network, over 80 miles in length, was completed in May—five  months ahead of schedule. Thanks to a combination of savings generated during the project and a partnership with Boulder County, the district recently began construction of a fiber network to include Nederland Elementary and Nederland Middle/Senior High. The project is anticipated to be complete by the end of the year. BVSD’s fiber will be the only such network up to Nederland. To make this possible, BVSD partnered with a number of local entities as we have with other segments of the network. These collaborations have resulted in cost savings for the district and benefits in terms of shared resources for all parties. Some of the district’s partners include: the cities of Boulder, Louisville, Broomfield, Lafayette, Nederland, and Longmont, Boulder County, the Boulder Research Area Network, Colorado University, CBOCES, UNAVCO, UCAR, Colorado State University, Adams 12 School District, CDOT and the National Forest Service.

We have connected almost every school on the new wide area network so that they can take advantage of the new higher bandwidth. The only schools that will not be connected to the new high speed network will be Gold Hill and Jamestown. Extending the network to those two remote locations is extremely cost prohibitive and was not part of the Bond scope. For those schools, the district is looking at adding additional capacity, such as extra T1 lines, from the local phone/internet carrier so they can take advantage of some of the new video-related offerings.

This past summer, the district along with the IT department undertook a very aggressive schedule to replace all of the internal network equipment at all of the remaining high, middle, K-8’s and many of the elementary schools. The new phone system deployment is right on pace with the Local Area Network project. As we upgraded the internal school network, we were able to implement the new phone system at the same time. We anticipate both these projects to be complete by the end of 2009.

Recently, the district selected local company MediaCast as our core video distribution system. The system has been installed at IT and is up and running. The Instructional Technology team is working with schools to roll out the full capability of this system in each school. At the same time, this year’s 3A dollars are being diverted from PC replacement to classroom video. With this funding, along with the dollars left in the Bond IT Video Pilot, we have begun an aggressive campaign to outfit each classroom with full video and audio capability. Rollout began in August, and we have completed four schools to date. Due to the large demand from the schools, we have worked with our vendor to bring on additional subcontractors, to double or even triple the speed of deployment. The response from the teachers using the new system has been very positive. Anticipated completion for the project is fall of next year.

Seats available on the Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee
The Bond Program is seeking a middle level teacher and a middle level principal to fill two vacancies on the Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee. In addition, many other seats on the committee are up for renewal. BVSD employees may apply for any seat which is vacant or up for renewal.

The Board of Education created the Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee (CBOC) to provide independent review and monitoring of the Bond Program. The oversight provided by the committee is vital to the success of the Bond Program. The members of CBOC reflect the diverse population of our school district. The committee is comprised of members that include school faculty and administrators, representatives from each community in the district and a student representative. 

The committee meets approximately every other month except in the summer. Meetings are held the first Thursday of the month at 5:00 p.m. and last for approximately two hours. Between meetings, committee members are asked to review online financials and project status information to prepare for the meetings. The teacher representative will serve a two-year term and the principal representative will serve a three-year term. A complete description of the committee and application for membership can be found online. Please direct questions to Susan Cousins by email or at 720-561-5793. Applications are due by Monday, November 30.

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Need a hand with your heating bill?
The Low-Income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP) is a federally funded program administered by the Colorado Department of Human Services and is designed to assist eligible Coloradans with winter home heating costs. LEAP accepts applications from November 1 through April 30 each year.

LEAP provides cash assistance to help hard working Colorado families and individuals pay winter home heating costs. Other benefits provided by LEAP include repair or replacement of a home’s primary heating system such as furnace or wood-burning stove as well as improvements to the energy efficiency in a home.

Contact LEAP (1-866-432-8435) if you or anyone you know meet these criteria and need assistance with a heating bill:

• You are a U.S. Citizen or a legal alien and a resident of Colorado.
• You pay a heating bill to a fuel provider or your heat is included in your rent.
• Your income is within the following guidelines:
  
  

  HOUSEHOLD SIZE	GROSS MONTHLY INCOME
  1	$1,670
  2	$2,246
  3	$2,823
  4	$3,400
  5	$3,976
  6	$4,553
  7	$5,129
  8	$5,706
  Each additional person	$577

For additional information call 1-866-HEAT HELP or Boulder County Social Services at 303-678-6097.

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At the October 20 TAC meeting, we discussed the following topics:

New Wellness Policy: There is currently no change in BVSD policy regarding what can and cannot be served to children in classrooms. Different buildings may have implemented individual school-based policies, but there is no new directive from the district regarding the banning or limitation of sugar, sweets, etc. Ann Cooper, head of the BVSD food service department, informed us that a new, comprehensive wellness policy will be developed with the input of community members. If you want to get involved, let her know. TAC suggested that each school cafeteria display menus with prices posted so students will know what choices they have and how much they cost.

Building Maintenance: Ongoing, chronic problems with school building maintenance issues keep piling up due to the broken scheduling and work flow system for maintenance requests. Chris King has agreed to work with TAC and Maintenance to revamp BVSD’s system for reporting, and keeping track of how long it takes for maintenance requests to be resolved. This topic will be a major issue for TAC this year, so keep us informed of any suggestions you may have to make the system work more efficiently.
Heat: Classrooms heated to over 80 degrees or cooled to below 65 are common in this district. This is more than a nuisance, it is unhealthy. Teachers are weary of feverishly begging to have some control over the temperature of classrooms in order to protect the learning environment (and health) for students. Dr. King acknowledges that the “broken” district-wide HVAC system needs to be revamped and has agreed to continue working to develop solutions that are more teacher/classroom friendly. We’ll keep on “turning up the heat” on this issue.

New Elementary Report Cards/GVC: Chief Academic Officer, Dr. Ellen Miller-Brown acknowledges that the implementation of the new elementary report cards and Guaranteed Viable Curriculum was rushed. She also reminds us that this is an AWARENESS year for the new documents, and encourages teachers to “just do your best” this year. She has agreed to visit any school to help answer questions and help with any transition concerns your building may have. Dr. Miller-Brown invites concerned teachers to attend the Learning in BVSD curriculum/report card meetings. Click the Learning in BVSD link under Dr. King's photo on the BVSD homepage for the dates of these community-based meetings. 

Financial Literacy: Get ready. A new, state-mandated curriculum requirement is coming to a classroom near you. We’ll keep you updated as we learn more specifics.

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O.W.L. is a Hoot!
Just ask the kids at Creekside! Impact on Education has proudly partnered with OpenWorld Learning (OWL) and Creekside to bring a wonderful after school program to students interested in bridging the digital divide, increasing leadership skills, and expanding critical thinking strategies. Visit our website to see a short video clip of Creekside OWL in action.

“OpenWorld Learning seems to appeal to a wide range of student learning styles…readers and struggling readers, gifted students and student identified with and IEP…All of these students benefit from the experience! The computer programming is engaging and structured so that every student feels success as they progress through the levels.” – Karen Daly, BVSD Executive Director for Student Success

Founded in 1983, Impact on Education focuses on increasing excellence, innovation and equity in BVSD by creating opportunities for students from low-income families; increasing student interest and achievement in science, technology and math; and encouraging and rewarding teacher excellence. 

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Under New Management

• David Eggen, Assistant Principal, Crest View Elementary/Foothill Elementary, effective October 28, 2009
• Ian Schwartz, Interim Assistant Principal, Nevin Platt Middle, effective October 5, 2009 – December 4, 2009

Other Board Approvals

• The board approved ten contracts with privately operated early childhood community centers that provide Colorado Preschool Program (CPP) services. One hundred and six children attend half day preschool sessions, while ten children are funded to attend full day preschool programs in the community.
  Community Sites: Acorn Preschool, Children's Alley YWCA Boulder, Children's House Preschool, Family Learning Center, Friends and Fun, Louisville Preschool, New Horizon's Cooperative Preschool, Over the Rainbow Preschool, United Church of Broomfield Preschool, Rainbow Tree Preschool
• The board approved contracts with 13 privately operated early childhood community preschools that offer ten hours per week preschool enrollment to 28 children with disabilities.

Three grants were approved:

• Boulder Schools – 21st Century Learning Centers – Colorado Department of Education – 09
• Sanchez Elementary School – 21st Century Learning Center – Colorado Department of Education – 09
• School Leadership – Carl Perkins VocEd – Colorado Community Colleges – 09
  

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Hats Off!
Congratulations to this week's Superintendent's Honor Roll Recipients:

Arapahoe Ridge High School Teacher Mary Jo Pelanek, Angevine Middle School Teacher Patty Jones and Broomfield Heights Middle School Teacher Arthurenia Hawkins were honored during the October 27 board meeting for receiving statewide recognition for teaching in their respective fields.

On October 8, Mary Jo Pelanek was honored by the Colorado Council of Teachers of Math as a recipient of one of their 2009 Teaching Awards. According to the council, it was “delighted to honor Mary Jo Pelanek as an outstanding mathematics teacher.

During the Colorado Art Education Association’s “Art and Play” fall conference earlier this month, Arthurenia Hawkins presented her “Come Play with Clay at the Road Kill Café” class. This class was described by her as a “fun way of introducing hand building techniques to middle school students.”

At the same Colorado Art Education Association conference, Patty Jones presented her class entitled, “Playing with Graffiti.”
In her class introduction, Patty explains the two basic families of letters: Serif, the “foot” of a letter, and Sans-Serif, letters without “feet.” In laying the foundation for her class, Patty explained the universal benefit in all disciplines of being able to letter well for class projects.

Congratulations to each of you and thank you for your commitment to educational excellence on behalf of each of your students.

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