Official end of the 2007-08 school year at BVSD
No board meetings in July. Next regularly scheduled meeting is August 12, 2008.

Superintendent Chris King's remarks to the Board of Education:

This meeting marks the formal end of the 2007-08 school year. It has been a year of several beginnings. It certainly has been for me as I complete my first year as superintendent.

Most importantly, the board, through a challenging and rigorous process, established challenging, specific and measurable five-year goals in the areas of academic achievement, equity, and organization. 

For the past several months, under the day-to-day direction of Deputy Superintendent Ellen Miller-Brown, staff and financial resources have been reallocated from the Education Center to individual schools.  This will mean additional student intervention resources at the school level next year.

This effort has begun to chart a new BVSD course rooted in student success. It is a strong foundation that I intend to see that we build on in the 2008-09 school year. 

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Impact on Education thanks everyone in BVSD for your support over the past year.

Thanks to the BVSD employees who support us through employee giving and attendance at our events, and who partner with us to deliver programs to BVSD students, we were able to invest $965,000 to fund:

• 143 projects funded through our Classroom Mini-Grant program
• Clickers in science and math classrooms in all middle and K-8 schools
• Launched new partnerships with the CU History Museum for GAMES (Girls at the Museum) and with OWL (OpenWorld Learning) for an after-school and summer computer programming program at Creekside Elementary
• $125,000 to 50 schools for the Opportunity Fund
• Backpacks of school supplies for 3,641 students in need
• Impact Awards for five outstanding educators – Leticia de Lozano, Michele Hibl, Larry Orobona, Al Real and Barb Steiner
• Visits to Fiske Planetarium for thousands of elementary and middle school students
• Expansion of Robotics to 26 schools at all levels
• Tutoring for English Language learners at Boulder and Centaurus High Schools
• Private Music lessons for 30 high needs students at Casey and Angevine Middle Schools

We look forward to continuing to grow our impact in our 25th year in 2008-09!!!

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Distracted Driving

The National Safety Council’s National Safety Month

The National Safety Council has designated June as National Safety Month. As the month comes to a close, may you be able to reflect on a fun, safe month!

During National Safety Month, one focus was on distracted driving...you guessed it – in-car phone use.

Did you know...

• That approximately 80 percent of all traffic accidents involve some type of inattentive driving?
• Cell phone use is the most common distraction for drivers?
• An estimated 10 percent of drivers during typical daylight hours are driving while using some type of hand-held or hands-free phone?
• In using a phone while driving, listening is equally dangerous to talking and dialing and hands-free devices are determined to be just as distracting as hand-held devices?
• Using a phone while driving causes slower reaction time comparable to that of people who drive legally drunk (.08 blood alcohol content)?
• Texting, GPS and in-car computers have added to the rise in distractive technologies?

The National Safety Council reminds drivers that their first responsibility is to safe driving. The NSC recommends that drivers establish and enforce a “driver distraction-free zone” inside their vehicles.

                                                                                    Source: National Safety Council

Please have a wonderful summer and drive without added distractions – you are needed at BVSD!

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Under New Management

• Jerry Anderson, Principal, Monarch High School, effective July 1, 2008
• Gregory Cocking, Assistant Principal, Centaurus High, effective July 28, 2008.
• Lora De La Cruz, Assistant Principal, Eldorado K-8, effective July 1, 2008 
• David Tanaka, Assistant Principal, Superior Elementary, effective July 28, 2008.
• Samantha Messier, Director of Curriculum, Science, Learning Services, effective July 1, 2008.

Other Board Approvals

• Addendum No. 2 to the Charter School Renewal Contract with Summit Middle School was approved, which will allow Summit to purchase certain custodial services from an outside vendor.
• An agreement was approved with TEENS, Inc. to provide educational programming through its school, Chinook West Alternative High School Program, to up to twenty (20) Nederland-area students who have struggled in traditional schools and are considered at-risk of academic failure.
• Additional billable hours were approved for the development of the application Student Enrollment Online Application in order to cover unforeseen and necessary additional work was identified by the Student Enrollment Center to complete the application in a satisfactory manner.
• The Superintendent Contract with Dr. Chris King was amended to renew the three-year employment term, provide an increase in base salary in line with other licensed personnel, add a performance pay provision, eliminate the allowance of five days for out-of-district consulting, and align the annual evaluation dates with the board’s and superintendent’s goal-setting and performance review process.
• New members were appointed to the Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee (CBOC).
• The Board of Education has determined the necessity for representation and advocacy of BVSD legislative positions in the Colorado General Assembly. The contract with TKB Consulting for legislative lobbying services on behalf of the Boulder Valley School District was updated and renewed. This agreement is from July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009 with the option for two 12-month extensions at the 2008-09 rate.
• Revisions to the Elementary and Middle Level Science Curriculum were approved. This revision of the elementary and middle level science curriculum had two important goals. The first of these was to make the science curriculum guaranteed and viable by focusing on depth versus breadth. The second was to align our curriculum with new standards and assessments frameworks for science adopted by the State of Colorado in 2007. These revised curriculum documents clearly articulate what every student should know, understand, and be able to do in science in grades pre-Kindergarten through eight. The revision of the curriculum was informed by the Colorado Model Content Standards as well as the National Science Education Standards developed by the National Research Council and the Atlas of Science Literacy developed the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
• An out-of-cycle textbook adoption was approved for “Philosophical Literature,” a Language Arts class in grade levels 9-12.
• A boundary change was approved in the vicinity of Marshall Road and Red Ash Lane. A temporary dual enrollment area and boundary change was also approved in the vicinity of Magnolia Road.
• Salary adjustments were authorized effective July 1, 2008 for individuals and groups who are not represented by a negotiated agreement and district leadership personnel, including the superintendent. The settlement is within the parameters established by the Board of Education. 
• InfraSource Underground Construction Services, LLC will construct an outside plant fiber network – east ring. This project is part of the 2006 Bond Program.
• The board meetings on July 8 and 22, 2008, were cancelled.
• BVSD’s Operational Services was authorized to accept bids and authorize construction and maintenance project contracts to maintain schedules during the month of July when the board does not convene. The school district’s legal counsel has developed a resolution that will empower the administration to move forward with projects in the absence of board action. The board approved the same authorization in past years. All contracts approved in July will be ratified by the Board of Education in August 2008.
• The Bond Program was authorized to accept bids and authorize construction and maintenance project contracts to maintain schedules during the month of July when the board does not convene. The school district’s legal counsel has developed a resolution that will empower the administration to move forward with projects in the absence of board action. The board approved the same authorization in past years. At this time, the Bond Program is not aware of any bond contracts that will exceed the existing contract authority thresholds. This request for July contracting authorization is made, however, to address unanticipated occurrences. All contracts approved in July will be ratified by the Board of Education in August 2008.

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Hats Off! Superintendent’s Honor Roll

The 2008 National History Day State Champions and National Junior Division Finalists from Centennial Middle School and their teacher Pete Rosato were inducted in Superintendent's Honor Roll during the June 24 board meeting. A team from Fairview High School and a student from Summit Middle School also won several honors in History Day competitions and will be recognized in August.

According to the National History Day website,
“The National History Day contest engages students in grades 6-12 …in discovery and interpretation of historical topics related to an annual theme. Students…produce creative and scholarly projects in the form of exhibits, documentaries, historical papers, performances, or websites.”

After a series of district and state contests, the program culminates with a national competition at the University of Maryland in College Park every June.

Centennial students Sidney Morse, Katie Olwin, Azalee Rafi, and Alice Skok, won the following awards this year:

• 1st place in the Junior Group Performance category at the Boulder Valley Regional National History Day Championship,
• 1st place in the Colorado State National History Day Championship, and went on to become
• Finalists in the 2008 National History Day Championship held at the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland.

Their entry, Women Who Cried: Stories from Vietnam Nurses, told the dramatic story of the Vietnam War through the eyes of women who experienced it first hand as combat nurses. It was researched and produced entirely by these students. 

Centennial’s Alexander Denton won:

• 3rd place in the Interactive Web Site Category at the Boulder Valley Regional NHD Championship,
• 1st place in the Colorado State NHD Championship, and went on to become a
• Finalist in the 2008 National History Day Championship held at the University of Maryland.

Researched and produced in its entirety by Alexander, The October Crisis; How We Avoided Destroying the World, tells the story of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Using first hand accounts from both American and Cuban relatives. Alex’s website offers a compelling and personal analysis of the 20th century’s most dangerous 13 days.

Congratulations on an outstanding year.

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