Superintendent's Blog
To suggest topics, please email me at superintendent@bvsd.org. I look forward to hearing from you!
Chris King, Superintendent of BVSD |
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11/10/2009On November 3, Boulder Valley School District voters reelected one school board member and elected two new board members. Current board vice president and University of Colorado faculty member Lesley Smith, first elected in 2005, was reelected to a second term. Lesley and her family live in north Boulder. Jennie Belval, an instructional professional in talented and gifted education, was elected to succeed retiring eight-year board member Jean Paxton who was term limited. Jenny and her family live in Broomfield. Ball Corporation executive Tom Miers was elected to succeed outgoing four-year board member Patti Smith who chose not to run again in 2009. Tom and his wife live in east Boulder. Congratulations to all three winners.
Before these three election winners can be sworn in for their 2009-2013 terms, the school board must wait for the Boulder, Broomfield and Gilpin county clerks to officially certify their election returns. This was not completed in time for the November 10 school board meeting. Since there is only one board meeting in November due to fall break, there will be a special board meeting on Tuesday, December 1 at 6:00 p.m. in the Board Meeting Room of the BVSD Education Center located at 6500 E. Arapahoe in Boulder. At that time, all three election winners will be sworn in and board officer elections will take place for the 2009-2011 board term.
Before this special meeting is convened, there will be a public reception in the Board Meeting Room from 5:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. to recognize the outstanding work of departing board members Patti Smith and Jean Paxton. Please join us if you can. 10/31/2009Campaign Manager Jeanne Aguilar tells me donations are down this year. Please help! Visit the ECC page now to make your pledge! 10/16/2009I’ve been reading some concerning news about our community. Did you know the following?
- 30,000 people in Boulder County do not have some form of health care,
- 45 percent of our community lacks dental insurance,
- the percentage of Boulder County residents living in poverty is 10.7, and
- sadly, 9.3 percent of children in Boulder County are living below poverty level
(based on federally set poverty level of $22,050 annual income for a family of four – these poverty numbers come from a Sept. 29, 2009, Denver Post article).
Local organizations that provide help to community members in need are reporting dramatic increases in the number of people coming to them for help. Sister Carmen Community Center in Lafayette, for instance, recently reported they are seeing 12-15 percent more households each week.
Giving even $10 a month can make a big difference:
- Back-to-school backpacks full of supplies for more than eight children for one school year,
- Over 40 hours of one-to-one mentoring for a troubled youth,
- 62 meals for hungry children and adults, and
- Career counseling skills assessment, resume help, workshops and support groups for an out-of-work parent.
Last year BVSD employees contributed nearly $65,000 during the Employee Contribution Campaign. I hope everyone will pledge to contribute at least as much again this year and that a few more people will join in with this charitable giving effort.
Many thanks to the ECC Committee that organizes this effort, especially HR Director Jeanne Aguilar, who works tirelessly to make this happen each year. 10/4/2009One of the many things I am proud of our district for is that BVSD is striving to become a leader in sustainability. I believe this is important for us as a school district, and important to our community. Part of becoming a more sustainable organization means using our resources wisely and conservatively. This covers everything from how we build and maintain our buildings to how we operate and teach on a daily basis. Among our accomplishments thus far are longstanding recycling and alternative transportation programs, a history of energy efficiency improvements, many elements of environmental sustainability in our curriculum, and renewable energy applications in several of our schools.
However, we still have a long road ahead. Here are a few things we all can do to pitch in:
- Print only when necessary and print double-sided copies.
- Turn off unnecessary lights and turn on office equipment only when needed.
- Report leaking faucets.
- Reduce waste produced at events.
- Bus, bike, walk and carpool when possible.
Other efforts toward sustainability include the creation of a Sustainability Management System (SMS) which was completed in the spring. An SMS is a comprehensive approach for identifying and coordinating our existing efforts around sustainability, defining a vision for sustainability for BVSD, and creating plans to integrate sustainability into our operations and curriculum.
The next big effort taking place on this initiative is the development of a district policy that supports sustainability. The Boulder Valley Board of Education has agreed to consider such a policy and will hear a recommendation from staff and the community at the October 13 board meeting. The Board will vote on the final version of the policy during the October 27 meeting.
Get all the latest updates on these efforts in the greenBVSD section of our website and please do everything you can to help BVSD become a leader in sustainability. 9/16/2009
Crisis management planning is part of our ongoing commitment to provide a safe and secure learning environment. Each of our schools share a common crisis management template that is based on the protocols described in the National Incident Management System (NIMS). The district enjoys great relationships with our local Law Enforcement Agencies and other supporting 1st Responder agencies.
In an effort to stay in tune with the latest best practices, and to ingrain these practices into our crisis management strategy, we applied for the Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) grant. As this is a competitive, nationwide grant application process, I’m pleased to report our district is the only recipient in Colorado this year, and received the largest allocation in the nation. Through this grant, we will conduct school safety and vulnerability assessments in order to individualize our crisis management template to the highest risks faced by particular schools. Once those risks are clearly identified and understood, schools can focus their training of staff and students to mitigate those risks. In addition, our staffs who will be called in to manage crisis situations when they occur, will complete several courses recommended by FEMA and the National Incident Management System.
The grant also provides us an opportunity to strengthen our student and parent training, along with opportunities to involve our response agencies in our training and planning processes.
Special thanks to Bee Valacek, BVSD Grants Administrator, and Steve Hoban, BVSD Director of Security, Operations and Environmental Services, for getting this REMS grant for the district. 9/2/2009Just two weeks into the school year and it’s hopping already. Of top concern to many parents I've spoken to is the swine flu.
Regarding the H1N1 virus (aka "swine flu") ~
We anticipated this one. I'm glad to tell you that our Health Services Department and other key district staff (including myself) are meeting regularly with public health officials from Boulder County and Broomfield. Our last meeting was today.
Here are the two main points:
- Several students have already developed symptoms of flu consistent with H1N1 and, given how much earlier than usual this flu is hitting, most health officials assume it IS H1N1. The good news is that this particular virus has not proven itself to be very life-threatening when compared to other more typical seasonal flu viruses. The bad news is that it is a new variety and most people don't have immunity built up to resist it, which means it spreads easily. So wash your hands with soap and water a LOT and teach your children to do the same. Get details on prevention on our web page devoted to this topic at http://bvsd.org/frontnews/Pages/ColdFluPrevention.aspx
- We are monitoring the situation closely. Children who arrive at school with flu symptoms are being sent home right away. Every precaution is being taken to prevent healthy students from being exposed to this flu virus at school. Our primary concern is that the children who do have the flu stay home while they are sick and get well soon. Our school staffs will work with students to make up the lost educational time later, when they are well. Don't worry about that.
I hope this helps answer your questions. If not, please email me and I’ll do my best to get an answer to you promptly. 8/28/2009Back-to-school activities are taking place throughout the district right now, and I strongly encourage all parents to attend. Our children benefit when they feel a connection between their school life and home life. The simple act of walking into the school together with your child makes a strong statement – it says “school is important.” It also shows that you are interested in seeing where he or she is spending the days.
Staying involved with your child’s school throughout the year will help your student, too. Many opportunities are available, from PTOs and PTAs to school volunteer work.
One great way for parents to get involved is through the Parent Engagement Network (PEN), which organizes numerous presentations and activities to support parents. PEN is holding a big kick-off event on Wednesday, Sept. 2, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Louisville Middle School. Presenter Stephanie Hoy, master trainer and executive director of Assets for Colorado Youth, will speak about “ The Power of Parents: Sparking the Hidden Strengths of our Youth.” I will be there and I hope you will, too. 8/20/2009
Some parents have expressed concerns about how this might affect their children in BVSD schools. I assure you that all of us in the district, teachers and administrators alike, put students first in every consideration. We are committed to providing students with the very best education possible, every day, no matter what.
This means we will continue working to resolve the issues with teachers and keep trying to work out an agreement that everyone can live with for the current school year. Until a new agreement is reached, the one for last year stays in effect. One of the items in the 2008-09 agreement is that it prohibits strikes or organized job actions that would disrupt instruction during school hours.
Although this is a difficult time for us, I am confident that we will work things out and have a successful year overall.
Many thanks. 8/11/2009
We look forward to seeing our returning students again and extend a warm welcome to those who will be new to BVSD this year. School begins here in BVSD on August 18 for sixth and ninth graders, August 19 for the rest of the secondary grades, and on August 20 for elementary students.
The first week of school is always an exciting time and even more so for us this year. We are improving the school lunch menus, for instance. During the first week of school, students in elementary and middle schools will be bringing home a calendar of lunch menus for the coming year. Get a sneak peek of the healthier menus.
We are also implementing our new curriculum this year, which was many months in the making. Watch for a future blog devoted entirely to this important topic.
All sorts of special events take place these first few weeks of school, too. Individual schools hold community picnics and back-to-school nights (see school websites for details). See our online calendar for details about district wide events, including those coordinated by the Parent Engagement Network.
Welcome back, everyone! 8/6/2009
As the first day of school gets closer, public interest in BVSD's tentative agreement with BVEA seems to be growing. People have requested more meetings, so we have scheduled three additional ones:
- 5:00-6:30 p.m. Monday, August 10, Monarch High School, Student Center
- 4:00-5:30 p.m. Wednesday, August 12, Broomfield High School Library
- 4:00-5:30 p.m. Friday, August 14, Boulder High School Library
If you still have questions about our negotiations and tentative agreement with BVEA, please plan to attend one of these remaining meetings. I will be at all of them and look forward to talking with everyone. | Edit in Browser | /_layouts/images/icxddoc.gif | /superintendent/blog/_layouts/formserver.aspx?XsnLocation={ItemUrl}&OpenIn=Browser | 0x0 | 0x1 | FileType | xsn | 255 | | Edit in Browser | /_layouts/images/icxddoc.gif | /superintendent/blog/_layouts/formserver.aspx?XmlLocation={ItemUrl}&OpenIn=Browser | 0x0 | 0x1 | ProgId | InfoPath.Document | 255 | | Edit in Browser | /_layouts/images/icxddoc.gif | /superintendent/blog/_layouts/formserver.aspx?XmlLocation={ItemUrl}&OpenIn=Browser | 0x0 | 0x1 | ProgId | InfoPath.Document.2 | 255 | | Edit in Browser | /_layouts/images/icxddoc.gif | /superintendent/blog/_layouts/formserver.aspx?XmlLocation={ItemUrl}&OpenIn=Browser | 0x0 | 0x1 | ProgId | InfoPath.Document.3 | 255 | | Edit in Browser | /_layouts/images/icxddoc.gif | /superintendent/blog/_layouts/formserver.aspx?XmlLocation={ItemUrl}&OpenIn=Browser | 0x0 | 0x1 | ProgId | InfoPath.Document.4 | 255 | | View in Web Browser | /_layouts/images/ichtmxls.gif | /superintendent/blog/_layouts/xlviewer.aspx?listguid={ListId}&itemid={ItemId}&DefaultItemOpen=1 | 0x0 | 0x1 | FileType | xlsx | 255 | | View in Web Browser | /_layouts/images/ichtmxls.gif | /superintendent/blog/_layouts/xlviewer.aspx?listguid={ListId}&itemid={ItemId}&DefaultItemOpen=1 | 0x0 | 0x1 | FileType | xlsb | 255 | | Snapshot in Excel | /_layouts/images/ewr134.gif | /superintendent/blog/_layouts/xlviewer.aspx?listguid={ListId}&itemid={ItemId}&Snapshot=1 | 0x0 | 0x1 | FileType | xlsx | 256 | | Snapshot in Excel | /_layouts/images/ewr134.gif | /superintendent/blog/_layouts/xlviewer.aspx?listguid={ListId}&itemid={ItemId}&Snapshot=1 | 0x0 | 0x1 | FileType | xlsb | 256 |
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