Community meetings well attended at 4 sites on Jan. 25

Thank you to the hundreds of Greeley and Evans residents who attended the Jan. 25 community meetings at Dos Rios, Martinez, Monfort and Winograd schools. Community input is crucial to the difficult decision-making process which lies ahead.

Because attendance was much more than expected, some may not have been able to pick up the informational handouts that were made available at these meetings. Please click on the links below to download copies of each, as well as the slideshow presentation made by district leaders at each site.

Copious notes were taken at each site. To download transcriptions of those notes click the links for each site's meeting: Dos Rios | Martinez | Monfort | Winograd

As always, input is welcome via email at feedback@greeleyschools.org, interested community members can subscribe to the District 6 News email list by sending a message to districtnews-subscribe@greeleyschools.org, and receive District 6 news as soon as it�s posted by following @greeleyschools on Twitter.

January 25 Community Engagement Meeting handouts:

Slideshow presentation

Regional headlines

Budget cuts

School consolidation

Graduation requirements

Surrounding school districts� requirements

Grad-requirement overhaul aims for better education, more choices, higher rates

After several years of discussion and research, School District 6 is working on a proposal to update its graduation requirements to meet the legislative requirements of the 2008 Colorado Achievement Plan for Kids (CAP4K) education reform program.

The district's current requirements don�t match up well with parts of the CAP4K effort, particularly with the requirement for each student to have an Individual Career and Academic Plan (ICAP), which is a plan of study for an area of academic or career interest. The district is developing a proposal that would bring its requirements into compliance with the state's expectations, and also align District 6 with what most other large districts across Colorado are requiring.

For more information on the proposed changes and to provide feedback, click here.

Annual report data for 2008-09 available

Members of the District 6 community can view how its schools performed in the 2008-09 school year according to a variety of accountability measures. That information is accessible through the Colorado Department of Education�s SchoolView web portal and searching for "Greeley 6."

Every year, school districts in Colorado report their performance to their communities, based on requirements in the No Child Left Behind Act. In addition, state law requires districts to report accreditation information. The profile for District 6 includes a number of state- and federally required data, including:
Assessment | Accountability | Student engagement | Post-secondary readiness | School Accountability Reports

Letters explaining how to access this information are being sent to every household with students in District 6. Anyone in the community who does not have internet access can request a hard copy of this information by calling 348-6000.

Dos Rios teacher Roxie Butkus earns National Board Certified Teacher status

Roxie Butkus, a third-grade teacher at Dos Rios Elementary meets the highest standards for teachers.

She is one of 82,000 teachers nationwide since 1987 to complete the intense certification process from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. She is the third employee in District 6 to achieve National Board Certified Teacher status. Molly Darnell, an administrator at Cameron Elementary School, and Darrelanne Sundeen, an Exceptional Student Services coordinator, each have attained NBCT status as well.

National Board Certification is a voluntary assessment program designed to develop, recognize and retain accomplished teachers. The status is achieved through a performance-based assessment which usually takes one to three years to complete. While state licensing systems set basic requirements to teach in each state, NBCTs have successfully demonstrated advanced teaching knowledge, skills and practices.

Heiman Math Night multiplies knowledge, fun

Students, parents and teachers added up to an educational evening on Dec. 3 at Heiman Elementary. The school hosted a Family Math Game Night to introduce parents to the district�s new curriculum, Everyday Math, by playing games, learning algorithms, asking questions and discovering technology resources available to support children.

More than 130 families � 400-plus people � were greeted at the school�s front door and given bags filled with game cards, dice, instructions, multiplication and division fact tables and other take-home resources, then asked to visit the 15 learning stations throughout the building.

Today in History

National Weather Service: then known as the United States Weather Bureau, was founded; it used to alert fruit growers to the approach of stormy weather by telegraph (1870) - Read Full Article

National Weather Service: then known as the United States Weather Bureau, was founded; it used to alert fruit growers to the approach of stormy weather by telegraph (1870)

Davis Cup: international tennis competition was played for the first time; its donor, Dwight F. Davis, won (1900) - Read Full Article

Davis Cup: international tennis competition was played for the first time; its donor, Dwight F. Davis, won (1900)

war time: clocks were turned forward one hour in the US to aid the war effort; this change to daylight-saving time was year-round and lasted till the end of WWII (1942) - Read Full Article

war time: clocks were turned forward one hour in the US to aid the war effort; this change to daylight-saving time was year-round and lasted till the end of WWII (1942)