District 6 hosts Colorado Education Initiative Board

Greeley-Evans School District 6 hosted Colorado's Education Initiative's (CEI) Board of Directors on Thursday, September 8, for their annual board meeting. 

CEI has been a valued partner to District 6 since 2015, most recently in support of our family and community partnership, culture and climate, and leadership and systems development work, including through facilitating targeted learning and collaboration with other Colorado school districts. 

Each September, CEI hosts this meeting at one of their closest partner districts as a shared learning opportunity for board members to deepen understanding of current issues in education and build new understanding about what is possible in Colorado's public education system.

The visit to District 6 began with an orientation to the strategic vision and organizational plan that has guided the district's journey toward excellence, presented by Superintendent Dr. Deirdre Pilch and Dr. Stacie Datteri, assistant superintendent of elementary and K-8 schools, and academic achievement. Building on CEI's partnership to support the development of our plan for the Strengthening Partnerships Focus Area within our Innovation2030 Strategic Plan, the group received an orientation to the District 6 Family Center and the expansive supports offered to our community by Director of Cultural Excellence and Parent Engagement Jesse Tijerina and Family Center Coordinator David Reyes. 

The visit concluded with a robust student panel and guided student tour at the newly constructed Greeley West High School, where they learned about the commitment to high school relevance and career-connected learning through student's experiences with concurrent enrollment, P-TECH, apprenticeships, internships and career pathways. 

CEI's Board and leadership team shared several important reflections about what they experienced in District 6 that stands out from other school districts across the state that we are proud to highlight here:

• District 6's Innovation 2030 Strategic Plan is an example of a clear vision, unwavering belief in and support of students and community, strong leaders at each level of our schools and district and deep community partnership. District 6 stands out among other districts in our attentive and forward-thinking measurement of this plan through our public dashboard. 
• District 6's Family Center is a strategic blending of programs, relationship-centered partnership, and culturally responsive engagement. CEI is working to expand support for this work in the coming years and position other districts locally and nationally to learn from our efforts. 
• The insights shared from Greeley West students shined a spotlight on how relevant learning achieved through the variety of high-quality career-connected experiences that Greeley West offers drives engagement, motivation and rigor. The group was inspired by our student's visions and plans for college and career pathways that they have honed as a result of this work. 

As a group of education and other industry leaders who also recognize the challenges education faces in sustaining quality leadership, CEI's board President and CEO Rebecca Holmes said the Board was moved by the strength of District 6's team and relationships, and the conditions the district has cultivated to embrace diversity and engage all students in a challenging and personalized education. 

"We are so grateful for the time you spent preparing for and hosting our board visit. The reminder of how much is possible in our public education systems and in our schools is so critical," said CEI President and CEO Rebecca Holmes. "While I knew Greeley was the exact right place for this year's board visit, the degree of inspiration you all instilled exceeded our already high expectations. We continue to learn so much from District 6 and it is an honor to support even small portions of what you are building and sustaining."