Adams 12 Five Star Journal-May 2013

Connecting you to your Five Star Schools May 2013 VOL. 12 | NO. 4 | An Adams 12 Five Star Schools Publication

ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOLS MAKE THE TRANSITION TO STANDARDSBASED GRADING

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Improvements to district budget process underway More precise budget measures and increased school and departmentlevel control key to new process In the past year-and-a-half, the Five Star District’s financial services team has been carefully evaluating and analyzing the district’s financial framework and internal processes. This work is resulting in the implementation of improvements that will refine the district’s financial operations.

One of the larger tasks undertaken by Chief Financial Officer Shelley Becker and her team has been updating the district’s budgeting process.

“Our goal is to utilize financial tools and historical expenditures to narrow the gap between budgeted amounts and actual spending,” Becker said. “It’s about continuous improvement and implementing best practices.”

A budget is an outline of an organization’s financial and operational goals. Budgets are designed to be reviewed, updated and revised as needed on an ongoing basis. They See BUDGET | PaGe 3

The Adams 12 Five Star Schools Hispanic Advisory Council (HAC) honors students at its sixth annual awards ceremony. More than 150 elementary, middle and high school students earned awards recognizing their success and contributions to our community.

Nine high school seniors, including Jaime Garcia of Thornton High School (pictured above), were also awarded $500 scholarships.

(Photo by Northglenn High School 10th-grader Ariel Markovich)

Grants expand summer program enrollment More students to benefit from interactive summer learning experience Two grants will allow four elementary schools to more than double their summer program enrollment — allowing 240 students to attend compared to 100 students in past years — and provide real-world experiences for students.

Summer PEAK programs at Rocky Mountain, Federal Heights, McElwain and North Star elementary schools earned two 21st Century Community Learning Centers grants totaling $78,000 from the Colorado Department of Education. The program at North Star will also serve students from Coronado Hills and Thornton elementary schools, and the grants allow for more staff

and busing of students, which previously did not occur during the summer.

Students at each school will have an interactive six weeks ahead of them when the summer program starts on July 1, said Extended Learning Manager Stephanie Hansen.

The summer programs, which are free for eligible students, will continue to develop the skills that students learn during the school year.

“It’s very rewarding to be able to open it up and do relevant work with our students,” Hansen said.

North Star focuses on literacy and helping students achieve their personal best by teaching students to set, work toward and assess progress in reaching goals.

Students at the other elementary schools will continue to focus on science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM learning.

The grant for these schools provides for two certified teachers who will team-teach in STEM areas. Students will also focus on goal setting and will complete an independent project to reflect on their summer.

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CELEBRATE POINTS OF PRIDE

PROJECTS REFLECT YEARS OF LEARNING

CORONADO HILLS LETS ITS GARDEN GROW

Schools showcase their 20122013 achievements

Students showcase passions in capstone projects

Students learn what it takes to grow their own food

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Five Star Journal

2 | May 2013

Five Star graduates go on to make lasting impact in our communities

BOARD MESSAGE

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Our graduates represent future community leaders, surgeons, soldiers and more

By Mark Clark, President Adams 12 Five Star Schools Board of Education

May 2013 | Published Quarterly

Connecting you to your Five Star Schools

Communications Services 1500 E. 128th Ave. Thornton, CO 80241 (720) 972-4005

www.adams12.org Board of Education Mark D. Clark Norman L. Jennings r. Max Wilsey Dr. Frederick J. Schaefer enrico Figueroa To advertise in the Five Star Journal, contact Linda Nuccio at 720-409-4766

It’s my favorite time of the school year. Graduation. We celebrate the many accomplishments of the thousands of Five Star graduates earning their high school diplomas this month. And we look forward to the positive mark they will make on our communities in the years and decades ahead.

Adams 12 Five Star Schools represents a springboard for our graduates to have a broader impact on the communities in which they live. Our graduates have gone on to become a professional basketball player in the WNBA; a respected physician and surgeon; the U.S. Secretary of Interior; a community leader committed to selflessly serving others; a soldier, police officer or firefighter who serves and protects; the editor-in-chief of one of Denver’s leading sports publications; and, yes, the superintendent of Adams 12 Five Star Schools.

This is what I love most about the season - the closing of one chapter, and the opening of so many more.

Congratulations to each and every one of our graduates for all you’ve accomplished, and all that is yet to come. You’ve had a fantastic

support team, including your classroom teachers, the office staff at your schools, your bus drivers, your coaches, your friends and even your parents! They helped provide you with an opportunity, but you are the one who took that opportunity seriously and made the most of it.

With Armed Forces Day (May 18) and Memorial Day (May 27) this month, it’s also a time to celebrate and extend our gratitude to current and past graduates serving to protect our country. The Five Star District has a strong tradition of honoring their service. In fact, the district has a facility named in their honor – the Adams 12 Five Star Schools Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center, also known as the VMAC. I encourage anyone who hasn’t visited the VMAC before, to do so. It’s located across from Horizon High School.

The facility features two tributes to veterans.

The first is in the lower level lobby of the VMAC. It’s the Fallen Heroes Wall of Honor. The wall provides special recognition for graduates of the district who were Killed in Action (KIA).

It serves as place of recognition so that “their contributions may never be forgotten.” The Fallen Heroes Wall of Honor is a tribute to all of the Five Star District’s fallen heroes, past and future. Adams 12 Five Star Schools thanks the Thornton Veterans Memorial Foundation for partnering on this initiative.

The second tribute is just outside the VMAC on the north end. There you will find the Thornton Veterans Memorial. The memorial features a moving statue titled “Grace”. Wellknown local sculptor Christopher Romero donated the piece to the memorial. The nearly four-foot tall statue of a winged angel releasing a dove with dog tags is an extraordinarily moving piece of artwork.

We are truly blessed to live in the Five Star District and to bear witness to all the contributions our Five Star graduates have made. I know the Class of 2013 will continue that tradition. Congratulations graduating seniors of Adams 12 Five Star Schools.

God bless Adams 12 Five Star Schools and God bless America!

District debuts consolidated billing First household bill for transportation and school fees will be sent electronically July 20 Adams 12 Five Star Schools is moving to a consolidated billing process beginning with the 2013-2014 school year. Instead of receiving multiple bills in the mail for each child, one household bill will be sent electronically on the 20th of each month beginning in July.

Some student fees, such as BASE and nutrition will not be included in the consolidated bill.

In addition to the consolidated bill, a change in when student fees are assessed will occur. District-level fees will be assessed in October instead of July and many secondary schools will move their school-level assesements to August.

“By changing when fees are assessed, we are hoping to streamline the student check-in process to focus more on student registration and less on payment collection,” Executive Director Janette Walters said.

In addition to monthly electronic bills, consolidated household bills will be mailed home in October for all district families. A February bill will be mailed to families with students graduating or transitioning to middle or high school (fifth, eighth and 12th-graders).

The household bill can be viewed at any time on the Infinite Campus portal beginning in July.

For more information about the consolidated billing process, please contact the Financial Services Department at 720-972-4120 or finance@adams12.org.

Woodglen Elementary celebrates Earth Day with wacky hats. Students used their imagination to turn recycled materials into wearable hats and then voted on who had the best head gear. The winner was fifth-grader Damien Solis with his impressive tiered look.

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Grants: Summer program gets boost FrOM PaGe 1

Students from all four schools will have the opportunity to take trips to places in the community to learn more about issues related to their personal goals.

“Before it was all sort of virtual, whereas now we’ll be able to take them out and show them,” Hansen said. “They’ll be able to see the relevancy of their classroom work.”

Students will have a say on what places they visit in the community, said Grants and Federal Programs Director Amy Bruce. For example, if students decide a goal is to improve reading skills, they may visit a library, or if students are learning about a water filtration system, they may visit a water treatment facility. The aim of these trips is to expand students’ learning beyond the classroom and get students thinking about possible career options.

Staff will also be watching to see how what they learn in the summer program will impact their academic growth in the future.

“They become a very active and engaged learner and we hope that we’ll see that in the next school year,” Bruce said.

The summer program offers a different dynamic than the school year, Hansen said.

“We’re able to spend more quality time with (students) and let their real personalities shine through,” she said.

Bruce agreed.

“I like the summer programs because you can expand upon what happened in the school year and really take it to a creative place,” she said.

Children eat free

Five schools offer free breakfast and lunch program this summer

Centennial Elementary, Coronado Hills Elementary, Leroy Drive Elementary, STEM Launch and The Studio School are participating in the Summer Food Service Program for Children and will offer free breakfast and lunch this summer.

The program runs Tuesday, May 28, through Friday, Aug. 9. Breakfast will be served from 8 to 8:30 a.m. Lunch will be available from 10:45 a.m. to noon at Centennial Elementary and Leroy Drive Elementary and from 11 a.m. to noon at the other three schools.

Breakfast and lunch are provided free this summer to children from one to 18-years-old. Adults can eat lunch for $3.

To participate in the program, children need to eat at one of the

participating schools. Families do not need to fill out any forms or qualify in any way. The participating schools are there to meet the nutritional needs of all children and every child is welcome.

In accordance with Federal Law and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, age or disability is prohibited.

Discrimination complaints can be filed with the USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Ave., SW Washington D.C. 20250-9140. Or call 1-800-795-3272 or 202-720-6382.

For any questions concerning the Summer Food Service Program, please contact Nutrition Services at 720-972-6061.

2013 SUMMER FOOD SERVICE PROGRAM Locations, dates and times May 28 – Aug. 9 l Monday – Friday Breakfast 8 – 8:30 a.m. l Lunch varies by location (see article above) Centennial Elementary 13200 Westlake Dr. Broomfield, CO 80020

Leroy Drive Elementary 1451 Leroy Dr. Northglenn, CO 80233

Coronado Hills Elementary 8300 Downing Dr. Thornton, CO 80229

STEM Launch 9450 Pecos St. Thornton, CO 80260

The Studio School 10604 Grant Dr. Northglenn, CO 80233

Budget: District improves process FrOM PaGe 1

should be flexible and able to accommodate changes as they occur.

For example, a district receives per-pupil funding determined by the October pupil count. By law, district boards of education must adopt a budget by June 30, several months prior to the October count. Due to this, districts project and budget for what they believe enrollment will be based on historical enrollment, housing starts, charter school enrollment and other factors.

“The process is complex and there are many variables in the budgeting process,” Superintendent Chris Gdowski said. “It’s very similar to working on a puzzle, but not all of the pieces are available at the same time.”

The district also uses historical data to budget for some of the largest expenditures such as salaries and benefits, which make up more than 85 percent of the Five Star District’s operating budget. However, to further refine the process, the district is changing some long-held practices.

Instead of using an average salary and multiplying that by the number of employees across the entire organization, the actual salary expenses within each department will be used to budget for salary expenditures.

A similar method will also be applied to budgeting for benefit expenses. In place of budgeting by a flat benefit rate, benefits will be budgeted by planned costs for specific benefits such as medical, dental and vision.

Becker believes a similar approach to budgeting for utility expenses by evaluating historical utility costs and trend analysis data will help the district budget $1.5 million closer to actual expenditures for utilities alone.

“This more narrow line-item, detail-oriented focus gives us a better indication of what our actual expenditures will be while also increasing transparency within the organization,” Becker said.

Budget practices are also changing at the school level within the district. The Five Star District has traditionally given a “lump” sum of funding to schools, known as lump sheet allocation, based on factors such as the number of students and staffing ratios.

The new student-based budgeting practice better addresses students’ and schools’ diverse needs by giving school leaders the flexibility to allocate money for the school in a way that focuses more on a school’s individual needs, priorities and desired results, and less on numbers alone.

“Our goal is to increase equity in funding and empower school leaders and a school community to make the best choices for their students and “It’s very similar success,” Becker said. to working on a In addition to refining budget practices puzzle, but not all within the Five Star District, Becker also plans to of the pieces are available at the increase customer service internally and increase same time.” communication to the district community.

Chris Gdowski, “I’d like to see more collective discussions and Superintendent feedback within open settings,” Becker said.“School finance is complex and educating and increasing communications is an important goal of mine.”

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Five Star Journal

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2012

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Points of Pride

2013

The Five Star District celebrates the many accomplishments of its students, staff and school communities: Arapahoe Ridge Elementary • More than 60 students participated in the Reading and Math Together afterschool clubs focusing on achievement, academic confidence and leadership skills.

• Recognized with the Governor’s Distinguished Improvement Award.

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2013

Malley Drive Elementary • The focus this year was Healthy Body=Healthy Mind and students got a minimum of 35 minutes physical activity each day through structured and safe play.

• All classrooms met or exceeded growth in math and reading on the winter MAP assessment.

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Participated in the JAM World Record to raise awareness about making good health choices and participating in daily physical activity.

Stukey Elementary • Technology integration was a focus with nearly a 2:1 student to mobile device ratio - just two years ago the ratio was 50:1.

• Has a brand new state-of-the-art computer lab complete with an interactive white board.

Para Enorgullecerse McElwain Elementary • McElwain moved from priority improvement to improvement on TCAP 2011-2012.

• Completed its second year of International Baccalaureate candidacy.

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Tarver Elementary • The Techno Tigers and Tiger Bots Lego robotic teams competed in the first Lego League State Competition. The Meridian Elementary Techno Tigers received six out of nine exemplary scores and • Again recognized by the Colorado Department of Education placed first for presentation. for academic excellence, earning the 2012 John Irwin Award • Second-grade teacher Becky Muller was selected to attend and the 2012 Governor’s Distinguished Improvement Award. the Google Academy in California and became a Google • Service learning projects included providing 300 Certified Teacher; and second-grade teacher Teresa Kajiwara Coronado Hills Elementary Thanksgiving meals, first grade’s mitten drive and fourth was selected to participate in the workshop Landmarks of • A candidate school for the International Baccalaureate grade’ s One Nation Walking Together project that raised American History and Culture, Empires of the Wind.

Primary Years Programme and pursuing authorization as an more than $2,800 and provided supplies for reservation IB World School. schools.

The Studio School • Third-grade students were 90 percent proficient and Cotton Creek Elementary Mountain View Elementary advanced on the math TCAP and no one received an • Purchased 35 new computers for its computer lab.

• Earned a Friedman Family Foundation grant for 29 iPads to unsatisfactory score.

• Fourth-grade teacher Lisa Martinez named Bilingual use in the deaf/hard-of-hearing preschool and self-contained • Established education partnerships with Ballet Nouveau, Educator of the Year through the Colorado Association of classrooms.

Think 360, The Imagination Makers, Bal Swan Preschool and Bilingual Educators (CABE).

• The Sign Language Choir was asked to participate in several Denver University. city and county of Broomfield events throughout the year.

Coyote Ridge Elementary Thornton Elementary • With the help of its parent science committee and Prairie Hills Elementary • Thornton Elementary is an International Baccalaureate partnerships with the National Chemistry Council, the • One of 13 district schools with reading, writing and math Primary Years Programme candidate school.

University of Colorado, Metropolitan State University and TCAP scores at or above the 50th percentile that represents Lockheed Martin, students participated in monthly hands-on an average year of academic growth. The writing score was Westview Elementary science activities. one of the highest in the district and Prairie Hills ranked • Held a Veterans Day Program honoring community veterans • More than 175 fourth and fifth-graders created their own second in reading and math growth among the 13 district for their service and created a flag with the entire school’s science fair projects and participated in an interactive science schools. handprints that now hangs in the Denver Acquisitions and fair.

• Art teacher Donna Samuels received the Colorado Art Logistics Center of the U.S. Dept of Veterans Affairs.

Education Association’s Distinguished Service Within the • On Liberty Day, fifth-graders led the Pledge of Allegiance Eagleview Elementary Profession Award. and read the Declaration of Independence on the state house • Eagleview received the Golden Sneaker Award for wellness floor. Students also quizzed legislators on their constitutional initiatives.

Riverdale Elementary knowledge.

• The PTO hosted a silent auction that brought in nearly • Implemented the Learning Together program with 15 fifth$10,000 for technology.

Hulstrom K-8 graders tutoring 15 third-graders.

• One of Hulstrom’s Destination Imagination teams, the • Chosen to be part of the District Digital Literacy Pilot and Federal Heights Elementary “Natural Disasters” qualified to compete in the Global Finals all students learned to use technology tools, such as iPads, • Students met their goal of independently reading more than in Knoxville, Tenn.

Photostory, Wixies, Blabberize, Edmodo and Google Docs.

350,000 minutes and celebrated with a “make the principal a • Fifth-graders participated in “A Week in the Life” project sundae” assembly. where teams of students from around the globe create a Rocky Mountain Elementary • The FHE National Elementary Honor Society inducted 21 multi-media presentation about an aspect of what it is like to • Moved up a level to Performance on the Colorado new student members chosen based on academic rigor and live in a particular country.

Performance Framework. community involvement.

• Participated in the CCLC Federal grant allowing Rocky STEM Lab Mountain to develop an extension of learning to the PEAK • Had its first eighth-grade graduating class – 70 percent of the Hillcrest Elementary after school program. students are going on to Northglenn High School’s STEM • Celebrated its 50th anniversary with a carnival and Pathways. memorabilia.

Silver Creek Elementary • STEM Lab fourth-graders were 100 percent proficient and • Recognized by the Colorado Association for Recycling advanced on the math TCAP. Hunters Glen Elementary for excellence in recycling and received the Outstanding • Hosted Walking and Wheeling Week in April.

STEM Launch Outreach award for an educational institution.

• Hunters Glen held a Fun Run in April.

• Hosted its first STEM Night and more than 400 participants • The Silver Creek Elementary Silver Singers were invited to enjoyed hands-on science, art and technology activities. sing the National Anthem at a Colorado Rockies game.

Leroy Drive Elementary • The first elementary school in the Five Star District to receive Skyview Elementary full authorization from the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) to offer the IB Primary Years Programme. • The first school in the district to be awarded the Golden Sneaker Award and receive $500 to use toward continuing • Celebrated its 50th anniversary with a barbecue and carnival.

See PRIDE | PaGe 10 health and wellness efforts.

Cherry Drive Elementary • Has a 1:1 iPad Classroom (1st grade), 24/7 Learning experience and iPads that go home nightly.

• Continued standard-based grading pilot and introduced the new SBG report card.

Five Star Journal

May 2013 |

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Five Star Journal

6 | May 2013

Century Middle School eighth-graders follow passions for capstone Students work with community mentors to complete their projects Writing a novel. Building a couch and coffee table. Developing a CrossFit workout guide and nutrition book. Creating a set of Cajón box drums. Carving a totem pole. These are just a few of the 380 capstone projects designed and executed by eighth-grade students at Century Middle School.

The capstone, which culminates three years of learning, puts students in the driver’s seat and lets them develop their own projects. Students are encouraged to pursue a passion, and they must reach out to an adult in the community who can help them reach their goal.

“We’re trying to get them to become autonomous learners with this process,” said eighth-grade language arts teacher Carla Houghton.

Century Middle School opened in 1998 with the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme as a cornerstone.

Within the Middle Years Programme, a culminating/capstone project is completed during year five (10th grade). However, not all of the MYP students at Century Middle School moved on to IBMYP at Thornton High School, which meant that a major activity was left out. Century decided to include the capstone project as an eighth-grade project to give all of the MYP students the opportunities the capstone provides, said MYP Coordinator Jennifer Viers.

For the past three years, the entire eighth-grade class has participated in the capstone, said Century Assistant Principal Todd Riley.

“We were looking at it as such a rich experience that we decided everyone should do it,” Riley said.

Students approached developing their projects from different ways; some originated out of a need.

Ethan Simmons’ family needed a couch, so he built them one. He even had time to build a coffee table. In the process he learned the foundations of building furniture and how to upholster.

Student-athlete Mackenzie Jackson said she wanted to learn how to stay in shape, so she worked with her CrossFit coach to develop a workout guide and a nutritional book focusing on the paleo diet.

Tight space at his grandfather’s church led Andrew Findley to build box drums, which are smaller, lighter drums made from plywood.

“I’ve played the drums for a really long time and you can’t “My favorite part was learning skills that I know I’m going really bring your drums with to use the rest of my life.” Andrew Findley you everywhere, so I wanted something more affordable,” he said.

Other projects connected students to their families.

Emily Stephenson said the majority of her family members are cosmetologists, so she built her project around that field, learning to style hair for casual and formal occasions, cut hair and dye hair.

Saber Murray is Native American and she wanted to do something to connect with her roots. She decided to build an eight-foot tall totem pole because her great-grandfather had, and Eighth-grader Andrew Findley and his grandfather and mentor Dave Findley worked it taught her not only about together to build cajón drums, crafting the Latin percussion instruments out of plywood woodworking but also about and a recycled door.

Native American symbology.

Some students used the Dutch said he learned that writing a novel is just the project to jump-start an existing interest. beginning, and revision is an important part of the writing Andres Atencio-Sandoval has always been into clothing. process. Gerzon said their meetings are very interactive and He worked with Denver designer and tattoo artist Rafael they discuss different aspects of writing.

Herrera, developing four T-shirts. He created the shirts by “It’s been rewarding and it feels like the kind of one-onlearning to sew and to use a silkscreen press. one natural teacher-apprentice authentic learning that we’ve Wanting to expand on his interest in writing, Andrew both benefited from,” he said.

Dutch wrote a 100-page religious fiction novel.

Gerzon added that students working on the capstone learn He worked with Ari Gerzon, a published writer and not only from their successes but also from the challenges Dutch’s former assistant principal when he attended Glacier they face.

Peak Elementary School. Gerzon, who now is the principal Riley said the experiential learning aspect gives the students at Arapahoe Ridge Elementary School, said he enjoyed unique and important experience. Students exhibited their reconnecting with a former student and getting the chance projects at an open house for family and community members to help him meet this goal. on May 8.

“I thought it was inspiring and fantastic that he had been “It’s amazing what our kids can do, and that really comes ambitious enough to choose to write a novel,” Gerzon said. through,” Riley said.

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Century Middle School student Tanner Price puts the finishing touches on his go-cart. The eighth-grader took his love of math and mechanics to the next level by choosing to build a go-cart for his capstone project. Thornton business Majestic Metals not only donated the metal, but let Tanner visit the shop each Wednesday to watch them cut the pieces to his specs.

Five Star Journal

May 2013 |

Investing In Our Community Horizons North Credit Union (HNCU) recognizes Adams 12 Five Star Schools with Bright Horizons awards in celebration of the district’s achievements and milestones.

Nominated by students, staff, parents or community members, the winning schools receive lunch for their entire staff courtesy of Thornton business and HNCU partner, Anthony’s II Pizza and Italian Food.

HNCU believes it is important to share the positive stories coming from our local schools. To nominate a Five Star District school or learn more about the previous awards please visit: hncu.org.

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NEWS FROM THE CAPITOL

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Five Star Journal

8 | May 2013

Some K-12 funding restored in final days of 2013 legislative session $1 billion ballot measure to reform state’s school finance formula to go before voters in November

The Colorado General Assembly wrapped up the 2013 legislative session on May 8.

The School Finance Act for the 2013-2014 budget year was finalized in the last few days of the legislative session. The bill brings down the state’s Negative Factor by $40 million.As a direct result of the recession, school districts across the state have had their budgets cut by more than $1 billion in the past few years through a technique called the Negative Factor, which reduces the amount of total program funding districts receive from the state.

The School Finance Act for 2013-2014 also includes $20 million for Tier B Special Education, $7 million for charter school capital construction, 3,200 new slots for the Colorado Preschool Program and increases the statewide base per-pupil funding.

The Governor signed the 2013-2014 Long Appropriations Bill on April 29. The Long Bill must be passed every year and appropriates funding for the Executive, Legislative and Judicial departments and includes funding for K-12 education and school finance. The bill increased funding by $4.6 million for categorical programs, which are designed to serve particular groups of students and include special education, transportation,

career and technical education programs and English language proficiency programs.

Looking forward, SB 213, the Future School Finance Act by Senators Johnston and Heath and Representative Hamner, passed just before the legislative session wrapped up. It has been a long time in the making and will reform the state’s school finance formula. It is the largest K-12 education-related bill of the year. SB 213 is tied to a $1 billion ballot measure, which will be decided by voters in November 2013. The bill is set to go into effect in the 2015-2016 school year, but will not be implemented without passage of the ballot measure.

The Governor also signed SB 033 In-State Classification for High School Completion.

The bill requires higher education institutions to classify undocumented students as in-state students for tuition purposes. This is the seventh time over a period of 10 years that this bill or a similar version has been introduced.A student who has attended a Colorado high school for at least three years preceding graduation can receive the in-state tuition rate, but must submit an affidavit stating that the student has applied for lawful presence. The bill received bi-partisan support in both houses.

Connecting your community with the classroom

Mountain View Elementary’s sign language choir performs to the theme “I love rock ‘n’ roll.” Choir participants performed songs like the rolling Stones’ “It’s Only rock ‘n’ roll” and Joan Jett’s “I Love rock ‘n’ roll.” Students, teachers and parents also took the stage in the finale to pay tribute to principal Tracey amend, who is retiring after 11 years with the school. Together they performed Natalie Merchant’s “Kind and Generous” in homage to Ms. amend, who has been a champion of the school’s deaf and hard-of-hearing program.

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Five Star Journal

May 2013 |

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Five Star District moves forward with standardsbased grading All elementary and middle schools to implement new grading model for 2013-2014 school year

Standards-based grading

Takes an accumulation of all of the points earned throughout a grading period, even practice work.

Provides time for students to practice concepts and make mistakes by grading on recent scores after a student has had time to master a concept.

allows teachers to include subjective factors such as effort, attitude and attendance into a final grade.

Values effort and attitude, but reports a student’s achievement toward standards only.

a student’s score may be negatively impacted by a zero for missing work, which can be almost impossible to recover.

a student is given multiple opportunities to demonstrate proficiency toward a standard in any given grading period.

“How many options do I need to get an a?”

“What skills do I still need to learn?”

Description

4

Advanced understanding of the standard

3

Meets standard

2

Approaches standard

1

Does not meet standard

M

Missing work

INS

Insufficient evidence to make a determination of score

How can I get more information about standardsbased grading?

The district website, www.adams12.org, has information and resources about standards-based grading. Click on the Parents tab and select Standards-Based Grading in the Student Learning section to find out more.

Play in Northglenn this Summer Come and

Just south of 120th and Grant

Auditions Performances Art and Theatre Camps Drama Classes www.dlparsonstheatre.org

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Northglenn

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Traditional grading

Score

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COMPARISON OF GRADE METHODOLOGIES

What changes will I see as a parent/guardian?

The most obvious change you’ll see is a proficiency scale will replace letter grades at the elementary and middle school levels. However, many changes within the classroom are taking place too. Teachers will have more conversations with students about their progress reaching standards. Students will also have a better understanding of what they need to learn and know to reach standards.

Proficiency Scale

Summer Co n ree

What are the advantages of standards-based grading?

Learning outcomes are clearly communicated to students throughout instruction. Parents and students will be able to clearly see which learning outcomes have been mastered and which ones may require additional

What are the disadvantages of standards-based grading?

Of all aspects of our education system, none seem more impervious to change than grading and reporting.

Changing long-held traditions can be a difficult and lengthy process.

How are standards-based grading values defined?

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What is the purpose of standards-based grading?

The purpose of standards-based grading is to raise student achievement by clearly communicating a student’s progress toward learning outcomes.

instruction. Conversations about grading should change from “Did you complete your assignment?” to “Tell me your understanding of this standard.”

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Schools throughout the Five Star District have piloted standards-based grading for the past few years. The move away from the traditional letter grade system used in schools across the country for decades to the new practice of grading based on achievement toward standards is understandably a big change for educators, students and parents.

The Five Star District’s standards-based grading model has been carefully tested, monitored and vetted by the district in anticipation of implementation of standards-based grading in elementary and middle schools for the upcoming 2013-2014 school year.

To help families prepare for the transition to standardsbased grading, here are some answers to frequently asked questions.

Five Star Journal

10 | May 2013

PARENT POINTERS

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Spotlight on Bicycle Safety With the arrival of warmer weather, more families will be riding bikes, scooters and skateboards. While you enjoy the outdoors, it’s important to stay safe. Here are a few bicycle safety reminders:

• Make sure the bicycle helmet fits and your kids know how to put it on correctly. A helmet should sit on top of the head in a level position, and should not rock forward, backward or side-to-side. The helmet straps must always be buckled.

• Make sure the bike is the right size for the child. There should be about one inch of clearance between the bike frame and the child’s groin when the child’s feet are flat on the ground.

• Model and teach proper bicyclist behavior. Always wear a bicycle helmet. Ride on the right side of the road, with traffic, not against it. Stay as far to the right as possible. Respect traffic signals, stopping at all stop signs and stoplights.

• Remind your child to wear fluorescent or bright-colored clothes when riding to help kids be visible on the road.

Bicycles on the road are considered “vehicles” and have the same rights and responsibilities as motor vehicles.

Safe driving also goes a long way towards keeping cyclist and pedestrians out of harm’s way. When driving, yield the right-of-way to pedestrians under all conditions. Be particularly watchful for children, as well as elderly and blind persons. Pedestrians have the right-of-way at all intersections and crosswalks, and drivers must come to a complete stop and let the person pass safely.

(Source: www.colorado.gov: Colorado Driver Handbook)

A helmet that fits properly can prevent serious injuries Why should you wear a helmet? A properly fitted helmet helps protect your brain from absorbing the force from a crash or fall, and helmet use can reduce the risk of head injury by 85 percent and severe brain injury by 88 percent.

How should a helmet fit? Measure your head to find your size. Your helmet should sit level on your head and low on your forehead, two finger widths above the eyebrow. The side straps should fit snugly around your ears in a “V” shape. Buckle the chin strap. Tighten the strap until it is snug, so no more than one or two fingers should fit under the chin strap.

When should I replace a helmet? You must replace the helmet after any crash where the person hits their head. Depending on the manufacturer of the helmet, most manufacturers recommend you replace your helmet every two to five years.

Plastics of the helmet dry out and become brittle with age and the EPS foam gets dry and crumbly over time. Don’t take a chance – just replace your helmet!

PrIde: Schools celebrate accomplishments FrOM PaGe 4

Century Middle School • Eighth-grade students partnered with more than 350 business and community mentors for their capstone projects.

Northglenn Middle School • Eighth-grade students’ Westward Expansion studies culminated with the creation of a Sand Creek Massacre gallery walk memorial.

Rocky Top Middle School • The Instructional Leadership Team utilized information learned through the Tointon Institute to support the entire staff in fulfilling the goals set for student achievement through the year’s UIP. • Grizzlies Give Back, a week of philanthropy, has generated more than $12,000 the past two years.

Shadow Ridge Middle School • Held Miles That Matter, a 5K fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.

• Students had the opportunity to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.

The International School at Thornton Middle • Received a Department of State grant for the second consecutive year that funds an exchange teacher from Egypt to teach the Arabic language and culture.

• Developed free adult ESL classes and had more than 60 parents and relatives of students participate in the classes taught by school staff.

Westlake Middle School • Held its first read-a-thon in September and earned $17,000 to fund teacher minigrants for additional instructional materials and technology in classrooms, field trips and guest speakers.

• Held its third annual Westlake 5K and raised $13,215 to update technology in the building.

Horizon High School • Had the highest graduation rate in the Five Star District with 91 percent of seniors graduating on time in 2012.

• Kevin Loeffler is a Boettcher Scholar; Sawyer Vaughn received a perfect 36 on the ACT and is a National Merit finalist; Chad David is a National Federation of Football Scholar Athlete; several students were DECA state finalists.

Legacy High School • Special education students received the “High Growth” designation by Colorado Department of Education (CDE) in reading, writing and math as a result of TCAP performance.

• Legacy made the U.S. News and World Report’s list of top high schools in America and received the Silver Medal for the second year in a row.

Mountain Range High School • Has the largest Colorado DECA chapter and was recognized at the state competition for achievement and eight students progressed to the international competition.

• The school’s large choir ensemble performed in the Music for Life Concert with the Colorado Chorale and Colorado Symphony musicians at Boettcher Concert Hall.

Northglenn High School • Ryan Mera Evans received the Questbridge National College Scholarship from Yale University; Ellanna Koontz was elected DECA State Officer; Andy Orozco Rivas received a scholarship to Colorado College; Rory Moore and Ryan Mera Evans are Gates Millennium finalists; David Mata was elected FCCLA State Vice President of Events.

• Teacher Lori Egan received the “Best Should Teach Gold Award” from University of Colorado; teacher Dalene Bricker received the Spirit of Advising FCCLA Award; teacher Sarah Steinbach was selected by NMSI to be a national teacher trainer for Pre-AP curriculum.

Thornton High School • Demonstrated the highest percentage gain in graduation rate - an 8.8 percent increase.

• Made the Washington Post’s “Most Challenging Schools list” for schools that challenge their students to achieve at a high level.

Bollman Technical Education Center • Students volunteered more than 10,500 community service hours for community projects, facilities and partnerships.

• Had 260 students who met or exceeded criteria to earn recognition for attendance and GPA for the BTEC Lettering and Awards Ceremony.

What type of helmet should I buy?

Bike helmets are primarily used for riding bicycles and tricycles. Multisport helmets cover more of the back of the head and should be used for skateboarding, in-line skating, scooter riding and they can also be used for bike riding.

Source: Safe Kids Denver Metro, 720-777-4807, www.safekidsdenvermetro.org

Westlake Middle School students, staff and parents participate in the Westlake 5K. Together they raised $13,215 to update technology in the school.

Five Star Journal

May 2013 |

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Experiential learning blooms at Coronado Hills Elementary Grant provides opportunity to build garden classrooms

FIVE STAR NOTES

As a physical education teacher at Coronado Hills Elementary School, Melissa Tank works to show her students how to live a healthful life, and although she is a healthy eater, even she has found some vegetables growing in their school garden that she hasn’t tried.

In October, Coronado Hills earned a grant from The Kitchen Community to build a garden at the school, and students began planting cold-weather vegetables on April 5.

Among the vegetables students planted, Tank said she is looking forward to trying Swiss chard and to helping expand her students’ palettes.

“As a PE teacher, I would love to expose kids to vegetables they have never tried,” she said.

The grant provided 10 garden beds, a drip irrigation system, two benches, a shade and two art poles, according to District Wellness Coordinator Kaitlin Wasik. The Kitchen Community is a Boulder-based nonprofit that works to connect kids to healthy eating with learning gardens, which encourage student interaction. The garden at Coronado Hills is situated at the front of the school near the playground so students can explore it during recess.

In addition to Swiss chard, students will grow a variety of produce, including carrots, radishes, peas, lettuce, kale, broccoli, basil, cauliflower, peppers and eggplant. They will be responsible for maintaining the garden.

Before their winter break, students pitched in to fill the beds with dirt.

“The kids all had their wheelbarrows of dirt they were wheeling back and forth,” Wasik said. In the summer months when school is out, BASE students will help with watering and maintaining the garden.

Students are already excited at what will be growing outside their classrooms.

“Did they grow yet?” asked fourth-grader Mussu Dolley.

In the fall, Dolley and the rest of the school will enjoy the fruits of their labor, with staff working with the cafeteria to incorporate the produce into its daily offerings.

Because the students are cultivating the garden, Tank hopes they will be excited and open-minded when it comes to trying new things.

The school will host an assembly on May 20 to celebrate the learning gardens and students will transplant seedlings from their classrooms into the awaiting beds. This will also be a time to get the community involved.

Possible ways to involve the community include assistance with watering over the summer, hosting a potluck with the produce and sending guests home with the recipes, offering a small farmer’s market where the “As a PE teacher, I would love to expose kids to vegetables they have never tried,” Melissa Tank said.

PE teacher Melissa Tank shows Coronado Hills students the importance of watering a garden.

The students took care in planting their seeds, covering them with dirt and labeling their rows.

students can sell the produce or donating produce to area food banks, Wasik and Tank said.

The Parent Teacher Organization has already pledged $1,000 to help the school purchase tools and materials not covered by the grant, Wasik said.

“We definitely want to get those families involved and get the produce out to them as well,” she said.

For now, educators are focusing on creating learning experiences beyond how to hoe a bed. Lessons with the garden will connect classroom studies, Wasik said. That could mean a science lesson about plant life cycles, a math lesson about fractions and their use in garden plotting or a geography lesson explaining why plants thrive in certain locations.

Five Star District prepares application for federal funds

The Power of One Charity awards scholarships to district students

Through June 30, 2013, the Adams 12 Five Star Schools Grants Office will coordinate preparation of the annual Consolidated Application for federal education funds under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) formerly known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB).

Nine Five Star students earned The Power of One Charity Scholarships.

Parents, community members, teachers, students and other constituents of the Five Star community are invited to contact Title Director Tammy Stewart at 720-972-4140 or Tammy.Stewart@adams12.org, with questions, comments or suggestions regarding the development of the application, budgets, and specific programming to be supported with the grant funds.

Programs under this application include: Title I – these funds supplement instructional and support resources in schools with high concentrations of students from low-income families; Title IIA – funds supplemental teacher and principal training and recruitment programs; Title IIIA – funds supplement language instruction to foster English proficiency for students who are English language learners (ELL).

Walk-in registration for Summer School takes place June 5 Walk-in registration for the Adams 12 Five Star Schools Summer School Program will take place June 5, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 to 8 p.m. at Northglenn High School, 601 W. 100th Place. Those registering should look for the Summer School signs and not attempt to register at the main office. The Summer School Program is for high school students who need credit replacement and for middle school students who need remedial skills to continue to the next grade level. All classes will take place at Northglenn High School. There are two sessions, June 10-21 and July 8-19. Visit www.adams12.org/ programs_summer_school for more information.

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Savana Sounakhene, Mountain Range High School, a $2,000 scholarship in honor of Andrew Dollaghan

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Flor Sanchez, Thornton High School, a $1,500 scholarship in honor of Chris Yates

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Katie (Uyen) Le, Northglenn High School, a $1,000 scholarship in honor of Amber Anderson

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Lindsay DiTirro-Feiten, Mountain Range High School, a $1,000 scholarship in honor of Jessica VanMatre Schatz

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Codee Green, Legacy High School, a $1,000 scholarship in honor of Kayla Lower

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Asia Wesley, Horizon High School, a $1,000 The Power of One Charity scholarship

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Ryan Drozda, Mountain Range High School, a $1,000 The Power of One Charity scholarship

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Shayd Irwin, Mountain Range High School, a $1,000 The Power of One Charity scholarship

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Britni Teresi, Thornton High School graduate, a $500 The Power of One Charity scholarship

The Power of One Charity was created in memory of Andrew James Dollaghan, son of Judi Madsen and Brian Stanley. Since 2009, more than $17,000 in college scholarships have been awarded to former and current district students.

The charity will hold a golf tournament fundraiser at the Omni Interlocken Resort in Broomfield on Aug. 5 at 9 a.m. To participate or sponsor a team, call 720-261-1760 or 303-903-5698. For more information about The Power of One Charity visit www.powerofonecharity.org.

Five Star Journal

May 2013 |

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