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INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Excellent Teachers - a focus on Erika Donahue, EES

Construction, Buildings and Grounds Update

Celebrating Academic and Athletic Success

ECS Meets 92% of AYP Goals

General Announcements

Eagle County Teacher Achieves National Board Certification

Eagle County Schools is pleased to announce that Erika Donahue, Edwards Elementary School (EES) Kindergarten and Mentor Teacher, has achieved National Board Certification in 2007.

Nearly 64,000 of some of the most effective teachers in the country have demonstrated that they meet the highest teaching standards by becoming National Board certified.

"Like board-certified doctors and accountants, teachers who achieve National Board Certification have met rigorous criteria through intensive study, expert evaluation, self-assessment and peer review," said National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) President and CEO Joseph A. Aguerrebere. "Research is consistently positive about the impact of National Board Certification on improvements in teacher practice and areas of school improvement critical to raising student achievement."

National Board Certification is a voluntary assessment program designed to recognize and reward great teachers - and make them better. While state licensing systems set basic requirements to teach in each state, National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) have successfully demonstrated advanced teaching knowledge, skills and practices. Certification is achieved through a rigorous, performance-based assessment that typically takes one to three years to complete.

As part of the process, teachers build a portfolio that includes student work samples, assignments, videotapes and a thorough analysis of their classroom teaching. Additionally, teachers are assessed on their knowledge of the subjects they teach.

"National Board Certification is part of a growing national movement that advances education reform. It's a movement that improves teaching, advances student learning and makes schools better," said former Georgia Governor Roy E. Barnes, chair of the NBPTS Board of Directors. "National Board Certified Teachers are leading the way in preparing America's diverse student population with the skills needed to compete in the 21st century."

NBCTs consistently receive top teaching honors while representing less than two percent of the nation's teaching population. For example:

• Four of the last seven National Teacher of the Year recipients are NBCTs.
• Nearly a quarter of the 2007 State Teachers of the Year are NBCTs.
• Nearly one-third of the recipients of the 2006 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching are NBCTs.

All 50 states, the District of Columbia and more than 700 local school districts recognize National Board Certification as a mark of distinction and excellence. These municipalities provide valuable incentives to keep our most accomplished teachers in the classroom.

And what does the Suffern, NY, native have to say about all this? "The experience of working towards National Board Certification is immeasurable," states Erika. "I learned so much about myself both personally and professionally, as the process required looking intensely at student work, analyzing each child's areas of strengths and weaknesses through assessment and tying these results back to what may or may not be working instructionally."

Erika is a proud product of public schools. After completing her undergraduate degree in Child and Family Studies with an emphasis in Early Childhood at Syracuse University, Erika ventured out west to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. She taught at a private, non-profit preschool in Vail for six or seven years before deciding to further advance her knowledge base and experience as an educator. Erika went back to school and earned her Master's Degree in Early Childhood Education from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. In 1998, she took over for a first grade teacher on maternity leave at EES. The following year, she was hired to teach Kindergarten at EES. And, as they say, "the rest is history."

Working with children is a gift in Erika's eyes, and a true passion in her life. "Kindergarten is the foundation on which the rest of a child's educational experience is built," states Erika. "I have been very fortunate to have worked with children who are very different from one another culturally, socially and academically. Each child has given me the opportunity to apply what I have learned in my experience as an educator and seek out different methods of instruction in order to meet their needs." Congratulations, Erika...we are honored to have such amazing teachers in Eagle County Schools!

Building Great Schools, East to West: Construction, Buildings & Grounds Update

Eagle County Schools would again like to take the opportunity to thank Eagle County community members who were in full support of the $128 million bond that was passed in the fall for improvements in our schools, which will ensure 'Great Schools, East to West.' In light of this success, we believe it is important to keep you informed of the progress of various projects and initiatives. The following is a construction, buildings and grounds update:

June Creek Elementary

Construction is proceeding on the project with the following items of interest: structural steel erection has begun, the masonry of block is on-going and both the Howard Ditch and interior building slabs are complete. The anticipated completion date is August 2008. Boundary meetings have come to a close, with the 'blue' option being selected. Principal candidate interviews are also complete; Tracy Barber will assume the position as JCES Principal.

Red Canyon High School

Construction is proceeding on the project with the following items of interest: structural steel is complete, interior framing has begun, exterior sheathing is on-going, landscape boulder placement is underway and both curb cut/site entry and site concrete are complete. The anticipated completion date is Spring 2008.

New Battle Mountain High School

Overall design is proceeding on the project with the following items of interest: 100% design development (DD) drawings are complete, Adolfson & Peterson is working on finalizing the DD estimate, meetings are on-going to finalize the Howard Ditch piping on this site, overlot is complete except for the area by Howard Ditch, the mechanical/plumbing contract has been awarded to Vision Mechanical and the electrical contract has been awarded to Encore Electric. Subcontractor proposals have been received for budgeting purposes on all other scopes of work and are in the process of being evaluated. The anticipated completion date is Fall 2009.

Eagle Valley High School

Overall design is proceeding on the project with the following items of interest: both value engineering and cost monitoring design are on-going. The anticipated completion date is Fall 2009.

Remodel Battle Mountain High School

ARC Integrated Program Management, Inc., would suggest that a committee be formed to develop a plan that outlines the proposed use of the old Battle Mountain High School. A scope can then be developed and architects and contractors can be hired.

Miller Ranch Road Improvements

A proposed roundabout at Charter School Road and Miller Ranch Road is under review with Eagle County, ECS and the Edwards Task force. Carol Lang Engineering Group (C&L) and ARC Integrated Program Management, Inc., are reviewing the plans with the County.

Celebrating Academic Success

National Merit Scholarship Program

Eagle Valley High School is proud to announce that two students, Kelsey Elwood and Rebeckah Stough, have been named as Commended Students in the 2008 National Merit Scholarship Program. A Letter of Commendation was presented by Mark Strakbein to these scholastically talented seniors. About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Although they will not continue in the 2008 competition for National Merit Scholarships, Commended Students placed among the top five percent of more than 1.4 million students who entered the 2008 competition by taking the 2006 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).

Advanced Placement Program

The Advanced Placement Program is a cooperative educational endeavor between secondary schools and colleges and universities. Since its inception in 1955, the Program has provided motivated high school students with the opportunity to take college-level courses in a high school setting. Students who participate in the Program not only gain college-level skills, but in many cases they also earn college credit while they are still in high school. By participating in the Program, secondary schools make the commitment to organize and support at least one class that is equivalent to a first-year college course. The AP exams are scored 1-5 with 5 being the highest score. The College Board recognizes students who performed well on their AP exams. BMHS and EVHS are pleased to announce the following students who received AP Awards for 2007:

AP Scholars with Distinction

AP Scholar with Distinction is granted to students who receive an average grade of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams on full-year courses (or the equivalent).

BMHS 12th graders: Bria Barker (Duke), Nicole Penwill (Washington University) and Christopher Woodruff (University of Southern California).

AP Scholars with Honors

AP Scholar with Honors is granted to students who receive an average grade of at least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams on full-year courses (or the equivalent).

BMHS 11th graders: Ascher Robbins, Anneliese Seibert and Samuel Sterling.

BMHS 12th graders: Kimberely Corwin (Wellesley), Kimberly Hill-Gillie (University of San Diego), Travis Landauer (Bucknell) and Sydney Nichols (CU Boulder).

AP Scholars

The award of AP Scholar is granted to students who receive grades of 3 or higher on three or more AP Exams on full-year courses (or the equivalent).

BMHS 11th graders: Kaleigh Armitage, Briton Bock, Caitlin Cerra, Barrett Chow, Alexa Corcoran, Samuel DeChant, Andrew Fontanese, Annalise Marcum, Jonathan Stevens, Taylor Bearisto, Jennifer Thul and Hana Warmenhoven.

BMHS 12th graders: Erik Garcia (Mesa State), Megan ORourke (University of Michigan), Connor Penhale (CU Denver) and Kayleen Seaton (CU Boulder).

EVHS 11th graders: Hilary Henry and Rebeckah Stough.

EVHS 12th graders: Molly Crocker (Cornell University) and John Huffman (DU).

Eagle County Schools Meets 92% of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Goals

What is AYP?

The Federal 'No Child Left Behind' law requires that schools and school districts make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) towards achievement proficiency. In Colorado, AYP is defined by the number of students who score Advanced, Proficient or Partially Proficient on the CSAP test. For 2007, that target for proficiency ranged from 60.25 to 84.74 percent of all students, depending on the grade level and content area tested. By 2014, the expectation is that 100 percent of students at all grade levels and in all content areas will attain proficiency.

Rather than looking at the averages of all students in a school, the law mandates that students be broken out in sub-groups based on ethnicity, socioeconomic risk factors, learning disabilities and English language proficiency. In order for a school to attain AYP, each sub-group of students must hit the performance target. The more diverse the student population and the larger the school district, the greater the number of target performance groups.

Eagle County Schools makes progress

Eagle County Schools hit 92 percent of our targets in the 2006-07 school year. Twelve of our sixteen schools made AYP, including: Brush Creek Elementary, Eagle Valley Elementary, Gypsum Elementary, Meadow Mountain Elementary, Red Hill Elementary, Red Sandstone Elementary, Berry Creek Middle, Eagle Valley Middle, Gypsum Creek Middle, Minturn Middle, Eagle Valley High and Eagle County Charter Academy. Notably, Berry Creek Middle School met the federal standard for the first time in three years and for the second year in a row Eagle Valley High School met the standard, which is exceptionally difficult for high schools to do.

Four of our schools with large populations of second-language learners and/or students with special learning challenges (Avon Elementary, Edwards Elementary, Battle Mountain High and Red Canyon High) did not reach their performance targets with sub-groups of students.

By hitting 92 percent of our AYP targets, we are similar to many of our neighboring school districts and on par with some of the top school districts in the state.

• Roaring Fork: 88.12%
• Boulder Valley: 89.86%
• Eagle County: 92.00%
• Steamboat Springs: 100.00%
• Summit County: 92.00%
• Cherry Creek: 91.45%

Celebrating Athletic Success

BMHS Soccer

• 4th Consecutive Western Slope League Title
• First Team All-League: Connor Tedstrom, Jair Molina, Davey DeChant
• First Team All-League Honorable Mention: Ricardo Luevanos, Charlie Tedstrom, Rodolfo Solis
• Second Team CHSAA All-State: Connor Tedstrom
• Second Team CHSAA Honorable Mention: Jair Molina, Marco Ordono

EVHS Soccer

• 2nd place in Western Slope League
• 4A Western Slope League Player of the Year and Second Team All-State: Cesar Castillo
• Western Slope League Coach of the Year: Coach Ritmiller
• First Team All-Conference: Trevor Grayson

BMHS Volleyball

• Class 4A, All Colorado Volleyball
• 2nd place at Regional Competition and District Tournament Champions
• Western Slope League Champions 3rd year in a row
• First Team All-State: Devon Abbott
• All-State Honorable Mention: Kori Landauer

EVHS Volleyball

• 4th place in Western Slope League and District Tournament Qualifiers
• First Team All-Conference: Allissa Hollis

BMHS Cross Country

Boys Team

• 3-time Regional/League Champions (2007 - 16 points lowest score on record)
• 2-time State Champions (2007 - 55 points lowest score on record at state meet)
• All-State: Jonny Stevens, John O'Neill
• All-League: Jonny Stevens, John O'Neill, Jamie Farhmeyer (EVHS), Tony Crisofulli, Mario Gonzalez
• All-League Honorable Mention: Connor Wallace, Andrew Hill (EVHS)

Girls Team

• 2nd place at the Regional Meet and 10th place at the State Meet
• All-League: Jessica Linder (VCHS)
• All-League Honorable Mention: Cecilia Garcia, Anouk Guilimineau

BMHS Football

• All-League: Todd Walker
• All-League Honorable Mention: Ryan Hedrick, Josh Kundolf

EVHS Football

• 5th place in Western Slope League
• First Team All-Conference: Nick Whitehead, Pena Woosley

BMHS Golf

• State Contender: Dustin Martin
• Conference Honorable Mention: Cameron Brown

EVHS Dance

• 8th place at State Spirit Competition
  

New Board of Education Members

Newly elected school board members Jeanne McQueeney and Carrie Benway took their oaths of office last month at their first Board of Education meeting. Jason Benderly, an incumbent who beat Judd Babcock in the election, and Brian Nolan and Connie Kincaid-Strahan, who ran uncontested, took the oath as well. The board decided Scott Green would remain President, and Connie Kincaid-Strahan would remain Vice President. Brian Nolan was elected as Secretary/Treasurer, a position previously held by Mary Ann Stavney.

New and returning members bring a passion for education and a commitment to improving teaching and learning in our schools. These individuals have distinguished backgrounds and will be major assets as we advance our mission and prepare America's diverse student population with the skills needed to compete in the 21st century workplace.

The Great Ski Giveaway

Vail Resorts, the Vail Valley Foundation and Salomon Skis are proud to present 'The Great Ski Giveaway.' This program is for middle school and high school students who would like to borrow a pair of new skis, boots and bindings for the 2007/2008 ski season. If you would like to be considered, please email Brooke Skjonsby at bskjonsby@eagleschools.net. Students will be required to fill out a one-page form, as well as write a short essay telling us why you would like to have a new pair of skis to use for the season and how skiing will bring joy to your life. Also, if you let us know who you will ski with (a parent, guardian, mentor or relative) and you are selected, they could qualify for a pair of skis, too! Please return this form to: Eagle County Schools c/o Brooke Skjonsby, P.O. Box 740, Eagle, CO 81631.

The Parent's Handbook

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