With Tina Cassens leaving the district, it raised the question of, who will be reviewing the curriculum as dictated by our board to make it comply with the American Birthright Standards?
The answer is Lis Richards, who is charging us $4700 for this work. You can read the description of the work to be done in this proposal (note, only phase one has been authorized at this point). Or read the highlights here:
Attend an introductory and organizational meeting at the district in regard to the curriculum alignment to the American Birthright Standards. • K-6 Review – Evaluate the vertical alignment of curriculum to the American Birthright Standards, their relation to the Colorado Academic Standards thus assisting the District in demonstrating that they are following the prescribed educational program approved and are meeting or exceeding state standards. • 7-12 Review – Evaluate the vertical alignment of curriculum to the American Birthright Standards (ABS), their relation to the Colorado Academic Standards thus assisting the District in demonstrating that they are following the prescribed educational program approved and are meeting or exceeding state standards. • Provide a report to the Superintendent which would include:
• Grade level report on social studies curriculum providing a matrix of completion toward vertical alignment and any lacking content (Some content may be covered in different grade levels and this may be noted.) • Recommendations to the Leadership provided in writing.
Thursday morning, around 80-100 parents, students, and concerned citizens showed their support for staff at the Middle School by lining the sidewalk as teachers arrived for a scheduled meeting with interim superintendent Ken Witt. This comes a day after nearly two dozen middle school staff members called in sick in protest of Witt’s decision to move the sixth grade classes back to the district elementary schools. This was NOT a decision the board had discussed with the public, though surveys in November did ask this question…with the answer (on page 5) clearly showing the public did NOT support the idea of splitting sixth grade off from the middle school like this. This was not a decision made in collaboration with staff at any of the schools, and elementary school staff has expressed uncertainty about how to fit the extra kids in place. There are also unanswered questions about less opportunity for sixth graders with this move, especially band and forensics.
Wednesday, in response to the staff’s sick day, Witt sent this following email threatening action if this were done again:
The teachers appreciated this show of public supported, though ultimately the day ended on a sour note as Witt fired one middle school staff member for alleged interactions with media, as explained (without much detail) in this letter below:
So, what’s next? Well, when the middle school was partitioned last spring, a feasibility study showed Merit being given a bit more than half the space when viewing student capacity…theoretical capacity of 471 students, vs. the Middle School’s theoretical capacity of 432 students. With 331 students enrolled this year, Merit did not seem to need more space. The middle school, at 391 students, was full but not quite capacity. So how does this change make sense? Especially since it will leave the Middle School at around 270 students (based on current 6-7th grade enrollment).
This screenshot shows the division of the school between Merit (top) and the Middle School (bottom):
Witt said this change was being made to provide more space for Merit…and looking at this map, it’s not clear what will change to accomplish that, easily. What we actually expect to happen next is 7-8 grades to be moved to the high school, and the entire Middle School building to be given to Merit.
And therein lies one of the biggest complaints about this school board…they are not up front about their plans. They are not telling the whole story here, there are blanks yet to be filled in, as their story about moving sixth grade to the elementary school buildings just doesn’t add up on its own.
Families, educators, school leaders, and public education advocates across the country are joining together in celebrating public schools, Feb. 27–Mar. 3; a week designated to highlight and show support for our local public schools.
Public Schools Week 2023 (#PSW23) is part of a larger campaign—#HerefortheKids—one that brings together families, educators, and community members to shine a light on local public schools and share the stories of the positive things happening in classrooms and school buildings nationwide. The teaching and learning in our local K-12 public schools positively impacts students and families, the neighborhoods, and communities they live in, and our nation as a whole. With commitment, creativity, and critical thinking, educators and school leaders continue to provide welcoming and engaging learning opportunities for our children.
“Public Schools Week 2023 provides a much-needed opportunity to showcase success stories and public-school champions—those who have gone above and beyond to meet students’ social, emotional, and academic needs—particularly in these extraordinary times and circumstances,” said Richard Long, executive director of the Learning First Alliance.
The weeklong #PSW23 celebration includes two live webinars and a twitter chat.
Live Webinar: Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2-3 pm ET “Advancing Teaching and Learning Post-Pandemic”
This webinar features national education leaders in a discussion about how districts, schools and education professionals are creating conditions to advance teaching and learning.
Twitter Chat:Wed., Mar. 1, 7-7:30 pm ET “Engaging Your Community”
In this best practice exchange of ideas, join parents, educators, school and education professionals in an online conversation about promising approaches to strengthen family, school, and community engagement.
Live Webinar:Thurs., Mar. 2, 2-3 pm ET “Why Storytelling Matters”
In this webinar, education and communications experts share insights and tools to enhance your storytelling skills.
#PSW23 is supported by members of the Learning First Alliance; leading education groups, representing more than 10 million members, including American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education; AASA: The School Superintendents Association; American Federation of Teachers; American School Counselor Association; Consortium for School Networking; Learning Forward; National Association of Elementary School Principals; National Association of Secondary School Principals; National Education Association; National PTA; National School Boards Association, and National School Public Relations Association.
Joining the #PSW23 celebrations are Discovery Education, Association of School Business Officials International, and the Council of Administrators of Special Education. Visit this webpage for the complete list of supporters.
About Public Schools Week, Feb. 27-Mar. 3
Visit www.publicschoolproud.org for more information about Public Schools Week and social media messages and graphics that you can use to show your support for your local public schools.
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About the Learning First Alliance
The Learning First Alliance is a partnership of leading education organizations with more than 10 million members dedicated to improving student learning in America’s public schools. Alliance members include American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education; AASA: The School Superintendents Association; American Federation of Teachers; American School Counselor Association; Consortium for School Networking; Learning Forward; National Association of Elementary School Principals; National Association of Secondary School Principals; National Education Association; National PTA; National School Boards Association, National School Public Relations Association, and PDK International.
The teachers need our support! Yesterday, Witt announced the sixth grade will be moved out of the Middle School and back to the elementary schools. This was done with zero collaboration with teachers or parents in the district…it was a surprise to all.
The majority of Middle School staff called in sick today (we’re told 29+).
Witt met with staff at Summit Elementary this morning. It did NOT go well. He’ll be meeting with staff at Gateway this afternoon.
Tomorrow morning (3/2), Witt will be meeting with staff at the Middle School at 7:30AM. We need to show the teachers we support them; we need as many people as possible lining the sidewalk outside the middle school. Bring signs if you can; we’ll have some extras. Do not block the roads; do not block pedestrians using the sidewalks. Please arrive early, by 7:00 if possible.
This afternoon, the Witt administration and our school board announced that sixth grade would be moved out of the Middle School building, back down to the elementary school buildings. This is being done to provide more space to Merit Academy. The feasibility study a year ago showed the capacity for Merit’s side of the building to be 471 students, so it’s not clear how this move is actually necessary. Especially considering the costs incurred with partitioning the school last year. This is probably just a preemptive move in anticipation of losing this fall’s school board elections and facing a board more friendly towards traditional public schools.
Merit’s 2022-23 enrollment is 331 students; if they add a grade next year that’s an increase of 30-50 students. So, still well under the 471 capacity number. In the 2022-23 school year, the middle school had 136 sixth graders (391 total students). So, a 17% increase in students in the three elementary buildings. (spreadsheet link with data)
The superintendent also announced that the district will continue to use the Summit Learning Platform for 7th-10th grades.
There was no public meeting. No public announcement.
Parents have not been notified of this change yet.
Tina Cassens is moving on from the district, see her email to staff below. She’s been a valuable member of the staff and will be sorely missed.
This comment was posted to a Facebook group…I think it’s worth reposting here to help people understand what this all means:
Unless you’ve personally seen Tina in action, I don’t think you can grasp how big of a loss this is for our district. She’s an amazing educator, maybe the best, who EARNED the respect of her peers through consistent authoritative inclusive leadership, a constant growth mindset, creativity in solving incredibly difficult problems, and a truly giving heart. I’m so grateful I had the opportunity to work with her.
The Elizabeth School District, a generally conservative district in western Elbert County, is experiencing extreme turmoil that is radiating through the entire Elizabeth community. Members of the school board are feuding over the perceived threat that critical race theory (CRT) and social emotional learning (SEL) might appear in district classrooms.
— Read on elbertcountynews.net/stories/tense-elizabeth-school-board-meeting,422282
A parent in the district recently noticed that because of the district’s adoption of the American Birthright standards, some classes at the high school no longer met NCAA eligibility requirements. The district’s response is below, in an email sent to parents today. In summary, they’ll be submitting the new class info for review this summer, and also note the timeline for that review is uncertain. It doesn’t sound like parents will get an answer in time to decide whether to enroll their student here or elsewhere for this next school year, though it’s expected there will be online classes offered that would meet NCAA requirements.
Yet another example of the avoidable chaos that this school board and interim superintendent seem to embrace.
Longtime district employee Del Garrick has given his two weeks notice! guy literally grew up in this town and went to these schools. 22 years working in this district. He’s been serving as HR director and, I believe, finance; he and Tina were co-superintendents before Witt was hired.
And now he’s out.
We’ve been fearing there would be a mass exodus of teachers at the end of this school year. If any of them were on the fence…seeing Del leave is not going to convince them to stay.
