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School District 51 Parent Newsletter | October 2015
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Are you happy with last place?
Colorado has been sliding down the ranks for years when it comes to education revenue budgeted per child. Click here to see where Colorado stands now.Get a larger view of the graph below, detailing where Colorado (red line) ranks in education spending, here.
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Performance-based Learning update
District 51 is two phases into implementation of its new learning system. Learn more about Executive Director of Perform-ance-based Learning Rebecca Midles' presentation to the School Board here or access the presentation here.
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Most Likely to Succeed
Click above to watch the trailer of “Most Likely to Succeed,” a docu-mentary that shows performance-based learning in action. We’re interested in bring the film to the district, so please take the survey to let us know if you’d like to see it.
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Scores are in for April ACT
Fruita Monument, Palisade High, and Mesa Valley Community School juniors outperformed the state average on the ACT exam this April. This year, 287 of our students scored 24 or higher! See full results in this graph.
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Report bullying on D51 tab
D51Schools.org launched a new bullying prevention tool Oct. 1, just in time for Bullying Prevention Month. The site features a bullying prevention and reporting page that will have videos, information, and an online form to report bullying. Parents with bullying concerns can contact PBIS Coordinator Robyn Shank at 970-254-6462 or robyn.shank@d51schools.org.
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Orchard Ave. teacher honored
Orchard Avenue Elementary Physical Education Teacher Sandy Thies is the Colorado Elementary School Physical Education Teacher of the Year! She will be honored at the Society of Health and Physical Education (SHAPE) Colorado Convention Awards Reception Oct. 16 in Church Ranch. A 29-year veteran of District 51, Thies is being recognized for her dedication to the enhancement of student learning in physical education.
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Outdated layout, infrastructure at Orchard Mesa Middle School
OMMS is struggling to stay current with a campus layout that is dangerous by modern security standards, buildings that are starting to show their age from carpet to roof, anda lack of room to accomodate suitable technology. Learn more here.
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FREE D51 app now available
Get all of the latest news from the School District 51 app, available now for download on Apple and Android app stores! Sponsored by Community Hospital, the app offers emergency notifications, videos, calendars and lunch menus that you can sync with your device's calendar. The app also pulls updates from the district's news site, d51news.org, now posting regularly. Parents can tailor the app to get information about their children's schools. Plus, it's free!
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Walk to School Day was Oct. 14
Twice as many schools participated this year compared to last year: - Bookcliff Middle School
- Fruita Middle School
- Lincoln Orchard Mesa Elementary
- Mesa View Elementary
- Rim Rock Elementary
- Rocky Mountain Elementary
- Shelledy Elementary
- Taylor Elementary
- Tope Elementary
- West Middle School
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Pot tax benefits a smokescreen
Colorado law sends the first $40 million collected each year in retail marijuana excise tax revenue to a grant fund for school construction. With 178 school districts in the state and new schools coming with prices of up to $50 mil., that money isn't going far and may never reach the Grand Valley. Read more here.
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Graduation Survey
Thank you to the parents who took the Graduation Guidelines Parent Survey in August and September. Here are the results. To see if views have changed, we're asking people to take the survey again. Please click on the button below.
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Then v. now: School finance
A lot has changed since 1989. That includes school funding. The amount of revenue Colorado has budgeted for public education, per student, has fallen farther and farther behind the U.S. average each year since 1989. District 51 is trailing behind both the state and national averages. Learn more about discrepancies between the national, state and district averages here.
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Events for the whole family
Oct. 24: Fall Day on the Farm, Cross Orchards Historic Site. 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. $3.50 per child, $5 per adult, or $15 per family.
Oct. 31: Canine Spooktacular, 9 a.m. to noon, Center for Indepen-dence. $5 per dog (plus owner).
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Q&A
Q: How many students participate in Fall Intersessions?
A: This year, 1,134 students participated in intersession classes, down from 1,328 in Fall 2014. By level, 369 elementary students, 173 middle school students, 558 high schoolers, and 34 options students participated in Fall Intersessions 2015.
These tallies do not include the 347 high school students who participated in band and athletic activities during Fall Intersessions 2014 and the hundreds more who enjoyed those activities this year.
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The Blueberry Story
The difference between schools and businesses is what you do with what you're given in this story.
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D51 math teachers honored
The Colorado Council of Teachers of Mathematics recognized three of District 51’s outstanding math teachers last month: Central High School's Carla Haas and Pomona Elementary's Jessie McKinley earned the Colorado Council of Teachers of Mathematics Teaching Award and Liz Zitterkopf, K-5 math coach, was awarded the Colorado Council of Teachers of Mathematics Leadership Award.
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| Mark you calendars: November 17 is Financial Aid Information Night Want to learn more about the college financial aid process? School District 51, Colorado Mesa University, and Western Colorado Community College will host a Financial Aid Information Night Tuesday, Nov. 17 in the Colorado Mesa University Center Ballroom. Optional campus tours will begin at 4:30 p.m. Financial Aid presentations will start at 6 p.m. Free parking will be available in the parking garage on 12th Street by Elm.
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| Congratulations to our September Alpine Bank/CMU Students of the Month! This month's honorees:
From left: Jessalyn Herrera (Independence), Sam Hazen (Independence), Abraham Almond (Palisade), Letisia Flores (Central), Koby Rubalcaba (Grand Mesa), Alicia Blazer (Grand Mesa), Ashlyn Brown (Palisade), Morgan Veek (Fruita 8/9), Trystin Cracium (Central), Trigg Hayward (Redlands), Andy Gossert-Parker (West), Kaylin Buniger (R-5), Naomi Guevara (West), Ian Hegstrom (Grand Junction), Sarah Wilson (East), Tori Catlett (Grand Junction), Dallas Lawyer (East), Sage Skinner (Redlands), Allexus Halladay (Bookcliff), Isa Kohls (Fruita Monument), Wade Coniff (Bookcliff), Spencer Fox (Fruita Monument), Tylor Pike (Mt. Garfield), Kymberlee Muhme (Mt. Garfield), Andrew Smith (Orchard Mesa), Ty Clemens (Fruita 8/9), and Faith Cutts (Orchard Mesa). Not pictured: Christopher Salazar-Hays (R-5).
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