Allendale Elementary first grader Davon Randolph gives Instructional Coach Jacque Burroughs a high five

An instructional coach in every school

Allendale Elementary Instructional Coach Jacque Burroughs cannot walk down the hall without a teacher asking her for ideas about reaching an individual student, or talking about a reading lesson, or asking about interpreting test score data. 

“I love being at the school,” she said.  “I get to see not only the teacher feel successful, but also the student.”  

Burroughs is just one of 150 instructional coaches in Jeffco, one for each school.   Jeffco’s Department of Learning and Educational Achievement (DLEA) Executive Director Priscilla Straughn compares instructional coaches to sports coaches.   “Part of the role of a sports coach is to make the athletes better, to help their performance, and to maximize their skills,” Straughn said.  “It’s the same role for an instructional coach.”

The positions are funded for two years with federal stimulus money earmarked specifically for professional development. 

Straughn said, “It’s really a two year window of opportunity and our belief is that the most important factor in student achievement is a highly qualified, skillful classroom teacher.”

Allendale 1st grade teacher Colleen Destree said having Burroughs as an instructional coach makes her a better teacher.  “It helps kids to have a coach because it helps their teachers to have better eyes and to really go deeper with their instruction and meet the individual child’s needs.”

The latest on H1N1

As Jeffco students headed back to school last month, an unwelcome visitor came back with them – the flu.  H1N1 (formerly called swine flu) is in the community and more than likely in schools as well.  But according to public health officials, that’s no reason to panic.  Unlike last spring when schools were closing with a single case of H1N1, the Centers for Disease Control is no longer recommending closing schools when a case of H1N1 appears.

Jeffco Public Schools is working closely with county and state health agencies to track student absences.  That’s why parents may hear a recorded message on their school’s attendance line asking if the absence is because of a flu-like illness.

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Sacred work

“Everyday I get to come and do the best work in America,” Jeffco Superintendent Dr. Cindy Stevenson told a group of parents and community leaders over breakfast this month.  “And when I use the word sacred, I don’t use the word lightly.I do believe school work is sacred.”

About 12 times a year, for five years now, Stevenson has had breakfast with parents and community leaders.  She talks about issues facing the district and answers questions from the community.  Breakfasts are by invitation.  View an excerpt of this month’s breakfast hosted by Warren Tech, here. If you would like to attend a future breakfast call Communications Services at 303-982-6808

List of upcoming Superintendent's Breakfasts
Oct. 7 - Mount Carbon Elementary School
Nov. 11 - Golden HIgh School
Nov. 19 - Alameda High School
Dec. 9 - Manning School

Take time off for school involvement

Do you want to be able to attend a conference with your student’s teacher and not worry about missing work? This summer, Governor Bill Ritter signed a bill that allows parents/guardians to take unpaid time off of work to attend school-related activities.

The Parental Involvement in K-12 Education Act gives parents, who work at public agencies or companies with more than 50 workers, the chance to take six hours per month or 18 hours each school year of unpaid leave to go to things like parent-teacher conferences, special education interventions or behavioral meetings with educators. The bill says employers have the discretion to limit the time taken to be no more than three hours at one time.

Part-time workers have access to a portion of those leave hours depending on their work schedule. According to the law, all employees have to give their supervisors a week's notice and provide them with written verification from the school or school district of the academic activity.

The leave under this bill is specified as unpaid leave, but it states employers can make agreements with employees, allowing them to take paid leave and then make up the work time in the same week or use available accrued paid leave such as vacation, sick, personal or paid time off. 

The bill also states that an employer may limit or deny an employee leave under this bill in emergencies or other situations that may endanger a person’s health or safety, or when the absence could result in a stop of service or production.

New CSAP growth reports for students

The Colorado Department of Education (CDE) has introduced a new measure for students taking the CSAP in grades 3 through 10 called the Colorado Growth Model. For an individual student, growth compares a student’s CSAP performance to all other students with a similar CSAP history using Student Growth Percentiles.

According to CDE, a Student Growth Percentile defines how much relative growth a student made from one year to the next relative to a student’s “academic peers.” More specifically, the Colorado Growth Model compares each student’s performance to students in the same grade throughout the state who had similar CSAP scores in past years. The model then produces a student growth percentile, much like children’s height and weight percentiles that pediatricians share with parents.

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New research shows drivers in school zones are distracted

New research from Safe Kids USA shows that one out of every six drivers in school zones is distracted. Use of electronics (such as cell phones, PDAs and Smartphones) was the leading category of distraction while driving according to a recent National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study.

The study consisted of more than 40,000 observational road-side surveys conducted by local Safe Kids researchers including over 3,000 observations from the Ken Caryl Middle School area in Littleton.  The local study showed a higher rate of distracted drivers (19.8 per 100 vehicles) as compared to 17.0 for the whole study group. Drivers in Littleton had lower cell phone use rate but higher eating/drinking/smoking and reaching/looking behind behaviors then the national results.

Encouraging parents conference

The fall 2009 Parents Encouraging Parents (PEP) Conference are family-centered conferences designed to offer support, information, and education to parents and professionals who work with children with disabilities. These conferences are available to persons residing in Colorado who have a child with a disability - ages birth to twenty-one.
Check out the Website for more information

Helping Kids Thrive Conference

Where do you go for answers to parenting a child? The Helping Kids Thrive Conference.provides hands-on practical tools, skills, and information to help children grow in positive ways.The conference is free for parents and families and will be Thursday, October 22, 5:30 - 9 p.m. at Jefferson High School, 2305 Pierce Street, Edgewater.

Classes include:
The Preschool Years: Creating a Blueprint for Success; The Elementary Years: Foundation for Healthy Growth; The Teen Years: Framing Boundaries and Expectations; Empowering Successful Kids; AND MUCH MORE!

• Light refreshments will be available
• Supervised children’s activities on-site during the conference. (Children must be potty-trained.)
• Community resource tables
• Some classes are presented in English & Spanish

Space is Limited. Register now or call 303-432-5144.

Good News About Jeffco Schools