Happy New Year!

Welcome back to the 2015-16 school year. I hope everyone had a restful and rejuvenating Winter Break.

As students return to school and begin second semester, school and district staff continue work on numerous initiatives supporting student success. Priority action plans are being implemented supporting the district strategic plan, The Success Effect. Phase one planning is well underway on the new bond construction and innovation work. The Board of Education and administration will begin developing the 2016-17 budget. Information describing the Colorado state student assessment will be distributed later this month.

The 2016 Colorado legislative session will begin January 13. This is an optimal time to work with legislators to secure adequate funding for public education. Underfunding public schools in Colorado is having a negative impact on schools, teachers and students throughout the state. BVSD has lost $175M since 2009 due to underfunding and the governor’s proposed budget will result in over $30M additional loss of funds.

If funding from the state had kept pace with inflation and enrollment growth since 2009, BVSD would be able to provide additional services for students including district-wide full-day kindergarten, implementing a comprehensive literacy program, and hiring more school counselors, nurses and teachers. For details, view this handout about The Cost of Education Student Services at BVSD.

Following are a few websites that provide information on organizations working on school funding and related issues.

• Great Education Colorado - an excellent advocacy organization for parents and educators http://www.greateducation.org/
• Colorado School Finance Project - BVSD is an active member of this organization. You can find a lot of information on this website and search TABOR on the site to find specific information. http://www.cosfp.org/
• Colorado Fiscal Institute - another excellent resource and we will be asking them to provide a presentation to the BVSD community after the first of the year. http://www.coloradofiscal.org/
• Colorado Futures Center at Colorado State University - provides vital research and analysis of public policies impacting Colorado’s future and quality of life. It has helpful information about TABOR. http://coloradofutures.colostate.edu/

I encourage all parents, students and staff to contact the governor and legislators to remind them of the importance of public education and encourage them to provide adequate funding. Legislators whose districts are wholly or partially within the boundaries of our school district are listed on the BVSD website. A full directory of members of the Colorado General Assembly is on the state’s website.

I’m looking forward to a great start for the new year!

State Assessment Results for 2014-15

On December 11, the Colorado Department of Education released district and school specific PARCC test results for the 2014/2015 school year. PARCC was administered to students statewide in grades 3-11 last year, assessing Math and English language arts. “PARCC” stands for “Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career.”

PARCC is a new assessment and measures the state content standards. It is difficult to compare the results to previous assessments because PARCC measures different outcomes and the nature of the test items are notably different. The PARCC results will serve as a baseline to measure future student performance and growth. 

One way to review the assessment data is to examine BVSD student performance compared to the performance of all Colorado students. In the grade-by-grade analysis presented in these slides, BVSD elementary and middle level students outperformed the state by a wide margin overall, though not for students who receive meal assistance or English Language Development services. About 90% of BVSD elementary students took PARCC, compared to 95% statewide, and 80% of BVSD middle school students took PARCC, compared to 89% statewide. 

At the high school level, 34% of BVSD high school students took PARCC English Language Arts, compared to 61% statewide. Results from this level of participation should not be used to make inferences about district wide performance at high school.

The PARCC is developed to measure analytical thinking, rather than memorization, to better prepare students for college and careers. Education experts, including the state education department, have advised for months that test scores will be lower than previous assessments, given the more rigorous standards of the PARCC.

BVSD will continue using multiple measures to assess student performance and district educators will work to determine the value of PARCC. If we can find educational value in the PARCC, the participation rate will likely increase. It will take several years to fully appreciate what PARCC means to us and if the results will be helpful.

BVSD believes there is benefit to using quality classroom-based assessments to determine the needs of all students to inform educational strategies, investment of resources and appropriate interventions for students. However, present Colorado state assessment requirements for accountability are excessive and have limited utility for instructional improvement and supporting student success.

The Boulder Valley School District and Boulder Valley Education Association are committed to managing the impact of state-mandated assessments and utilizing appropriate assessments to foster student success and realize the school district vision, mission, and goals.

Student assessment will continue to be a major issue of discussion in the legislature and the state Board of Education this spring. This issue is not resolved for Colorado and with recent changes to federal law, it is not at all clear how our state will determine accreditation standards or accountability for school districts.

The discussion of multiple measures of student performance aligns with our strategic plan - The Success Effect. During the community consensus process in 2012-13, BVSD participants encouraged us to use multiple and diverse measures of student success. Strategic action plan priority teams are working on common measures that will align with BVSD vision, mission goals and new graduation expectations.

Data sourced from Colorado Department of Education.

Credit Jackie Fortier / KUNC

Data sourced from Colorado Department of Education.

Credit Jackie Fortier / KUNC

Educational and Enrichment Summer Offerings in BVSD

During the 12 weeks between the last day of school in May and the first day of school in August, many students participate in extended learning and enrichment programs offered by BVSD and its community partners.

Extended Learning
Some of these programs are designed for students who need additional instructional support, such as the K-8 Literacy Focused Programs and the Site-Sponsored Programs. The K-8 literacy programs target students below grade level reading who qualify as either English Language Learners, living in poverty (as established by federal guidelines), or meeting Special Education requirements for Extended School Year services. The site-sponsored programs also focus on academic core areas, often literacy and/or math, and include other activities. More information is available on the Summer School website.

Summer extended learning programming is provided by BVSD to support students for various reasons:

• To build on learning and skills developed during the preceding academic year, particularly in language development and literacy;
• To prevent summer regression (or also known as “summer slide”) of skills and knowledge, providing students strong preparation for the upcoming school year;
• To meet appropriate expectations for students who qualify for Extended School Year (ESY) services; and
• To provide opportunities for high school students to catch up on graduation credit requirements.

The BVSD Family Literacy Department also provides adult learning and family literacy support. All BVSD-directed extended learning programs have evaluation components to track effectiveness.

Enrichment
Other opportunities provided by the district are primarily for enrichment. BVSD Kids and Teens Lifelong Learning program offers hundreds of highly popular summer camps at local BVSD schools and offsite locations. Enrollment in Lifelong Learning camps has increased 30 percent this summer. The types of camps offered through Lifelong Learning include cutting-edge technology, science, engineering, sports, art, theatre, cooking, horsemanship, legos, handwriting, chess, and more. Additionally, many teens are taking the opportunity to complete Lifelong Learning’s Driver's Ed, ACT Prep, and SAT Prep courses. Summer is a perfect time to finish these important courses quickly and conveniently. Visit the Lifelong Learning website for details. 

Partner Summer Programs
BVSD and several county agencies also provide various academic and enrichment activities for students, including the following:

• Summer Shuffle – A reading program coordinated with BVSD, IMPACT on Education (Foundation for BVSD), and Boulder Housing Partners
• Lifelong Learning/YMCA tuition-based literacy and enrichment classes/camps
• Ready Kindergarten—Boulder Community Foundation
• “Catch” Camp—program funded by 21st Century Grant/YMCA
• I Have A Dream summer programming at Columbine Elementary School and Casey Middle School
• “Tell your story”—tuition-based program at CU-Boulder
• Charter School Summer Programs (at Boulder Prep, Justice High and Horizons K-8)

In addition, many organizations hold their summer camps at BVSD schools:

YMCA Fun in the Sun Camp at
    Eisenhower
    Superior
    Kohl
    Bear Creek
    Foothill
    Louisville Elementary
    Manhattan

Rocky Mountain Day Camp at
    Centennial
    Eldorado K-8

Avid4 Adventure Camp at High Peaks/BCSIS

City and County of Broomfield Summer Camp at Aspen Creek K- 8

City of Lafayette Summer Camp at Pioneer Elementary

Game On! Summer Sports Camp at Douglass Elementary

Information about these and other resources is available in Community Connections, an online guide produced by BVSD that lists programs and services for youth and families in the Boulder Valley community.