Greetings from the Ignacio School District. I am grateful to serve as the Superintendent. I grew up in the lower Agency and lived most of my life in the Ignacio area. I have an appreciation for the diversity and beauty that our community possesses. I am excited to share with all of you the current focus and future plans of the district. The two goals of the district this year are on each student showing high academic growth and also providing a safe, supportive, and engaging environment. These elements go hand in hand in ensuring the success our children.
Academic growth consists of high expectations and rigor in the classroom based on grade level standards. Curriculum is determined by an evaluation from the teachers and principals as they gauge how it meets the Colorado State Standards in each subject area. We are working hard to improve our engagement strategies for our youth as they learn important skills at each grade level.
We are also addressing the loss of learning created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The district, working in collaboration with the Southern Ute Education Department, has put e-classes and after school tutoring into place at the secondary level to address the gaps created by remote learning from the previous year and a half. This is not an easy process and will require support from both the school and from families in encouraging students to show resiliency. As a district, we track student growth through classroom assignments/tests/projects (grades) as well as through benchmark testing in math and reading in DIBELS, and STAR. Please feel free to reach out to teachers and principals if you need support in understanding growth data.
The School District is also working to improve interventions for students both academically and with social emotional programming. The Project Aware Grant is providing for a transition counselor for the eighth and ninth grade, as well as a K-12 social worker. These two new positions along with adopting the 7 Mindsets curriculum will add much needed social emotional support for our students. We will also continue to utilize our current counselors, Restorative Justice, and Character Counts to reinforce the teachings of integrity and resiliency. Senior Seminar and Freshman Seminar classes have been added to the high school to provide further academic support and emphasis on learning the soft skills that students will need in the future. These supports are in addition to Cat’s Class at the high school, Bobcat Power Hour at the middle school, and WIN time at the elementary.
The school district understands that we need to collaborate with parents, guardians, and stakeholders within the community. We will continue to refine and stress good communication as we move forward together. Parent resources currently include the district website, Facebook page, Infinite Campus grade book, Class Dojo, Principal newsletters, Parent-Teacher conferences, and teacher email. Please utilize and keep an eye out for important news about your children and upcoming events.
Finally, in the spirit of partnership and moving forward together, the district will begin work on a five-year Strategic Plan. An important community survey will be electronically distributed between Tuesday, Nov. 30 – Frid.ay, Dec. 10. The information will be used to drive dialogue at community stakeholder meetings about the focus of the Ignacio School system. In-person stakeholder meetings will begin in January.
Please know that the School District values your voice encourages you reach out to us with any questions. With your support and collaboration, I look forward to moving our schools forward in a positive and productive way.
Upcoming Events
- Nov. 22-26 Thanksgiving Break
- Nov. 29-Dec. 10 Strategic Plan Survey
- Dec. 10 Leonard C. Burch Day
- Dec. 20-31 Christmas Break