Miner's Minutes November/December 2024

Dear Telluride School Community,

 

In this President's Corner I wish to acknowledge that our society is going through a time of change, throughout the world. And whether you celebrate or moan, change is stressful. It feels acute right now during election season but there have been many changes in the works for awhile. Just in our school community it could be an updated School Finance Formula that is sufficiently funded to cause no harm but does more good than bad. Or the recently released study on our Accreditation System which is how school district's success is measured. We have done well in the old system being Accredited with Distinction for many years. Updates to Title IV afford more protections to a diverse student population. And new more complex measures to keep everyone safe in an unpredictable world.

 

Your schools have been paying attention to the shifting winds and developing strategies and tools to make the changes asked of us. These tools may seem esoteric; updating our decades old Mission Statement and introducing a Global Ends Statement with articulated target Goals to effect change, as well as a much-needed Inclusion Statement given the divisive times we are in. When applied these have created some exciting improvements in our system which have been communicated in our Board meetings and District Accountability Meetings a well as Building Miner Community Meetings.

 

Which brings up improved communication. For it is only through collaboration and communication that we can achieve these high goals to serve our students to the best of our ability. We are refining a list of all the possible ways one can participate or engage and will make that available soon. When that is shared, find your best fit and join us even if you can only come a few times. In the meantime please look at upcoming dates below for BOE meetings and District Accountabilty meetings. We are all busy, but your input is valued. 

In appreciation,

 

Cheryl Carstens Miller

Dear TSD Community,

The paragraphs below were written before the tumultuous events of last week. While I do not want to change the focus of my message, I want to acknowledge that even with the challenges we face on a more and more frequent basis, we are here to fulfill our mission that each and every student will achieve personal success through quality education. And we do this through goals that include cultivating a sense of belonging within a safe and healthy community. Last week, we lived through a highly divisive national election. Additionally, one of our families lost their home to a house fire. The outpouring of positive support from our school community for this family leaves me in awe and makes me proud. Then we responded to a threat directed at our school district; and thanks to the responsiveness of law enforcement and our school administration we were able to keep our school community safe. During times like we experienced last week, I remind myself that we are all in this together and are here to support each other.

 

After a beautiful and summerlike Autumn, it looks like we are quickly moving into Winter weather. As a reminder, I am including our school weather-related closing procedures at the end of this email. These procedures can also be found on our district website at: https://tellurideschool.org/103725_2

 

November is a month for gratitude. I am grateful to serve such an amazing community as your superintendent of schools and am equally grateful to have such dedicated staff who care so much about our students. I am also grateful for our students and families who help make this district as great as it is. While we face challenges on a daily basis both locally and globally, we strive to fulfill our mission that each and every student will achieve personal success through quality education. I am grateful to see evidence of our Mission & Goals and our Inclusion Statement every day.

November is also Family and School Partnership in Education Month. To see the Proclamation issued by Governor Polis, go to: https://www.cde.state.co.us/communications/FSCP-Month-proclamation. At our October 28 District Accountability Meeting we discussed family and community engagement, celebrating what we are doing to engage families and considering what more we can do. For the presentation and minutes from that meeting go to: https://tellurideschool.org/districtaccountability. We welcome any additional ideas you might have for family engagement.

 

It is now one full year since we passed Ballot Measure 4A, and I am again grateful for the support of our community in passing that ballot measure. Since we have received funding in March, we have purchased nine additional employee housing units and have plans underway for additional major facility renovations in 2025 using bond proceeds. Our campus will be a construction zone next summer as we complete safety and facility improvements in all buildings to keep our buildings in tip top shape. Without the nine housing units we added in 2024, we would have had new and existing staff without a place to live this school year. We hope to add as many as 33 new housing units over the next few years as we know that finding and maintaining secure housing will become more and more challenging for our employees. To find out more about all of this, please join our next District Accountability Meeting on Monday, December 9 at 5:15pm.

 

Thank you again for your support of our schools!

John Pandolfo

Superintendent

970-369-1213

 

We are excited that Winter is coming, with all of the fun that it brings. In the event weather conditions are such that the safety of the children may be compromised when busing students to or from school, the following procedures will be followed.

 

1.   Director of Operations (Ken) and Facilities and Maintenance Coordinator (Brandon) will evaluate the road conditions in the school district, by driving the roads and contacting the Sheriff and County Transportation Director when deemed necessary.

2.   If conditions are such that a decision must be made to possibly cancel school, the Director of Operations will confer with the Superintendent, who will make a final determination. If the Superintendent is unavailable, the Director of Operations will contact Principals. The final decision will be made by the Director of Operations if the Superintendent is not available.

3. A decision to cancel school will be made by 6:00 a.m.

4.   An email will go out to all staff.

5.   Notifications will be sent to all family contacts, subs, coaches, and community organizations in the contact lists. Information will be posted on the district website https://tellurideschool.org/ and Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/tellurideschooldistrict.

6.   KOTO (728-4333) will be contacted to ensure that news of school cancellation will be broadcast in a timely manner.

7.   Family notifications should be completed by 7:00 a.m.

 

In the event that a determination is made that conditions are unsafe for a normal start, but they are expected to improve to allow for a safe delayed start, the process above will be followed to communicate a two-hour delayed start. Bus routes will run exactly two hours later than normal. Each Principal will develop a schedule for their building reflecting a two-hour delay.

 

1. In the event that developing conditions might prompt early closing of the school, the above procedures for determination and notification will be in effect.

2. Early closing will only take place if it is determined buses will be unable to travel safely at the time of normally scheduled runs but will be able to travel safely by leaving earlier.

CDE recently released the 2024 preliminary district ratings. The performance frameworks, part of the state's accountability system are calculated using statewide data, including academic growth, academic achievement and post-secondary and workforce readiness data (e.g. graduation, dropout, matriculation rates). Telluride School District is 1 of 17 districts rated with distinction out of the 184 total districts in Colorado due to the excellence and dedication of our teachers and staff.

Congratulations to 3rd grader Natalia Lopez Carmelo who is the Colorado Association School Board (CASB) Elementary Art Award Winner. This is a huge honor as there are 184 districts. You can see the piece below.

TMHS October Students of the Month: