Board Briefs—SEPTEMBER 5, 2006 In This Issue... Student Representatives to the Board of Education Public Comments Board Member Reports Highlights from Superintendent's Report Response to Intervention Cherrelyn Proposal-Athletic Field   Handball Courts-Sinclair Middle School 2006-2007 VI-B Federal Grant 2006-2007 School Year 99-457 Grant Application Consensus Items

Student Representatives to the Board of Education
The Board appointed and welcomed the following 1st semester Student Representatives to the Board of Education:
- Ms. Carolina Sifuentes—CFAHS Representative
- Ms. Alycia Harper—EHS Co-Representative
- Ms. Angela Cobian—EHS Co-Representative

Public Comments
Mr. Bill Maddox, from the Englewood Masonic Lodge, spoke on behalf of the Masonic Lodge and Englewood Schools. The Masonic Lodge has sponsored a golf tournament for the past three years with all proceeds going to Englewood Schools libraries. This year's tournament will be held on Saturday, October 7, at the Mira Vista Golf Course. Tee off is 8:30 a.m. Mr. Maddox encourages everyone to participate in this event to help raise money for the Englewood Schools Library Fund. Sponsorship opportunities are available for golfers and non-golfers. For additional information, contact Mr. Maddox at 303-948-9115.

Board Member Reports
City/Schools Committee—Mr. Gorsky and Ms. Hunt attended a City/Schools Committee on August 22. Ms. Hunt reported the following:
- They are continuing to look at the Teacher Next Door program. The City is looking into what the criteria might be to apply for this program.
- Parking for non-school events is still an issue for Englewood High School neighborhoods. They are looking at putting signs at the three streets with the most problems.
- The City has applied for a grant for a bus stop at CFAHS. RTD will announce grant winners in November.
- The racquetball courts at Sinclar were discussed. According to a community survey, the handball courts are not a priority.

Highlights from Superintendent's Report
State Audit—Ms. Diedrich and her staff have been working on the response to the Student Count Audit. They have cut down the number of students in question to 150, which is half the original number. CDE will prepare a 2nd draft of their letter. The District will have 30 days to respond. At that time, CDE will prepare a final letter. The District will have an opportunity to appeal the final letter.
Health Care Task Force Interim Committee—Ms. Peg LaPlante testified before this committee, made up of senators and representatives. She did a great job representing our district, which was the only school district represented.
Strategic Plan—The four Action Teams are finishing up their work, which should be complete in October. This should allow for the Strategic Plan to be developed before winter break and become operational after winter break.
Special Board Meeting—A Special Board meeting will be held on October 10, at 7:00 p.m. to readopt the budget.
Community Forums—Dr. McCabe provided a summary of questions asked at the first two community forums to address the recommended closing of Flood Middle School and the Duncan Street property. He reviewed these questions with the Board, providing an answer for each question. A copy of this document is available by clicking on the following link—Questions/Answers Summary Document
Health Clinic Grant—The District received a $20,000 grant from the State to expand the School-based Health Clinic at EHS, which will be done in conjunction with Arapahoe Douglas Mental Health.

Response to Intervention  Handout 
Mrs Gail Neubert presented information on Cherrelyn's Response to Intervention (RTI) program. The goal of RTI is to improve educational outcomes for all students. Cherrelyn decided to implement this program because of the high number of students with Individual Learning Plans (ILPs) and the high number of special education referrals they were seeing. The RTI model avoids the "wait to fail" model and responds to all learners, with additional intervention for identified students, based on student data gathered throughout the process.

Cherrelyn Proposal—Athletic Field  Handout
Mrs. Neubert presented a proposal for installing a turf field at the southwest corner of the Cherrelyn campus. The current covering is pea gravel, which has become a safety issue as well as an eyesore. Cherrelyn has already received donations for this project from the City of Englewood and the Cherrelyn PTSO. They also have funds available from a recent Cherrelyn Safe School grant. Current donations total approximately $10,500. The proposal asks for the District to cover the remaining amount, which is approximately $13,000. This will be an action item at the September 19 Board meeting.

Handball Courts—Sinclair Middle School
The Board approved instructing the Superintendent to write a letter to the City Council relative to removing the outdoor handball courts at Sinclair.

2006-2007 VI-B Federal Grant Application  Handout
The Board approved the 2006-07 VI-B Federal grant application in the amount of $772,941. This grant helps fund Special Education programs for students with disabilities, ages 3-21.

2006-2007 99-457 Federal Grant Application  Handout
The Board approved the 2006-07 Federal Grant Application in the amount of $32,516. This grant helps fund instructional and support services for ECE students with disabilities, ages 3-5.

Consensus Items
The Board approved the following consensus items:
a. Personnel Recommendations
b. CDE Homeless Project Grant
c. Updated Policy 2211-Englewood Schools Chart of Organizational Functions—2nd Reading  Handout
d. Updated Policy 6123-Graduation Requirements-Colorado's Finest Alternative High School—2nd Reading  Handout

Back to Top