Board Briefs—November 26, 2007 In This Issue... Public Comments Board Member Reports Highlights from Superintendent's Report Acknowledgement of Official 2007 Election Returns from Arapahoe County Oaths of Office Reorganization of the Board of Education       Appointments of Board Representatives Cherrelyn Calendar Change EHS Late Start Calendar 2nd Semester Communication Plan Capital Needs Assessment Consensus

Public Comments
There were no public comments.

Board Member Reports
The Board Members thanked Mrs. Scaggiari for her years of service to Englewood Schools and all commented on the contributions Mrs. Scaggiari made and their pleasure working with her. Ms. Miller stated there is no way to express thanks for all the time and work Mrs. Scaggiari had given as a Board Member.

Highlights from Superintendent's Report
Dr. McCabe stated that Mr. Chris Gramstorff, Executive Director of Human Resources, will be leaving the District at the end of December to continue his career at Aurora Schools. Thanking Mr. Gramstorff for his dedicated work at Englewood Schools he expressed that he would personally miss Mr. Gramstorff very much.

Dr. McCabe congratulated Bobby Miller, EHS student, who was selected, for a second consecutive year, to perform with the Colorado All-State Choir. Bobby will be performing with the mixed choir made up of 150 talented students from Colorado schools. Emphasizing that being selected to this group is very competitive and an extreme honor. The performance will be in February 2008.

Acknowledgement of Official 2007 Election Returns
The Board approved accepting the Arapahoe County certified election results that returned Ms. Karen Miller to the Board and confirmed Ms. Vicki Howard as a new Board Member.

Oaths of Office  
Ms. Heather Hunt read the oath of office to the 2007 elected members who swore to faithfully perform the duties of their office and support the Constitutions of the United States and Colorado.

Reorganization of the Board of Education    
The Board elected Ms. Heather Hunt, President; Ms. Karen Miller, 1st Vice President; Ms. Shelley Thompson, 2nd Vice President; Ms. Vicki Howard, Secretary and Mr. Scott Gorsky, Treasurer of the Board of Education.

Appointment of Board Representatives
The Board appointed members to serve as liaisons to several organizations and committees. Ms. Howard will serve on the Nutrition Advisory Council and the Coordinated Health and Wellness Committee. Ms. Miller will represent the district on the Parks and Recreation Committee and the Englewood Education Foundation. Ms Thompson was selected to the Library Board. Ms. Hunt will continue her commitment to the CASB Legislative Network and the City/Schools Committee. Mr. Gorsky also continues on the City/Schools Committee and as the CASB Delegate.  

Cherrelyn Calendar Change
The Board approved an additional non-student contact day on January 8, 2008 at Cherrelyn Elementary to allow time for the teachers to participate in narrative writing training. This time was requested because it will allow time to teach, using these newly learned methods, before CSAP testing. All other staff development days have been scheduled for district-wide work, developing essential learning proficiencies in reading and writing.

EHS Late Start Calendar
The Board approved moving EHS to a late start calendar for second semester. Ms. Vedra explained that by eliminating the remaining scheduled early release days this would provide time to allow for seven late arrival days while gaining 175 minutes of instructional time. Advisement classes would be a 65 minute block rather than two 45 minute blocks. Instructional periods for Late Arrival/Advisement Days would be 35 minutes with all 8 periods occurring and lunch on these days being shortened by five minutes. Dismissal time would remain at 3:00 p.m. Late arrival days will be on Fridays. Several items had to be considered before deciding on this schedule including the impact on transportation, families, instruction and teacher time for uninterrupted Essential Learning work. Parents and students will be notified before the winter break.

Communication Plan
Ms. Shelley Thompson informed the Board that she would work as lead consultant, pro bono, in conjunction with Ordinary Magic, a strategic marketing, fundraising, public affairs, communications management and overall institutional advancement resource to develop a communication plan for the District. Stating that the Board has concerns about the effectiveness of communication to schools, families and the community and has expressed a desire to develop a plan for improvement. Leading a discussion to determine the desired direction and results, Ms. Thompson promised to present, at the December 11 Board meeting, a proposal on the scope of work including a timeline for the Board's approval.

Capital Needs Assessment
The Board Approved the expenditure of $69,000 to contract with the DLR Group to perform a capital needs assessment for the district. Ms. LaPlante stated that she received nine proposals and recommends the DLR Group based on their past work for the district and their providing the lowest bid. This work will provide a prioritized list of all capital projects to help guide decisions determining the use of funds from the sale of the Flood property and future bond money. The desires of the community, in relation to the physical aspects of the schools, would also be assessed. This work will provide information to allow for effective long range planning and effective operations.

Consensus Items
The Board approved the following consensus items:
a. Personnel Recommendations & Addendum
b. Contract for CASB Services/Superintendent Search

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