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Education

  • Board planning changes to rules for public comment at meetings

    The Jeffco Board of Education agreed to change the rules for public comment at meetings at its Saturday retreat. 

    To be approved at a future meeting, the new system would allow for up to 20 people to speak for three minutes each. If 21 to 30 people sign up, two minutes each would be allowed. If 31 to 60 people sign up, one minute per person would be allowed.

    If more than 60 people sign up to speak about agenda-related items, they will be invited to speak during the second portion of public comment, after the board has taken action on its agenda.

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  • Jeffco students’ TCAP scores improve

    Jeffco Public Schools continue to outperform the state in reading, math and science based on last year’s TCAP scores, which were released by the Colorado Department of Education last Thursday.

    “In math, we saw great gains with our Jeffco eighth- and ninth-graders, who gained three to four points in proficiency last year,” Jeffco chief academic officer Syna Morgan said in a news release. “Jeffco continued to outpace the state on the Colorado ACT scores … from 21.2 in 2013 to 21.5 in 2014.”

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  • Program helps sixth-graders with New Beginnings

    From breaking in a new locker to making new friends, the first day of middle school can be intimidating. 

    Falcon Bluffs Middle School is hoping to counter some of that anxiety with the New Beginnings program for Jeffco students entering sixth grade.

    The program is headed by drama teacher Anthony Bruno and physical education teacher Allyn Atadero. Its aim is to introduce students to middle school life before the year begins, including the dreaded challenge of opening the new locker, their biggest fear, according to Atadero. 

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  • Jeffco public schools hire new chief academic offer

    Syna Morgan has been hired as Jeffco Public Schools’ chief academic officer.

    The 24-year education veteran served as Douglas County Schools’ chief system performance officer since 2010. Before that, she was a director with the Colorado Department of Education.

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  • New superintendent determined to find common ground

    Hired by a divided school board and suddenly at the helm of a district riven by political strife, Jeffco Schools Superintendent Dan McMinimee says he's determined to build bridges and develop relationships.

    The Douglas County administrator took over the Jeffco school district July 1, and his first order of business was getting to know district staff — and letting them get to know him.

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  • School board urged to refine details of performance-based pay

    The details of Jeffco Public Schools’ recently approved performance-based pay structure for teachers need to be hammered out, and soon, human resources director Amy Weber told school board members last Thursday.

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  • Education forum features board member, superintendent

    Student achievement and Jeffco’s top schools were the two main themes at the Public Education in Jefferson County forum in Marshdale on Nov. 10.

    The Evergreen Tea Party teamed with 13 other Jeffco-based Tea Party and GOP groups to sponsor the education forum. More than 80 people braved the slippery roads to attend the meeting at The Barn at Evergreen Memorial Park.

    “We wanted to meet to show our support for the board and the direction this board is taking in Jefferson County,” said Ed Sutton, president of the Evergreen Tea Party.

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  • Teacher raises on hold as board rejects fact-finder's report

    The rocky relationship between Jeffco’s teachers union and Board of Education continued Thursday night after the school board rejected a third-party report recommending that teachers rated “partially effective” should receive a pay increase.

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  • District boosts funding for curriculum, student achievement

    Thanks to increased state funding, Jeffco Public Schools will spend more on curriculum, student achievement and ever-changing technology trends during the 2014-15 school year.

    The school board approved next year’s budget at last month’s final meeting before summer break on a 3-2 vote. The more than $1 billion spending plan is up from last year’s $952 million budget.

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  • Jeffco School Board approves 2014-15 budget

    The Jeffco school board voted 3-2 last Thursday to approve the district’s 2014-15 budget — a $1 billion spending plan that increases teachers’ salaries and funding for charter schools.

    Teachers, who have not had a pay increase in four years, will benefit from the $4.8 million earmarked for salary increases, which will equate to an average 2.5 percent raise per teacher.

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