RIDGWAY SCHOOL BRIEFS

RIDGWAY – Full-day preschool slots at the Ridgway Elementary School are filled up, but there are still openings left in the half-day program, according to a principal’s report presented by Mary DeZeeuw to the school board at their first meeting of the school year on Sept. 11. The pre-school curriculum is being developed around Montessori principles, which includes an emphasis on self-direction and hands-on exploration of the classroom environment.

Singapore Math

The elementary school will be following the example of what DeZeeuw’s report called “the top math scoring country in the world… Singapore.” The new curriculum is expected to teach first graders how to mentally add and subtract within 100, as well as introduce algebraic concepts in the third grade, among other things. There will be a Parent Math Night on Oct. 9 to introduce parents and community members to the new math program.

Hiring Update

The district is still looking for secondary and elementary school custodians as well as a middle school basketball coach.

Lucky Kids

With a focus on team building, leadership, community service, and cultural and natural history, secondary school students are getting to go on some pretty cool field trips this month. This week, the senior class is rafting down Cataract Canyon with Outward Bound. The junior class will take a three-day cultural trip to Santa Fe to see the Palace of the Governors and the Spanish Colonial Museum, as well as St. John’s and Fort Lewis colleges. The ninth and 10th grades will do a backpacking trip in Dominguez Canyon in addition to community projects on the skate park and mountain bike trails. The sixth-eighth grades will go hiking in Arches National Park.

College Day Fair

Ridgway will again host a College Day Fair, with 50 colleges in attendance from Colorado and the Four Corners region. The event takes place from 10-11:30 a.m. on Sept. 24 in Conder Hall. The school encourages all students and parents to attend.

A college fair in Aspen, with 200 schools from around the nation represented, will take place Sept. 28. Counselor Rick Williams is organizing a trip for all interested students, to depart at 8 a.m. that day.

Teacher Evaluation System

The school board and principals are examining a new Teacher Evaluation System to replace the old one, which, according to Superintendent Douglas Bissonette, was little more than a lengthy “to-do list” for teachers to accomplish.

Both Boardmember Valerie Hill and secondary school Principal Emma Brockman suggested substantive changes to the document, and the board will reconsider the new wording at their next meeting.

The primary issue at hand was the difference in probationary and non-probationary teachers and the evaluation process that would be required for teachers of each status. Brockman suggested that some long-term part-time teachers, though they may be considered “probationary,” do not necessarily require the extensive reviews and goal-setting associated with new probationary faculty.

The discussion was reminiscent of problems encountered last spring with high school English teacher Jonathan Rogers, who claimed that his evaluations did not reveal problems with his teaching and that therefore the board’s decision to non-renew his contract was uncalled for. Nevertheless, Bissonette said that the evaluation system overhaul has been on the board’s plate for two to three years and is an attempt to align the process with the district’s overall Strategic Plan.