Gilpin County School District RE-1
2003-2004 Annual Report to the Community

A Message from your School Board President 

As a school board, our main goal continues to be to strive for the academic excellence of our students. We believe all students should have every opportunity to reach their potential, and more. We want all of our students to be excited about learning, so they continue, with enthusiasm, to learn throughout their lives. With this goal in mind, we will continue to support our teaching staff, and administration, to develop plans so we can reach our goals and inspire our children.

Under the No Child Left Behind Act, it has been important for your school board to remain aware of all legislative activities happening at the state and federal levels. We are constantly updated with new mandates and requirements set by the state and federal government requiring us to comply with all regulations that even the largest school districts struggle with statewide. It is with great pride that I report to you that your school district has met all federal and state regulations to maintain its accreditation into the 2004-2005 school year. We, as a school board, remain active to ensure that our staff receives all the information and resources they need to do their jobs.

With your vote of confidence last November, we were able to approve the 2004-2005 school year budget that included salary increases for all staff members. In doing so, we strive to maintain a highly qualified and consistent staff by keeping wages competitive with our surrounding school districts.

Our superintendent, Ken Ladouceur, has made one of our goals, a balanced budget, possible. After the passage of the mill levy last November, we worked with Ken to maintain a conservative approach to all district spending and keep a healthy reserve balance to support our staff and students into the future. I know I speak for all of your board members when I thank Ken for all he has done for our school district over the past three years. He is a knowledgeable professional and we are fortunate to have him leading our district in the direction it has taken since he signed on.

With one year under my hat as your school board president, it has been an enlightening experience. If there is one thing that I have learned first hand over the last year it has been that we have a very skilled and enthusiastic teaching staff. I am proud that these professionals have decided to teach here at Gilpin County Schools and we, your school board, will continue to support them in all effective teaching practices they wish to endeavor.

I would like to thank my colleagues on the school board for their hard work this past year. It has been a pleasure to serve with each of them. I wish to thank our community for their ongoing support and especially the parents who continue to volunteer their time and efforts to make Gilpin County School District the best it can be. Our children deserve no less.

Sincerely,

CinDee Spellman,
President, Board of Education

Accountability

Gilpin County District's averages for Proficient and Advanced scores on the 2004 CSAP tests, compared with the average scores from 2003 CSAP tests, showed increases in math, science, and writing. While our reading scores remained steady, none of our third grade students scored unsatisfactory in reading.

We recognize the challenges in improving scores in all subjects, and at all grade levels, while continuing our efforts in closing the achievement gaps.

Each year, since the 2000-2001 school year, the Governor's Office has rated each school statewide based primarily on CSAP and ACT scores. Ratings for the 2003-2004 school year are listed below.

 *A next step in implementing content standards in education is to identify how much academic growth is required to meet each level of content standard and to measure whether students are achieving this growth. The Academic Growth of Students Rating will be based on the portion of students who make CSAP scale score gains. 2004 is considered a pilot year for this new calculation. A reliable rating will be available for reporting on the 2005 SAR.

Salaries

During the 2003-2004 school year, the average teacher salary was $36,076. With the successful passage of a mill levy override in November 2003, the entire staff of the Gilpin County School District received a salary increase. This increase was approved for the 2004-2005 school year budget and will be reported to the community in the 2004-2005 annual report.

No Child Left Behind

Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, requires states to set target goals for Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) within its school districts. Adequate Yearly Progress is based on the Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP).

Meeting AYP requires schools and districts to meet several criteria in reading and math. The criteria include:

            CSAP Participation Rate:

                Elementary--100% Reading and Math
                Middle School--99% Reading and Math
                High School--100% Reading and Math

*number of students was less than AYP group size requirement.

If just one of these criteria is not met by just one subgroup in reading or math, the school or district does not meet Adequate Yearly Progress.

Each of the five schools in the Gilpin County School District made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for the 2003-2004 school year, meeting 31 of 31 performance targets of the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act.

 Closing the Achievement Gaps

This table shows increases/decreases after comparing the average CSAP scores for student groups from 2003 to 2004. For example, the average number of male students in the district scoring Proficient or Advanced on CSAP Reading increased by 1.3%. 

Highly Qualified Teachers

Eighty-seven percent of Gilpin County School District teachers meet the federal requirements of being highly qualified for their teaching positions. Eighty-five percent of the district's core classes are taught by highly qualified staff.

One of the district's goals is to have all teachers and paraprofessionals highly qualified by school year 2005-2006. 

Accreditation

Gilpin County School District is accredited annually by the Colorado Department of Education. During the 2003-2004 school year the district initiated an accreditation process for its schools to ensure the increased achievement of all students. These procedures are based on indicators that include, but are not limited to, each school's Improvement Plan, CSAP goals, Standards-based assessment for non-CSAP tested areas, and the Colorado Basic Literacy Act. The schools will be reviewed for accreditation, through the district, on a yearly basis.

The school district also receives accreditation through the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. To achieve this accreditation, the schools must meet NCA standards, be evaluated by a team of professionals from outside the school, and engage in continuous school improvement focused on increasing student performance.

The district's schools are identified as the following: the Elementary School, Middle School, High School, Triumph Alternative High School and The Montessori School. 

School Improvement Plan - District Goals

Superintendent's Letter 

The last school year was clearly marked by the successful mill levy override election held on November 4. In a recent message to our community I pointed out how these new funds are now being used, and that they are being spent in those areas that are most important to our community.

The board of education established nine goals around three areas that it believed were important to its community. Those goals were led by the aggressive pursuit of academic excellence through curriculum development, program development and technological support. Budget planning was also a focus area for the board as it encouraged prudent spending throughout the year to realize the best use of the new override funds. This resulted in last year's budget realizing a significant surplus to be carried into the future for those times when this school district faces tougher economic times again. This year, with a projected State budget shortfall of $250 M and a TABOR rebate of $500 M, I anticipate considerable conversation around education funding from the Capitol. A strong financial position for this school district provides security for your children's education future. Finally, safety remained an important interest. I believe that we provide a very safe and comfortable environment for your children to grow and learn. We must always remain diligent to actively seek out problems and rework current processes and practices to ensure that we are effective in protecting the children of our community. 

We are proud to say, once again, that we have met all of the benchmarks and standards set out for a school district by the state and by the nation. We have met all of the criteria for Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) by the state, and all of the criteria for the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law. The Gilpin County School District maintains full accreditation by the state having met all of the student achievement benchmarks and financial criteria that have been established. We received an average rating on school accountability reports (SAR) in most of our schools for which we are pleased but not satisfied.

The state is concerned for parent satisfaction with their neighborhood schools and wants you to ask the question, "What is the school doing to make sure its students are doing the best they can do?" We are competitive with all staff wages to attract the very best, qualified, teachers for our classrooms. We develop curriculum that addresses Colorado standards and we build programs geared to individual student needs. Appropriate textbooks, and curriculum materials, are provided to support all academic areas. Homework is regular and high quality with a solid expectation for performance on assignments. Partnerships with home and strong relationships among parents, teachers and students are key to every child's success in school. But most of all, we support our teachers, in the classroom, doing the best job they can with your children. Our annual school effectiveness survey indicated that parents, students and staff are satisfied with the rigor of their programs but want to see their students driven to achieve higher results. We are all encouraged by this finding as we all want to see every one of our students succeed in school, achieve in college and go on to lead healthy, prosperous lives.

I am very proud of the work done by all of our staff and students, and I will continue to work hard to deserve the respect and support you have shown me over the years. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Ken Ladouceur, PhD