Matthew Willis Named Finalist for Nation's Top Assistant Principal

NEWS RELEASE # 56
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 30, 2013

  

Matthew Willis Named Finalist for Nation's Top Assistant Principal
National Winner to Be Announced at NASSP Conference in March

Hinkley High School's Matthew Willis has been selected as a finalist for the 2013 National Association of Secondary School Principals/Virco National Assistant Principal of the Year award. A national winner will be selected from three finalists in March and all state and national honorees will be recognized at an April black-tie gala in Washington, DC.

In the short time since Willis has been at Hinkley, the high-poverty school has experienced a dramatic shift in culture. Willis immediately increased staff presence in the hallways, developed and implemented a stricter attendance policy, and implemented academic and behavioral interventions.

Willis turned to restorative justice to keep students in school and empower them to take ownership of their success. He trained staff in restorative practices and secured funding from The Denver Foundation to facilitate ongoing professional development and implementation. Within the first year, the school conducted 263 restorative sessions and reduced minor offense referrals by 18%.

Willis also worked with staff to create a freshman academy, increase collaboration and overhaul the master schedule. He gave teachers more common planning time and strengthened professional learning communities. He raised student participation in a dual-credit program and steered counselors toward a unified focus on college readiness and acceptance — growing scholarships to over $3.1 million and doubling acceptance rates.

NASSP and school furniture manufacturer Virco Inc. annually honor a winner from each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the Department of Defense Education Activity schools. Selection criteria are built around collaborative leadership; curriculum, instruction, and assessment; and school personalization — the core areas of the NASSP Breaking Ranks Framework for school improvement. The three finalists were selected from the pool of state winners, and one national winner will be identified and announced during the NASSP conference, Ignite 2013, March 1, in National Harbor, MD. Each finalist will receive $1,500 and the national winner will be awarded $5,000, which can be used for personal professional development or for a school improvement project.

 

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Interested media may contact APS News Media Specialist
Paula Hans at 303-326-2755 for more information

 

 

  

 

 

Aurora West, Clyde Miller and Montview Recognized by Foundations for Great Schools

NEWS RELEASE # 55
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 29, 2013

  

Aurora West, Clyde Miller and Montview Recognized by Foundations for Great Schools

 

Aurora West College Preparatory Academy, Clyde Miller P-8 and Montview Math and Health Sciences Elementary received awards today for academic success. The schools are winners in the 2013 Foundations for Great Schools awards program, which recognizes and encourages success among metro area public schools serving high proportions of low-income students.

The 2013 award-winning Aurora Public Schools include:

• Aurora West College Preparatory Academy – $20,000
• Clyde Miller P-8 (middle school division) – $40,000
• Montview Math and Health Sciences Elementary – $40,000

“The schools we are recognizing today have shown they can motivate and teach students to make significant academic progress,” said Tom Kaesemeyer, Executive Director of the Fox Family Foundation and spokesperson for Foundations for Great Schools. “They have taken whatever challenges they might face and turned them into opportunities for student success. Each of these schools is achieving very strong results in academic growth and performance, and the strategies they are taking to achieve that success deserve to be recognized.”

Common success strategies found among the 2013 winners include a focus on school culture; data-driven teaching strategies to meet individual student needs; expanded learning time; and teacher professional development. The award-winning Aurora schools reported data-driven instruction (Clyde Miller), teacher expertise and follow-through with students (Montview), and differentiated support for all students (Aurora West) among their top strategies for success.

About Foundations for Great Schools

A partnership of five private Colorado foundations comprises the Foundations for Great Schools: The Anschutz Foundation, Daniels Fund, Fox Family Foundation, Gates Family Foundation and Piton Foundation. The group collectively selects annual award winners from among a 12-school district area based on a variety of factors including academic performance and growth, percentage of students qualifying for the Federal free and reduced lunch program, school leadership, culture, and instructional effectiveness.

 

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Interested media may contact APS News Media Specialist
Paula Hans at 303-326-2755 for more information

 

 

  

 

 

Vista PEAK P-20 Campus Receives Project Lead The Way Certification for STEM Education Program

NEWS RELEASE # 54
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 22, 2013

  

Vista PEAK P-20 Campus Receives Project Lead The Way Certification for STEM Education Program
Students from certified PLTW schools may receive
college admissions preference, college credit, and scholarships at PLTW affiliate universities 

 

The Vista PEAK P-20 Campus has been named a nationally-certified Project Lead The Way (PLTW) location. PLTW, a nonprofit organization and the nation’s leading provider of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education programs, offers a rigorous world-class curriculum that allows students to apply what they are learning in math and science class to real-life engineering and technology projects. PLTW also prides itself on high-quality professional development of its teachers and an engaged network of business, community and university partners to give students the fullest experience.

The national PLTW recognition program distinguishes schools for successfully demonstrating a commitment to PLTW’s national standards. Additionally, certification as a PLTW school provides students with the opportunity to apply for college credit or receive college-level recognition at PLTW affiliate universities when they successfully complete select PLTW courses in high school. PLTW has more than 40 affiliate college and university partners.

In order to remain competitive in the global economy, America needs approximately 400,000 STEM college graduates annually, according to a National Business Roundtable report. Currently, the U.S. is graduating only 265,000 annually. PLTW is providing students with the skills, foundation, and proven path to college and career success in STEM areas to increase the number of STEM graduates.

As part of the recognition process, a Vista PEAK P-20 team composed of teachers, staff, students, and members of the community submitted a self-assessment of the school’s implementation of PLTW’s Pathway To Engineering (PTE) program. A site visit by a PLTW trained team followed. PLTW’s team met with teachers, school administrators, counselors, students, and members of the school’s Partnership Team. A PLTW school’s Partnership Team (sometimes referred to as an Advisory Council) is comprised of teachers, counselors, administrators, post-secondary representatives, business and industry professionals, and other community members who actively support the PLTW program within a school.

“Vista PEAK should be congratulated for demonstrating once again its commitment to PLTW’s quality standards,” said PLTW President and CEO Vince Bertram. “The real winners here, however, are Vista PEAK’s students. Students benefit from PLTW’s innovative, project-based curriculum that encourages creativity, problem solving, and critical thinking. We look forward to many more years of working together to prepare Vista PEAK students to become the most innovative and productive in the world.”

About PLTW

Project Lead The Way (PLTW) is the leading provider of rigorous and innovative STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education curricular programs used in schools. As a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, PLTW exists to prepare students for the global economy through its world-class curriculum, high quality professional development, and an engaged network of educators, students, universities and professionals. PLTW's comprehensive curriculum has been collaboratively designed by PLTW teachers, university educators, engineering and biomedical professionals, and school administrators to promote critical thinking, creativity, innovation and real-world problem solving skills in students. The hands-on, project-based program engages students on multiple levels, exposes them to areas of study that they typically do not pursue, and provides them with a foundation and proven path to college and career success. More than 4,200 schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia are currently offering PLTW courses to their students. For more information, visit www.pltw.org.

 

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Interested media may contact APS News Media Specialist
Paula Hans at 303-326-2755 for more information

 

 

  

 

 

Superintendent Search Focus Groups

NEWS RELEASE # 53
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 18, 2013

  

Superintendent Search Focus Groups

 

The Aurora Public Schools Board of Education invites you to join us in our search for a new leader.  Current Superintendent John L. Barry recently announced that he will leave APS in July.  We commend Superintendent Barry for his contributions and commitment to our students! 

The APS Board of Education is working with the Colorado Association of School Boards (CASB) on the superintendent search process. CASB has been involved with more than 150 Colorado superintendent searches over the past 10 years.

This month, CASB facilitators will conduct focus groups with APS employee groups, parents and community members.  Our goal is to learn what qualities you believe are needed in our next superintendent.  We will use this information to create the job announcement and as a guide when we create interview questions for candidates.

We would like to invite you to participate in one of the focus groups. Please see the schedule below for a list of dates, times and locations. If you are able to participate in a focus group, please contact Debi Hunter-Holen at 303-344-8060, ext 29035, or djhunter@aps.k12.co.us.    Please feel free to share this invitation with other parents who you’d like to join us.

If you cannot attend either of these focus groups for parents, please be assured that there will be other opportunities for you to provide us with your feedback.  We will also collect information through surveys and open community/school forums.

On behalf of the Board, I want to assure our community that we are committed to conducting a national search that includes a rigorous evaluation of all internal and external applicants.

Thank you!

 

JulieMarie Shepherd
APS Board of Education President

 

Community Partners Focus Groups

• Wednesday, Jan. 23: 7:30 – 8:30 a.m.
• Wednesday, Jan. 23: 7 – 8 p.m.

 

Parent Focus Groups

• Wednesday, Jan. 23: 7 – 8 p.m.
• Thursday, Jan. 24: 7 – 8 p.m.

 

All meetings will take place in the APS Professional Learning and Conference Center, located at 15771 East 1^st Avenue, Aurora, 80011.

We are also conducting staff focus groups during the search for our next superintendent.

 

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Interested media may contact APS News Media Specialist
Paula Hans at 303-326-2755 for more information

 

 

  

 

 

APS Board of Education Special Work Session

NEWS RELEASE # 52
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 11, 2013

WHAT: APS Board of Education Special Work Session
WHEN: January 15, 2013
WHERE: 15771 E. 1^st Avenue, Aurora, CO 80011

APS Board of Education Special Work Session

On Tuesday, January 15, the Aurora Public Schools Board of Education will hold a special work session pursuant to to C.R.S. 22-32-108, to discuss the superintendent search. 

The special work session will take place from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. in the Mt. Harvard Room at the Professional Learning and Conference Center, 15771 E. 1^st Avenue, Aurora, CO 80011.

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APS Board of Education Special Work Session

NEWS RELEASE # 51
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 4, 2013

WHAT: APS Board of Education Special Work Session
WHEN: January 8, 2013
WHERE: 1085 Peoria Street, Aurora, CO 80011

APS Board of Education Special Work Session

On Tuesday, January 8, the Aurora Public Schools Board of Education will hold a special work session pursuant to C.R.S. 22-32-108, to discuss the superintendent search. 

This special work session will take place from 5-6 p.m. in Conference Room A of Educational Services Center 4, located at 1085 Peoria Street, Aurora, CO 80011.

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