APS Board of Education Executive Session

NEWS RELEASE #18
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 7, 2014

WHAT: APS Board of Education Executive Session
WHEN: November 11, 2014 at 5:15 p.m.
WHERE: Conference Room A, APS Educational Services Center 4, 1085 Peoria Street, Aurora, CO  80011

APS Board of Education Executive Session

On Tuesday, November 11, 2014, the Aurora Public Schools Board of Education is expected to recess into executive session under the authority of C.R.S. 24-6-402(4)(b), to receive legal advice.

The executive session will be held from 5:15-6:00 p.m. in conference room A at Educational Services Center 4, 1085 Peoria Street, Aurora, CO  80011.

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APS Students Honor Veterans and Salute America

NEWS RELEASE #17
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 6, 2014

WHAT: Veterans Day Ceremony
WHEN: November 11, 2014 at 11 a.m. 
WHERE: Aurora Quest K-8, 17315 E 2nd Ave., Aurora, CO 80011

APS Students Honor Veterans and Salute America

Aurora Public Schools students are honoring veterans and participating in “Saluting America” activities next week. The Veterans Day ceremony at Aurora Quest K-8 will feature an honor guard from Buckley Air Force Base, the Pledge of Allegiance and music.

The ceremony will start promptly at 11:11 a.m. and last for 11 minutes. Students will be wearing red, white or blue according to their grade level. The assembly will also include a performance by the Quest A Band playing the Star Spangled Banner. The Buckley AFB honor guard will lower flags to half-staff while a trumpeter plays Taps.  At the end of the song, flags are raised back to the top, and students file silently back into the school.

“The ceremony itself is very moving,” said Trish Guerrero, an Aurora Quest parent and organizer. “The goal is to give everyone, the kids especially, an opportunity to realize how special our military is and how blessed they are to be Americans.” 

Other schools will also be hosting assemblies and breakfasts to honor those who have and currently serve our country. APS students and staff are participating in the Saluting America program, which includes writing special thank you cards to veterans. Each “Tribute Card” contains a patriotic image and quote from a noted American. The cards are distributed to kindergarten through high school students and staff members who write personal “thank you” messages in them. Students and staff then personally deliver cards to veterans and active military service members.

About Saluting America:
The Saluting America School Program empowers teachers to promote patriotism and raise youth awareness of sacrifices made by our nation's active duty military personnel and our veterans. Using educational tools and suggested projects, educators customize classroom activities that teach young people about sacrifices made to protect our country's freedom. Through selected activities and classroom programs, young Americans learn about patriotism, citizenship, and our history.

Tools developed by Saluting America allow each student to engage in the acknowledgement and appreciation of those who serve. Saluting America provides teachers with components needed to implement the program. The program is supported by foundation grants, corporate sponsorships and volunteer efforts.

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

Aurora Public Schools Named Top 100 School District of Digital Learning

NEWS RELEASE #16
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 31, 2014

Aurora Public Schools Named Top 100 School District of Digital Learning
Knovation announces Annual Digital Learning Awards Program recipients

Aurora Public Schools has earned a Digital Learning Award for its use of pioneering digital resources to promote engaging and personalized classrooms.

Presented by Knovation, the Digital Learning Awards recognizes the top 100 school districts nationwide implementing digital resources based on their usage of netTrekker, which delivers learning-ready content to teachers and students. Schools nationwide use netTrekker to deliver more than 360,000 resources organized by grade level, content type, readability, subject and educational theme for use in the classroom and at home.

“We are inspired by districts using 21st century practices to enhance the educational experience,” said Randy Wilhelm, CEO of Knovation. “Aurora Public Schools’ use of digital resources demonstrates its commitment to create meaningful learning experiences to engage all learners.”

“The use of such online resources by our teachers is fostering the creation of blended learning environments for our students,” said Kevin Riebau, Educational Technology Program Director for APS.  “This is important as our students engage in learning aligned to the new, rigorous, Colorado Academic Standards which include the use of technology.”

To learn more about the Digital Learning Awards, visit http://www.nettrekker.com/dla.

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

APS Joins National Cohort of Union and District Leaders to Improve Student Learning

NEWS RELEASE #15
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 29, 2014

 

APS Joins National Cohort of Union and District Leaders to Improve Student Learning

Outstanding records of achievement qualify four teams for the NEA Foundation Institute for Innovation in Teaching and Learning

(WASHINGTON, October 27, 2014) – The NEA Foundation has selected an Aurora team led by the educator union president and superintendent to join the NEA Foundation Institute for Innovation in Teaching and Learning, a national effort to build teacher-led instructional effectiveness.

The Aurora Public Schools union-district team was selected because of their joint labor-management commitment and working collaboratively to take on tough issues like the use of time and new evaluation processes. Over the next year, they will jointly focus on designing comprehensive, job-embedded and strategically individualized professional development, which will complement the new state evaluation system required by SB 10-191. 

 “Our district and association have collaborated on a number of important concepts: Pilot schools that allow staff autonomy to make the best decisions for their students and teachers, and waivers to allow individual building staff to repurpose the way in which time is used,” said Amy Nichols, President of the Aurora Education Association. “We fully understand that to increase student achievement, we must purposefully rethink what we do and why we do it.  The opportunity provided by the NEA Foundation will help us enhance our administrators’ and teachers’ focus on effective teaching behaviors through a systematic analysis of each element in our state model evaluation rubric.  Calibration of each element will ensure teachers and administrators know what proficient and accomplished teaching looks like, and it will allow us to strategically support all teachers with the individualized resources they need to provide quality instruction to students.”

"Aurora Public Schools is honored to participate in the National Cohort of Union-District Leaders to Improve Student Learning, said D. Rico Munn, Aurora Public Schools Superintendent.  We have a long-standing positive relationship with our teachers’ association that supports accelerating learning for every Aurora Public Schools student, every day.  We look forward to collaborating with Institute colleagues to ensure that the Colorado quality teaching standards and evaluation system are useful tools for our teachers and students.”

The new teams hail from: Aurora, CO, Cedar Rapids, IA, Fall River, MA, and Berkshire Hills, MA. They will participate in a two-year program that is designed to lead to significant changes in teaching and learning, becoming part of a network of collaborative teams tackling some of the most pressing issues in public education.

“We welcome these teams and feel confident in their capacity and joint commitment to develop strategies that will strengthen their work in support of improving student outcomes,” said NEA Foundation President & CEO Harriet Sanford. “The Institute will provide opportunities for them to engage in a partnership to change teaching and learning in their communities, and ultimately, improve the opportunities of their students.”

Teams were competitively selected based on applications co-authored by teacher union presidents and superintendents demonstrating their ability to address difficult issues of systems change and collaborative reform, with a sense of urgency and focus. Sanford said the Foundation also sought to develop a cohort whose action plans would reflect a diverse set of issues, increasing what it will learn from these sites’ experiences and share within the field.

The NEA Foundation
The NEA Foundation is a public charity supported by contributions from educators' dues, corporate sponsors, and others who support public education initiatives. We support student success by helping public school educators work with key partners to build strong systems of shared responsibility. Visit www.neafoundation.org for more information. Find us on Facebook and Twitter, and visit our blog 

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

 

APS Board of Education Executive Session

NEWS RELEASE #14

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 16, 2014

WHAT: APS Board of Education Executive Session
WHEN: October 21, 5:00 p.m.
WHERE: Conference Room A, Educational Services Center 4, 1085 Peoria Street, Aurora, CO 80011

APS Board of Education Executive Session

On Tuesday, October 21, 2014, the Aurora Public Schools Board of Education is expected to recess into executive session under the authority of C.R.S. 24-6-402(4)(b), to receive legal advice.

The executive session will be held from 5:00-5:30 p.m. in Conference Room A at Educational Services Center 4, 1085 Peoria Street, Aurora, CO  80011.

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APS Board of Education to Consider Charter Waiver

NEWS RELEASE #13

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 9, 2014

WHAT: APS Board of Education to Consider Charter Waiver
WHEN: Nobember 11, 6:00 p.m.
WHERE: Dr. Ed Lord and Mrs. Patrica Lord Boardroom, Educational Services Center 4, 1085 Peoria Street, Aurora, CO 80011

APS Board of Education to Consider Charter Waiver

Pursuant to C.R.S. §22-1-117, the Aurora Public Schools Board of Education on behalf of the Office of School Reform and Innovation is seeking waiver from the State Board of Education from C.R.S. § 22-30.5-107 regarding charter application deadlines. The Aurora Public Schools Board will consider the waiver request at its regularly monthly meeting starting at 6:00 p.m. on November 11, 2014 in the Dr. Ed Lord and Mrs. Patricia Lord Boardroom at 1085 Peoria Street, Aurora, Colorado 80011. Public comment is welcome.

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APS Board of Education Executive Session

NEWS RELEASE #12

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 2, 2014

WHAT: APS Board of Education Executive Session
WHEN: October 7, 5:15 p.m.
WHERE: Conference Room A, Educational Services Center 4, 1085 Peoria Street, Aurora, CO 80011

APS Board of Education Executive Session

On Tuesday, October 7, 2014, the Aurora Public Schools Board of Education is expected to recess into executive session under the authority of C.R.S. 24-6-402(4)(b), to receive legal advice.

The executive session will be held from 5:15-6:00 p.m. in Conference Room A at Educational Services Center 4, 1085 Peoria Street, Aurora, CO  80011.

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