Editor:
Over the past few months I have visited with many groups to explain why the school board believes now is the right time to build a new high school. However, this work is not even close to being the most important part of my job.
My primary focus, along with that of every member of the Re-1 faculty and staff, is to do the work necessary to help our students achieve academically at higher levels than ever before. We are taking several steps to achieve this goal.
Our teachers and administrators collaborate every Wednesday in professional learning communities to drill deep into questions such as: 1) What do we want our students to learn? (curriculum); 2) How do we know if they are learning? (assessment); 3) What are we doing for students who have not achieved mastery? (interventions); and, 4) What are we doing for students who have achieved advanced levels of mastery? (enrichment). This district-wide, systemic method of collaboration is new to Re-1, and we are already seeing positive benefits from the work our teachers are doing.
We have implemented new literacy programs at both the elementary and secondary levels. Our K-5 students are developing and improving their reading strategies with the Success For All literacy framework, a research-based program that was selected by our teachers after a comprehensive study and selection process. Our district is the first in Colorado to do a full, district-wide implementation of the Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) program at the secondary level. This across the curriculum writing and research process is a proven method of helping students reach mastery of critically important communications processes.
Our administrative team is fired up to foster a renewed commitment to ensuring that a high quality, engaging instructional program is offered to every student, every day.
We know that we are on the right path to reach our goal of becoming a beacon of educational excellence in Southwestern Colorado. We greatly appreciate the continued support of our community as we do the right work for the students of Re-1.
Alex Carter
Superintendent
Montezuma-Cortez
School District Re-1
Via email
