Testimonials

“While it is a very involved process, it’s a very good way to dive deep into practice while inviting other professionals to review the practice for objective feedback…I can understand why S-CAP is so powerful for district improvement.” -Jennifer Nesselhuf, SFT BOCES Project Coordinator.

Wiggins School District

“In our 1-day virtual review during the COVID-19 pandemic, parents, students, and teachers were able to share how we have handled the current situation we find ourselves in. This information could definitely be used at the state level for data tracking. Shifting our focus in the classroom review to what it is like for the student learning from home has led us to implementing some new technology and best instructional practices. Our students and teachers have both reaped the benefit of having our one day.” - Trent Kerr, Superintendent

“I think the most valuable part of this whole process is taking the time as a district to prepare for the review, look at the data and documents altogether in one place as a district, and to move forward with common goals on a yearly basis.” – Tara Boyer, Elementary Principal

District Updates - Summer 2019

Click here for a video testimonial from member districts, captured at the summer summit 2019!

Kit Carson School District

My previous role was in a very large district, where it felt like there was always one more thing to focus on, without anything being taken away or replaced. I spent my time in meetings about IB, calendar, scheduling, teacher evaluation, DAAC, UIP, professional development, etc. It felt like none of these committees ever collaborated or had the big picture in mind, just their chunk. While each piece was important, there was never a holistic push toward improvement.

The process of the System Support Review (SSR) at Kit Carson is making the big picture clearer to me and my team. The SSR has made my life a lot more focused. From the review, the Board of Education and I have been able to focus and realign our district priorities. We are able to have meaningful conversations about the art of teaching, not just budget and policies.

Since the SSR, and using the Executive Summary, I have talked to my staff about our calendar next year and what is best for our professional development days and strategies. We discussed what professional development we need and what is the best way to obtain it. For Kit Carson, like most other districts, attending conferences and PD offsite is preferable, but it is challenging to be able to have a staff member from our small team be out of the building. We intend to have people come to us to deliver the PD, using the time we have built into our calendar (once a month Wildcat Wednesdays).

In addition, we’ve talked about reading comprehension and reading fluency on the academic side, but we’ve also discussed critical thinking, taking chances, and grit on the learning disposition side. As a staff, we have also analyzed our current schedule since the SSR and how we can enhance our main goals. Our district motto is to go from “Good to Great.” Our district was honored by being Accredited with Distinction, but we won’t stop there. My staff has worked diligently on making tweaks, not massive changes, to our schedules to make learning more valuable.

There were a number of revelations from the SSR. My staff was very clear that they wanted more feedback from administration about their teaching and observations. Parents discussed their desire for our students to see the real world, and not just the Kit Carson area. And, we were inspired to actively seek and apply for a health foundation grant to help us continue to diagnose and plan for the future of Social Emotional Learning, as well as mental and physical health.

This process does involve hard work, but everything we have learned is guiding our next steps. It is making our steps more natural and less fragmented. And, it is making some of my responsibilities as a leader much easier and definitely more efficient. This has allowed the teachers and staff to provide critical input and self-reflection. I encourage everyone to take a serious look at S-CAP and the value that it has.