At BVSD, we know that in order most successfully support kids through partnership with families, we need to both help families strengthen their own capacity to support and advocate for their children, as well as change our internal systems to be more family-friendly. Earlier this year, the Family Partnerships Department took over the processing of volunteer background checks. Over the past several month we have listened to feedback from our volunteers and schools about how we could make this process smoother for new volunteers. Especially in times of reduced state funding for K-12 education, volunteers provide invaluable extra support to… Read More
Sunday, April 2, 2017
With Mathematics and Computer Science identified as an ongoing priority within The Success Effect plan, the teachers and leaders in the Mathematics Department have been quietly going about the business of strengthening instruction, increasing communication, and reaching all students with meaningful learning.
Key Area: Learning
Priority Action Area: Literacy & Early Learning
During the mathematics instructional materials adoption of 2013, the district-wide committees identified three focus areas for instruction that have now become our Pillars for Instructional Excellence in Mathematics. These three Pillars are:
Skills fluency demonstrated through rigorous application
Student discourse through speaking, listening, reading and writing for a variety of… Read More
Friday, December 23, 2016
When you consider the Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) strategic plan, The Success Effect–it is all about kids “winning!” The plan is designed to bring to life the BVSD’s mission, vision, and values. Specifically, our mission states our goal “to create challenging, meaningful, and engaging learning opportunities so that all children thrive and are prepared for successful, civically engaged lives.” Moreover, when we speak of all children, we really do mean all, because “societal inequities and unique learning needs will not be barriers to student success.” These are courageous and challenging words, but are so meaningful because they acknowledge the… Read More
Friday, December 9, 2016
Our first Innovation in Action blog of the year featured the new Innovative Space at Broomfield Heights Middle school. With school underway, students at Boulder High School have had an opportunity to spend some time in their newly remodeled library. The renovated library space is the first component of their larger Innovation Project Plan that also includes converting their current cafeteria into a modern, welcoming cafe and also connects the library space to both the cafe and the beautiful outdoor courtyard in the center of the building. The cafe conversion will take place during the summer of 2017 in time… Read More
Friday, November 25, 2016
This fall semester has been a very exciting time for our Growth and Development Success Effect Committee*. We have achieved a true milestone in our implementation of the new integrated professional development and evaluation online system.
In the MyPassport system, employees identify an area of growth after reflecting upon their strengths and challenges, communicate with their evaluator about their plans to meet their goals, and search for aligned learning opportunities. MyPassport provides one centralized site for employees to manage their evaluation and their professional learning.
The system was rolled out to all employees in the late summer and early fall. Customized… Read More
Friday, November 11, 2016
When a family is dealing with a crisis situation or struggling to get the bills paid, those hardships have an impact on kids’ learning. For this reason, one of the goals of the Family-School Partnership Initiative is to better equip BVSD staff with the information necessary to connect families with free or low-cost community services that will support them in times of need.
On October 12, BVSD hosted its first community services information event for BVSD staff, a joint effort between BVSD Family-School Partnerships, Early Childhood Education, Special Education and McKinney-Vento services. Our goal with the event was twofold: 1)… Read More
Friday, October 28, 2016