Monday briefs
The Sheridan School District has been awarded a $1 million, three-year grant from the state to implement a turnaround plan at Sheridan Middle School.
The plan is intended to improve literacy instruction, including a special emphasis on second-language learners, as well as management of student conduct and communication and engagement with parents.
The program was developed with advice from lead teachers and included analysis of the student performance data and results from a staff survey.
Ian Wells, an assistant principal at Heritage High School in Littleton, will be the new principal of Sheridan Middle School. Former Principal Will Wooddell recently was appointed district performance manager.
The federally funded Tiered Intervention Grants are designed to support chronically low-performing schools – those in the bottom 5 percent of all schools based on student performance.
Both the district and the school are accredited with priority improvement plans, the second lowest of the state’s five levels of accreditation. (See district details here and the school’s report here.)
Sheridan also recently was named a finalist for a $29.5 million Building Excellent Schools Today construction project, a major part of which is renovation of Sheridan Middle School.
The Colorado Legacy Foundation has awarded a total of $222,500 in grants to 13 school districts and one charter school.
The two-year grants, made possible by funding from the Colorado Health Foundation, are for creation and implementation of school health and wellness strategies, including increased consumption of fruits and vegetables, healthy snacks, staff wellness programs and increased physical activity.
The recipients are Adams 12-Five Star, Archuleta, Boulder Valley, Center, Durango, East Grand, La Veta, Mountain Valley, Ouray, Ridgway, Silverton, West Grand, Woodland Park and the Scholars to Leaders Academy in Colorado Springs. Get more information in this news release.
Speaking of wellness, school food service professionals from around the nation will gather in Denver July 15-18 for the annual convention of the School Nutrition Association. A variety of fitness and nutrition experts will address the gathering, including Dr. Keith Ayoob from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. The event at the Colorado Convention Center is expected to draw more than 3,000 attendees and includes some 90 different sessions.