Objectives

 Immediate and dramatic standardized test score improvements vs. state and national averages. 

RF Valley test scores are dismal and getting worse. According to our CMAS scores in Spring 2022, only 32.7% of our students tested proficiently in English (a 6.3% decrease from 2019), only 23.7% were proficient in Math (4.9% decrease from 2019) and only 10% were proficient in Spanish (a 7.8% decrease). I would like our children to not only be proficient, but to excel—I want my kids to be as well prepared for their lives beyond high school as possible. Even with Roaring Fork Valley’s scores far below the national average, our graduation rate is 86% and increasing—our students are leaving our schools unprepared and unequipped for their future. How are these children passing through to graduation with failing grades? Find the full results for our school district CMAS (Colorado Measures of Academic Success) scores here.

 Ensure that all budget spending is evaluated for our main objective and focus—our children! School spending should be approved with our childrens’ educational wellbeing as the motivation and end goal. 

According to Public School Review, our revenue per student increased 7% from 2017-2021, but the spend per student remained the same, over $2,500 below the state average spent per student. Our average teachers’ salary is only $51,456 per year and our kids’ test scores are well below the state average. Our tax dollars should be helping our kids succeed academically, but according to our CMAS test scores, our spending is not accomplishing this goal. Read the full report on Public School Review here. Find information on teachers’ salarys here. See a few articles about our superintendent’s salary and compensation package from the Aspen news here and here.

Develop policy that ensures parental consent for all medical-related education and treatment as well as all psychological treatment.

Did you know that right now in Colorado, your twelve year old can authorize receiving life-altering and often permanent medical treatment not only without parental consent, but also without their parents even being informed that the treatment is happening?  Read more about minor confidentiality laws here.  Read about how Colorado law defines a minor here.

 Work with district administration and educators to reduce bullying and drug use among students. 

 Our schools do a good job looking out for bullying and teaching students the dangers of bullying others. However, though are lots of links on Roaring Fork Valley School websites to resources for drug use help, but when you speak with our students, it appears that very little is being actively or effectively done in the schools to combat this rising danger to our students. Though the state does offer some resources, I would like to also partner with a program like LEAD (Law Enforcement Against Drugs and Violence) that offers the most effective evidence-based tested and proven K-12 ATOD curriculum delivered by our own law enforcement officials. Read more about this incredible (and free) program here (www.leadrugs.org). Read about Colorado state safety resources here (https://cssrc.colorado.gov) 

 Enable great teachers for our kids to come, live, and stay in our valley. 

Our superintendent, Jesús Rodríguez has made some great strides in making housing more affordable for our teachers—I think we can go further! Including liability insurance to all teachers as part of their compensation package is just one way that we can show our appreciation to our fantastic educators. One great option is the Professional Association of Colorado Educators—they provide $2 million individual insurance per occurrence and costs less than $17 per month and they also guarantee access to legal counsel at the onset of workplace issues. Check out PACE here. (https://www.coloradoteachers.org) 

 Ensure that our students are as safe as possible while at school and school functions. 

 There are a lot of varying viewpoints on the best way to keep our kids safe. I believe that we need input from parents, educators, law enforcement, and administration to find the most effective method of keeping our kids safe from harm. I plan to open up frank discussions with all concerned to find what will work best for our students in our schools. A few possible solutions are ALICE Training through Navigate 360 (Info.navigate360.com) or Faster (https://fastersaveslives.org)