News-Press DOUGLAS CO 2/28/13
Castle Rock
Douglas County, Colorado • Volume 10, Issue 48
SNOW MUCH FUN
February 28, 2013
Free
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourcastlerocknews.com
Pot shop ban gains council’s approval Unanimous vote acts on provision of amendment By Rhonda Moore
rmoore@ourcoloradonews.com
Cameron Cayou, 6, catches some air while going over a jump at Centennial Park in Castle Rock Feb. 21. Cayou took advantage of the fresh fallen snow and sledded for about three hours with his family. Photo by Courtney Kuhlen
Teachers zero in on ‘world-class’ targets 160 educators help develop system to enhance learning
Marijuana continues on Page 10
CCM claims 95 awards
By Jane Reuter
jreuter@ourcoloradonews.com The phrase “world-class education” can be difficult to put into tangible terms. Its definition centers on a method of instruction designed to meet a technologycentric, rapidly changing and increasingly global economy. Imagine then, the daunting task given to the 169 Douglas County teachers recently tasked with defining their own world-class education targets. The teachers spent four Saturdays establishing the standards they and their peers will aspire to meet, and upon which their pay will be partially based. The world-class targets include 12 phrases, among them “sustainable learning,” “backward planning,” “21st-century
WORLD-CLASS EDUCATION TARGETS
12 – Number of world-class education targets 169 – Teachers helping develop criteria 4 – Saturdays teachers spent on the work
$125,425 – Dollars paid to teachers for their work 768 – Water bottles consumed during the work 420 – Cups of coffee consumed 120 – Cups of tea
The 12 world-class targets: Leadership, Sustainable Learning, Advocacy for All, Backward Planning, Alignment, Professional Growth & Development, Restorative Practices, 21st-Century Skills Integration, Student Engagement, Authentic Assessment, Student Satisfaction, Parent Satisfaction
Castle Rock Town Council took the final step to ban commercial marijuana operations and at the same time respect private consumption. Councilmembers on Feb. 19 voted unanimously to prohibit all commercial marijuana activities in town limits, a localcontrol provision of Amendment 64. The town also recognized the amendment provision that gives adults the right to grow, possess and consume marijuana. Town council gave final approval to decriminalize personal use and possession of up to an ounce of marijuana for people who are 21 years and older. Adults also retain the right to grow up to six marijuana plants for personal use, a provision now recognized in town code. Amendment 64 does nothing for anyone younger than 21 years old. Law enforcement agencies can issue citations for cultivation, possession and consumption by anyone below the age limit, according to Town Attorney Bob Slentz.
Douglas County School District teachers, including Robin Murray, Nancy Spreigl, Katie Jones and Karin Stanforth, discuss the world-class targets during a recent Saturday work session. Courtesy photo skills” and “student engagement.” Teachers, who were paid for their outside-the-classroom time, helped flesh out and bring life to those terms. “It was hard work,” said Pine Grove Elementary School teacher Kathy Lucas, “hard in the sense we were doing something out of our comfort zone.” The targets are part of the district’s world-class education curriculum, which also includes a pay-for-performance system in which teachers are paid based on their effectiveness. It’s a shift away from pay based on experience levels and extended education. And while it’s similar to a new state-level system, DCSD believes its evaluation is more rigorous and, ultimately, will produce better-prepared students. The ratings range from “ineffective” to “highly effective,” and are outlined in a teacher evaluation system called Continu-
Two papers earn major honors at state press association event Staff report
ous Improvement for Teacher Effectiveness, or CITE. Teachers evaluate themselves, as do supervisors, according to CITE guidelines. The 12 world-class targets go a step beyond CITE. “If you attained the highly-effective rating at the end of any year, you can then go and earn extra incentive for hitting some of those world-class education targets,” said Lucas, who is in her 20th year of teaching. It’s confusing in the best of times, but even more so because the Douglas County School District is on a fast track to make over its educational standards. “This year is probably the biggest change,” Lucas said. “I think it’s because there are so many things rolling out new at the same time. It’s change, and it’s a little scary.
Colorado Community Media won 95 awards, including 38 first-place honors, in the Colorado Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest. Winners of the annual contest were announced at a ceremony in downtown Denver on Feb. 23. CCM papers claimed a pair of special honors among the tally. The Golden Transcript won the Sweepstakes award for editorial excellence in Class 4. The Douglas County News-Press did likewise on the advertising side in Class 1. The awards ceremony came a year into the CCM venture, which brought together under one umbrella newspapers in Adams, Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert, Jefferson, El Paso and Teller counties. This year’s awards
Targets continues on Page 10
Awards continues on Page 10