At their Monday night board meeting, the Mancos RE-6 Board of Education was given a presentation on their cellphone policy and other policies, heard about a potential math curriculum for the elementary school and discussed the superintendent evaluation.
In the report from Mancos secondary Dean of Students Josh Gardner and secondary Principal James Hughes, the board was provided an update on changes to the schools, as well as progress reports on strategies and policies.
The first item of discussion was the cellphone policy for the middle school and high school.
High school students aren’t permitted to have their cellphones “for any reason” in class time, but can use their phone outside of class. In the middle school, no student cellphones are to be “used or seen” during the school day.
Hughes and Gardner noted that, despite some room for improvement, there seems to be much less distraction during class time and “much more learning taking place.”
The student board members, Rosalinda Phillips and Olivia Jukes, shared their observations, saying that there are less classroom distractions and more face to face interactions with other students with the cellphone policies in place.
Hughes and Gardner also provided the board information on established criteria to reward students who are showing “exceptional performance” in their classes.
While they acknowledged the importance of students taking final exams, they said that students who are “exceptional” in a particular class can opt out of the final exam.
To qualify to opt out, students must have consistent attendance, grades of 89% or higher and no major “level two” discipline issues.
Their presentation included other information about hall passes, attendance and tardiness, the dress code and other policies.
The board was given a presentation on a potential, new elementary school math curriculum after “almost a year’s worth of work.” The math program, called i-Ready, teaches children math skills and concepts through interactive videos, games and step-by-step instruction on new concepts that help students learn and apply these concepts. It was “piloted” in Mancos’ kindergarten classrooms.
The curriculum was selected after thorough investigation of that curriculum and other CDE-approved curriculum. Teachers, students and parents were invited to try out the curriculum and provide input.
“The best resource by far turned out to be the one we piloted in kindergarten, and we are seeing some great data already from this student cohort in math,” elementary school Principal Seth Levine said in his report. “We are supremely confident that this evolution in the way we teach numeracy will be a game-changer for our students.”
The curriculum will be part of action items at the board’s February meeting.
The board moved to Superintendent Todd Cordrey’s superintendent evaluation, emphasizing the work he has done for the district and the impact he has made on students, faculty, the board and the community.
Board President Emily Hutcheson-Brown said Cordrey has “demonstrated an overall distinguished command of the district and we would like to recognize his exemplary efforts.”
The board noted that Cordrey has gone “above and beyond” on board goals, gives consistent and reliable reports each month, accomplished goals and meeting objectives, aligned the district with the strategic plan and more.
Philips also spoke, saying that coming into high school was intimidating, but Cordrey helped make the transition less scary.
“He’s made high school such a great experience for me because he’s such an inspiration to me and I look up to him a lot,” Phillips said. “He inspires me to do bigger and greater things.”
Jukes echoed Phillips, saying, “He’s made the school a really comfortable environment.”
“We’re in a really good place, and most of it is thanks to you,” board vice president Tim Hunter added.
Cordrey commended the board and the faculty and staff in the Mancos school district, saying that they laid the foundation for success in the district.
“I’ve never been in an environment (before) where my colleagues were so talented,” Cordrey said.
Before closing their meeting, the board approved their objective 1C in the strategic plan, “the Mancos school board regularly links with the town, local businesses and local organizations and encourages partnership opportunities.”
The proficiency indicators include that connections occur regularly with local businesses and organizations in the community, as well as new partnerships being sought out and created.
The board also notified the community that two board seats will open in November, adding that the process to fill those seats will start soon.
The next Mancos school board meeting will take place on Monday, Feb. 24 at 6 p.m.
