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Introducing Superintendent Erin Kane

Introducing Superintendent Erin Kane
Posted on 03/31/2022

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March 31, 2022

Dear DCSD Families,

Good morning. My name is Erin Kane, and beginning today I will be leading and serving as your Superintendent. I am truly honored to be back in the role of Superintendent, and am looking forward to connecting with each of you – those I have had the honor to get to know previously, and those who I haven’t met yet.

First, I want to sincerely thank Andy Abner and Danelle Hiatt for serving as the school district’s acting superintendents over the past couple of months. Andy and Danelle stepped up to fill a big need on short notice. I am extremely grateful that they were willing to share their expertise and I recognize the additional time they dedicated over the past six weeks. I look forward to working with Andy, Danelle, and the entire district leadership team.

Now a little bit about me. Both my husband and I are Colorado natives. We have lived in Douglas County for over 22 years and raised our three children, now all college-aged, in this community. I hold a master’s degree in public administration, along with a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics and computer science, from the University of Colorado. For the first 10 years of my adult life, I worked in the software industry (data science) in development and management. When my children were very young, I left my full-time job to stay home and during that time, driven by a passion for STEM (which wasn’t even an acronym yet) education in the early grades, I helped start a Douglas County public charter school, American Academy. That choice completely changed the course of my career and ignited in me a passion for education. I served as the Executive Director of American Academy for many years, ultimately growing it to serve almost 3,000 students across three campuses in preschool through eighth grade. I also had the great pleasure of serving as Interim Superintendent for our school district from 2016 - 2018. These experiences have made me a fierce advocate for our kids, our wonderful school district, and ALL of our awesome public schools.

I recognize that our students, families, teachers, staff, and leaders have been through a lot over the last two years - we have never seen challenges like this in public education and I know we are all exhausted. I am incredibly proud of how our schools, staff, and families persevered through it all, always keeping our kids in focus. I recognize that our community is still facing conflict and division. However, as I listen carefully to what everyone is saying, I truly believe that we are much closer together than we think. Each of us wants what is best for every one of our 64,000 students. We all want DCSD to be the very best place to work and go to school. While we may have differing ideas and viewpoints on how to get there – I truly believe if we start with that common ground we can, and will, come together.

I am committed to starting this journey by visiting with and listening to teachers, district leaders, staff, parents, students, and community members. I will visit as many schools, district workplaces, and community groups as I can and provide opportunities for me to listen to YOU - our DCSD community.

I will be sharing my 100-day plan with the Board of Education on April 12. My focus will be on the following priorities:

  1. Bridging the divide in our community and refocusing on what we all have in common - the desire to provide the brightest futures to each of our 64,000 students.

  2. Fostering a positive culture and stability for our staff, students, families, and community.

  3. Providing competitive pay to our teachers and to all of our staff. Securing additional funding will be a key component for this priority and something I will work tirelessly to do.

  4. Creating the best, brightest academic future for our students and taking care of their social emotional well-being. This includes focusing on the needs of all of our students and understanding that early literacy is key.

  5. Ensuring that every one of our students graduates high school with a pathway to success — not just for a job, but for a career. Whether that's going to college, entering the military, or directly entering the workforce via the trades, high-tech, etc. via our Career and Technical Education and concurrent enrollment offerings.

I am very proud of this school district, and I am humbled and honored to serve all of you as Superintendent. I know that parents, building leaders, and teachers are all dedicated to ensuring our students have an incredible educational experience. I am confident that by working together we will ensure that our school district continues to be a model of high achievement and excellence in this state and the country.

Thank you in advance for your partnership and your support. I truly look forward to, once again, partnering with our families, staff and community members to ensure a bright future for all of our children.

Sincerely,

Erin Kane
Superintendent
Douglas County School District

 

620 Wilcox Street, Castle Rock, CO 80104
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In compliance with Titles VI & VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, and Colorado law, the Douglas County School District RE-1 does not unlawfully discriminate against otherwise qualified students, employees, applicants for employment, or members of the public on the basis of disability, race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, religion, ancestry, or need for special education services. Discrimination against employees and applicants for employment based on age, genetic information, and conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth is also prohibited in accordance with state and/or federal law. Complaint procedures have been established for students, parents, employees, and members of the public. The School District's Compliance Officer and Title IX Coordinator to address complaints alleging sexual harassment under Title IX is Aaron Henderson, 620 Wilcox Street, Castle Rock, Colorado, [email protected], 303-387-0127.

Outside Agencies

Complaints regarding violations of Title VI, (race, national origin), Title IX (sex, gender), Section 504/ADA (handicap or disability), may be filed directly with the Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, 1244 North Speer Blvd., Suite 310, Denver, CO 80204. Complaints regarding violations of Title VII (employment) and the ADEA (prohibiting age discrimination in employment) may be filed directly with the Federal Office of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 303 E. 17th Ave., Suite 510, Denver, CO 80202, or the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, 1560 Broadway, Suite 1050, Denver, CO 80202.

NOTICE OF DESTRUCTION OF SPECIAL EDUCATION RECORDS

Special Education records which have been collected by Douglas County School District related to the identification, evaluation, educational placement, or the provision of special education in the district, must be maintained under state and federal laws for the period of five (5) years after special education services have ended for the student. Special education services end when the student is no longer eligible for services, graduates, or completes his/her educational program at age 21, or moves from the district. This notification is to inform parents/guardians and former students of Douglas County School District's intent to destroy the special education records of students who exited special education services as of June 30, 2016. These records will be destroyed in accordance with state law unless the parent/guardian or eligible (adult) student notifies the school district otherwise. After five years, the records are no longer useful to the district, but may be useful to the parent/guardian or former student in applying for social security benefits, rehabilitation services, college entrance, etc. The parent/guardian or eligible (adult) student may request a copy of the records by requesting the records at this link ( Douglas County School District Transcripts and Records Requests ).