Updates from Superintendent Erin Kane

Updates from Superintendent Erin Kane
Posted on 04/26/2022

Español | русский | 中文

April 26, 2022

Dear DCSD Families,

It’s already been over three weeks since I started the role of Superintendent of this wonderful school district. In that time, I’ve been able to meet one-on-one with all of our department directors and over half of our school leaders. Last week I began school visits. It truly fills my bucket to be in classrooms, seeing the amazing work that our teachers do and how immersed our students are in learning. So far I’ve had the opportunity to participate in meet and greets with staff from the ThunderRidge and Legend High School feeders (I will be visiting schools and staff in the Castle View High School feeder tomorrow). We had some positive and honest conversations about building trust, equity, funding as well as where we are and where we want to go as a district. I plan to visit every school feeder by the middle of May. In the coming weeks we will share plans around outreach to our families and other community members.

Superintendent Entry Plan
On April 12, I shared my Superintendent Entry Plan with the Board of Education. My areas of focus are relatively straight-forward:

  1. Outreach and Listening

  2. Bridging the Community Divide

  3. Establishing Climate and Culture

  4. Preparing for a Potential MLO/Bond

  5. Developing Future Priorities

I have made it clear to our school leaders that I want to see the great work around Literacy, Professional Learning Communities, and Social-Emotional Support continued. I am so proud of the work our educators and staff are doing for our students. Click here to hear my presentation and the Q&A that followed.

New Organization Structure
Part of my entry plan includes developing an organizational structure and posting open positions. Here is the revised organizational structure for our district. We combined/collapsed some open positions to create new positions, resulting in a “budget neutral” impact. The following positions are open and will be hired in the near future:

  1. Assistant Superintendent, School Leadership: The Assistant Superintendent will oversee the operation of our schools, including the Executive Directors of Schools (EDOS). This position replaces the Deputy Superintendent role currently filled by Andy Abner, who is returning to lead Rock Canyon High School next year (thank you, Andy!).

  2. Executive Director of Special Education: We have created an Executive Director exclusively for special education, reporting directly to Deputy Superintendent Danelle Hiatt (who has a strong special education background) in order to elevate the focus of special education in our organization.

  3. Executive Director of Schools: Pathways, Choice, and Alternative Education: This new EDOS will oversee the former Wildlife Experience campus, all Career and Technical Education (CTE) offerings, alternative education, and choice programming. As we continue to develop and enhance pathways for all of our students, we will need someone focused on strategic industry partnerships, innovation, and creating opportunities for our students.

  4. Director of Parent, Community, and Civic Engagement: Outreach and trust-building is so critical right now (and will continue to be) as we come out of a challenging time for our district and as we prepare for a potential funding initiative in November. Responsibilities include developing and promoting parent and community partnerships, outreach (in close partnership with the superintendent), and working with governmental and private agencies to advocate for DCSD.

Click on our Employment page to find the postings.

Preparation for a Potential Funding Initiative
In my first three weeks, I have worked closely with our Communications department, the Mill Bond Exploratory Committee, and District Leadership to develop a Funding Outreach Presentation that I, and district leadership, will be sharing far and wide over the next several months as we prepare for a possible funding initiative in November. It is critical that our community understands HOW we are funded and that competitive compensation, growth, and facility maintenance are tremendous challenges for us as we move forward. During the April 12 board meeting I presented a draft to the BOE and addressed questions (click here to watch).

Last week, Newsbreak Denver published this article which I believe does a great job summarizing this presentation.

Developing a Positive Culture and Climate
Climate and culture in our district is a passion of mine and another part of my entry plan. I understand that the past couple of years have been challenging. I am committed to stabilizing our school district and rebuilding an amazing climate and culture for our staff, students and families. How do we build a great work environment and a culture of trust? We start by establishing norms and modeling for our kids and community - they will treat each other the way they see us treat each other and it all starts with pursuing positive intent. Please watch for more information on this topic in my next communication.

I am excited to get out into more classrooms and to hear from our teachers and school staff about how we can continue to make DCSD the absolute best place to learn and work. I know that by building relationships and partnering together we will absolutely continue providing our students with the best education for the brightest futures possible.

Thank you for your ongoing partnership in serving our 64,000 students!

Sincerely,

Erin Kane
Superintendent

Website by SchoolMessenger Presence. © 2024 SchoolMessenger Corporation. All rights reserved.

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 ).