The October 22, Pueblo County School District 70 (D70) Board of Education (BOE) meeting was a time of celebration as well as time to ponder upcoming tough decisions.
Twenty-one of the D70 schools, as well as D70 itself, were awarded banners and acknowledged with performance awards distributed by Superintendent Ronda Rein and Dr. Anthony Martinez.
The numerous performance awards with banners for the school were presented to: D70 for the District Accreditation, District 70 Online, Beulah K-8, Cedar Ridge Elementary, Craver Middle School, Dessert Sage Elementary, Liberty Point Elementary, Liberty Point International, North Mesa Elementary, Pleasant View Middle School, Prairie Winds Elementary, Pueblo County High School, Pueblo West High School, Rye High School, Sierra Vista Elementary, Skyview Middle School, Connect Charter School, Swallows Charter Academy, Swallows Charter Academy High, Villa Bella Expeditionary Middle School, Vineland Elementary and Vineland Middle School.
A presentation of the district data analysis recently compiled was given by Chris Slobodnik and Dr. Anthony Martinez. They reported that the data clearly shows a need for social-emotional learning, skills for students to succeed socially and emotionally, and the need to have the ability to manage stress. The report showed that stress levels in middle school students seem to be high.
BOE Vice President Dr. A.J. Wilson gave a presentation on the Social Emotional Learning (SEL) TRAILS Update and advised that the board is looking for input on the TRAILS Curriculum. He said that Superintendent Rein will be giving a presentation at the next BOE meeting regarding TRAILS and they would like to address as many questions as possible before that time. He invited anyone with concerns to contact himself or BOE President Anne Ochs with email questions before that meeting. Wilson advised that the TRAILS Curriculum is up to date on the D70 website and that parents can access the entire curriculum that the kids will see.
Leading the Open Forum portion of the night was Brittany Smith to support the TRAILS Curriculum. She said she has seen a huge difference in her children’s abilities to calm down and handle situations and that they come home with more con- fidence. She believes that D70 needs social-emotional learning.
Smith also questioned why the Pueblo West High School computers have access to all information without any restrictions.
Two other open forum participants spoke up in favor of the TRAILS Curriculum. Both encouraged families to get involved and D70 to offer more for their students in social-emotional learning and life skills.
Crystal McInnis spoke out against the TRAILS Curriculum. She said she has worked in foster care for 17 years and has a Bachelor and a Master's Degree in social work. She feels TRAILS would be putting teachers in the position of mental health professional workers on top of their normal jobs. She also feels TRAILS would single out certain kids, recognize triggers, go through emotional lessons, then move back to school work without actually working on the issues which is not enough.
McInnis says she feels this is not the right program, that there are others out there, and she feels this is being rushed into. She is concerned that the TRAILS company is allowing changes to be made to their program and questions how accurate it can be if every district uses it differently.
BOE member Chris DeLuca gave a presentation asking for approval of the Resolution Opposing Amendment 80. He explained that while D70 is very much in favor of students and parents being able to choose the schools that fit them best Amendment 80 may considerably lower funding for public schools. The BOE voted to approve the Resolution Opposing Amendment 80.
The next Board of Education meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, November 19, 2024, at the Educational Services Center, 24951 East Highway 50, Pueblo, Colorado, The meeting will begin at 6:00 p.m. There will be a special session following the regular board meeting with questions and answers on the Social Emotional Curriculum. There is a maximum limit of three questions per person, all consecutive questions will be combined. The deadline for questions is November 12, 2024, by the end of the work day at 5:00 p.m. MST.
Questions can be turned in to Kimberly Rein @ 24951 US HWY 50 E. Pueblo, CO 81006 or emailed to: Anne Ochs at aochs@district70.org, AJ Wilson at awilson@district70.org, or Kimberly Rein at krein@district70. org
