It was discussed at the PTA meeting that letters should also be sent to the District Administrators that are developing the plan to address the report’s recommendations. Administrators that will be working on this plan include:

Michael Poore, Deputy Superintendent/CIO: poorema@d11.org
Christian Cutter, Executive Director Student Achievement: cuttec@d11.org
Mary Thurman, Deputy Superintendent Operations: thurmme@d11.org
Glenn Gustafson, Deputy Superintendent Chief Financial Officer: gustage@d11.org
Terry Bishop, Superintendent: bishotn@d11.org

 
Send email to all board members and district administrators
 
Send email to all district administrators
 

Sign the online petition to keep Buena Vista Elementary a Montessori elementary school.

Sunny Murphy and Maida Scott would like to invite interested parties to meet in the school yard after morning drop off on Thursday morning (November 20th) around 8:05 AM to further discuss efforts to save Buena Vista.

If there is someone available who can attend both daytime and evening meetings, that would help in coordinating our efforts.

School of Choice Permit Application Window
November 3 through February 1

Don’t forget to file your school of choice permit application for next year. You must turn one in for each child for each school year of enrollment.

Download the choice application and bring it to the school office.

More information about School of Choice Permit Applications

Encourage your friends who are considering Buena Vista for their children to file their choice applications now as well. This will give the district a better picture of our future enrollment.

Lobbying to save schools begins

November 12, 2008 – 11:26PM
SUE McMILLIN
THE GAZETTE

The lobbying to keep schools open in Colorado Springs School District 11 has begun.

A couple dozen parents of Buena Vista Elementary School students shot their hands in the air at a board meeting Wednesday when another parent asked for a show of support for the school that was recommended for closure by a consultant.

Read the rest of this entry »

It has recently come to light that consultants hired by District 11 have recommended that Buena Vista Elementary be closed or converted to an alternative high school.

The School Utilization Report and the presentation made to the board on November 5 are available online.

At the November 12 Board Meeting, several people made heartfelt presentations to the board on why Buena Vista should be kept open as a Montessori school in its current location. When one presenter asked for a show of hands of meeting attendees who were there representing Buena Vista, over a third of the room raised their hands.

The board will be making a decision on school closures by January 2009. We need to make the board know that we – the parents, teachers, administrators and students – would like Buena Vista to stay open, as a Montessori school.

Please contact the board members, via phone, email or letter, and let them know what you feel is beneficial about Buena Vista and how it helps your child.

 
Send email to all board members and district administrators
 

More detailed information (bios, contact information, meetings) about the board can be found online.

Read the rest of this entry »

Will your child’s D-11 school close?

November 10, 2008 – 3:11PM
SUE McMILLIN
THE GAZETTE

Nearly 60 percent of Colorado’s school districts have declining enrollment and many are faced with half-empty school buildings that are no longer efficient to operate.

Colorado Springs School District 11 is among them.

Buena Vista Elementary School
1620 W. Bijou St.
Recommended action: Move students to Bristol and Washington elementaries; move Bijou Alternative School into building.
Why: Declining enrollment, school is not handicap accessible, high per-pupil operating costs.
Enrollment: Dipped below 200 last year; projected enrollment for 2016 is about 170.
Capacity: 250
Building: Built 1911; not air conditioned; facility rated fair with an estimated $316,000 in improvements needed.
Special programs: first public school Montessori program in the Pikes Peak region.
Achievement: Governor’s Distinguished Improvement Award.
Consultant’s evaluation score: 12

It is one of 103 mostly urban and rural districts that are losing students to schools in new suburban neighborhoods, said Shannon Bingham of Western Demographics Inc. of Boulder.

Read the rest of this entry »

Study urges closing 4 D-11 elementaries, expanding three schools to K-8

November 5, 2008 – 11:22AM
SUE McMILLIN
THE GAZETTE

Four elementary schools would close in Colorado Springs School District 11 over the next few years and other schools would have new grade-level groupings or magnet programs under recommendations offered Wednesday night in a new School Utilization Study.

The report was met with some skepticism and plenty of questions by the D-11 board, whose members emphasized that it was the first step in deciding whether the district should close schools or take other steps to improve efficiency. One concern voiced by several board members was why there was no recommendation to close a middle school, the level where the district has the greatest overcapacity. Instead, the report recommended creating three kindergarten-8th grade schools – in West and Irving middle schools and Trailblazer Elementary School.

The report recommended closing Buena Vista, Hunt, Whittier and Longfellow elementary schools for an annual savings of about $1.4 million in operating costs.
Read the rest of this entry »

Start clipping! We will be holding our first official BOX TOP$ collection of our school year on November 4th! Remember, the class with the most collected BOX TOP$ labels will earn a special treat (determined by the teacher.)

Just a refresher on how this fundraiser works:

• BoxTops4Education offers an easy ways to earn cash for our school through everyday activities such as buying groceries and shopping online.
• Clip — Clip Box Top coupons from hundreds of participating products and send them to school. Each classroom has a pink shoe box with the BOX TOP$ logo on it. BOX TOP$ coupons are worth 10¢ each when our school redeems them from Box Tops for Education. Please reference flier of participating products in your child’s Friday Folder.
• Shop — Shop at your favorite online stores through the Box Tops Marketplace. Up to 8% of each qualifying purchase is automatically donated to our school. There is no additional cost to your purchase and many exclusive deals and discounts can be found! Look for online shopping details in next month and future Friday Folders or visit www.btfe.com/marketplace

Please help our volunteers by trimming labels before bringing them in. This will help our volunteers considerably in preparing the labels for submission.

Thank you so much and START CLIPPING!!!

As you may all know, our fall fundraiser has finally come to a close. Though we did not get the participation we anticipated, we are pleased with the results. We are happy to announce that Ms. Clarice’s class won the pizza party for selling the most bulbs—85 total. CONGRATULATIONS!!!