Center of Focus

October 12^th, 2025

Focus on the Fabulous

We were fortunate to take five members of our Family, School, and Community Partnership (FSCP) Team to the National Assembly for Family, School, and Community Engagement (NAFSCE) this past week. During the assembly, we explored best practices, strategies, and frameworks to strengthen family, school, and community relationships. The NAFSCE centers its work on four key domains: Reflect, Connect, Collaborate, and Lead.

 -Reflect: Recognize, respect, and honor the cultural and linguistic diversity of our families and communities. Work with families to understand child development and learning from their perspectives.

-Connect: Build and sustain trusting relationships with families and community members, and engage families as true partners in their children’s education and growth.

-Collaborate: Empower families and community members to take on leadership roles and work together to identify and address barriers to equity and access.

-Lead: Promote equitable family engagement by sharing power and responsibility, and advocate for policies and practices that support authentic, system-wide engagement.

Throughout the sessions, we found affirmation that the work we are doing in Center not only aligns with national best practices but, in many areas, exceeds expectations.

The NAFSCE’s overarching goal, to strengthen partnerships in support of student success, aligns with our district’s mission and is part of our District Ownership Plan. We are proud of the strong FSCP foundation we’ve built in Center and look forward to implementing new insights and tools to further enhance our family, school, and community connections.

Brisa Macias and Dalia Molina are invaluable members of our team who work tirelessly to build strong connections with our families. Every day, they help keep families informed, offer insight into how we can better engage and support them, and ensure that families have access to the resources they need to partner with us in promoting student success. Brisa supports Haskin Elementary families, while Dalia works closely with our middle and high school families.

We are also grateful for the continued leadership of Sharon Valadez, our Migrant Education Program (MEP) Coordinator. The MEP supports students whose families move for agricultural work, helping them overcome challenges related to mobility, language, and access. The program provides supplemental instruction, tutoring, and other learning opportunities. Sharon plays a key role in tracking and transferring student records, connecting families with health, nutrition, and community resources, and strengthening family-school partnerships.  Linda and I had the opportunity to attend and serve in building and district administration roles, continuing our shared commitment to supporting students, families, and staff.

Another exciting opportunity has come our way! Our district has been invited to represent the state of Colorado in Washington, D.C. to advocate for the reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) funding bill, a vital source of support for our classrooms, teachers, and students.

Thanks to Mrs. Roberts’ leadership in getting our Future Farmers of America (FFA) program up and running, our students will take part in Operation Wise Owl, an initiative that brings FFA members, Superintendents, and Advisors from across eight states to meet with Members of Congress and highlight the importance of SRS funding for rural communities.

Mrs. Neufeld and I will be traveling with our FFA officers, President Hayley Lozano, Vice President Elijah Garcia, and Secretary Vanessa Lopez, to meet with national leaders, including the Office of Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, to encourage reauthorization of Senate Bill 356. Students will share personal stories and data demonstrating how this funding impacts school safety, roads, and educational services in small, rural districts.

This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our students to experience democracy in action and represent the voices of rural schools across Colorado. We’re deeply honored to have been selected to participate in this important advocacy effort.

A shout-out to Mr. Sperandio, our Athletic Director, and his team for setting up our new broadcasting system, SaddleRock Sports. They have been broadcasting live during our volleyball and football games, and our fans can watch the games on YouTube.

District Ownership Plan at Work

Priority #1 – Curriculum and Instruction

CCSD staff lead rigorous, engaging, collaborative learning experiences in every classroom that align with CCSD Instructional Expectations.

Fantastic job to 98% of our staff for having current objectives and DFAS posted in classrooms this past week.  Thanks to JoAnn for getting the sweeps done last week.  Skoglund and CHS had 100% of staff with objectives and DFAs, and we had only one elementary teacher without current info. up.  I will be in classrooms this week, and we will be aiming for 100%! 

Our staff took part in the Talk, Read, Talk, Write (TRTW) Siedlitz training on our PD day on Friday. This instructional framework is designed to build students’ academic language and comprehension, especially for English Learners, through structured interaction and literacy routines. Abigail Rendon provided training for our classified staff on QPR Suicide prevention, and Mr. Hawkins provided training on Title IX district procedures. 

Priority #2 – Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness (PWR)

CCSD develops hardworking learners who are contributors, problem solvers, effective communicators, and future-ready with the skills needed to succeed.

Priority #3 – Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS)

CCSD maintains high expectations for student learning and behavior, with structures in place to support the needs of all students.

Our Family, School, and Community Partnership (FSCP) Team met at the end of the month to reaffirm our goals and solidify our district plan moving forward. Our overarching goal centers on communication- ensuring that families are informed, empowered, and engaged.

We continue to focus on helping parents understand how to access services, advocate for their children, and connect with available resources so they can be confident, independent partners with the district. A key part of our plan includes establishing a centralized location for resources, making information easily accessible to families, teachers, and staff.

We also discussed strategies to engage families who want to be involved and ways to ensure that all staff members clearly understand the roles and responsibilities of our FSCP team members, including those serving in the Migrant Education Program (MEP) and as Family Liaisons.

Our FSCP team includes Michele Hammel, Stephany Rodriguez-Moreno, Jerica Archuleta, Brisa Macias, Dalia Molina, Sharon Valadez, Misty Lambert, and Carrie Zimmerman.

Priority #4 – Recruitment and Retention (R&R)

CCSD is committed to attracting, training, and retaining highly qualified teachers, knowing that effective educators are the single most important school-based factor in student success.

One of our key initiatives under Recruitment & Retention (R&R) is promoting our district, our staff, the teaching profession, and public education. We love taking the opportunity to highlight our amazing team when they go above and beyond!

 Hats off to Amanda Alanis, who represented our district at the state level after being invited to present and share the effective strategies she uses in her classroom to support students and collect meaningful data. Great job, Amanda!  We’re so proud to have you on the Viking Ship and to see you sharing your expertise with others!

A big thank you to Wendy for organizing the staff blood draws as part of our district wellness efforts- another important piece of our R&R strategy. We want to make sure we’re doing all we can to keep our staff healthy and thriving. Remember to take advantage of the preventive health benefits available through our district’s excellent insurance plan. The healthier we are, the lower our rates, and the greater the benefits for everyone across the district!

Don’t forget to check out Wendy’s monthly “Pulse” newsletter for more great wellness tips and information.

District Wellness & Benefits

Did you know your district insurance covers preventative screenings at no cost as part of your annual wellness visit? That includes mammograms, cholesterol checks, diabetes screenings, and more.

If you haven’t had your annual exam, schedule it now—it’s covered!

Fast Forward

Monday, Oct. 13^th- Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Saguache County Commissioner Meeting, Operation Wise Owl Planning Meeting

Tuesday, Oct. 14^th- Picture Retake Day, Superintendent Advisory Council, CDE Monthly Superintendent Meeting, SLV Career Connected Partnership Meeting, District Accountability Committee, Regular BOE Meeting, SMS Football vs. Monte

Wednesday, Oct. 15^th- MLT, CRSA Statewide Weekly Meeting, SLV Superintendents PLC, DHAC

Thursday, Oct. 16^th- Center OAC Meeting, End of 1st Quarter

Friday, Oct. 17^th- CHS Football vs. Ignacio, Lady Vikings V-ball vs. Trinidad

Saturday, Oct. 18^th- Lady Vikings V-ball vs. South Park, CHS X-Country District Meet @ Monte

Wednesday, Oct. 22nd- Secondary Home Visits and Parent Teacher Conferences

Thursday, Oct. 23rd- Harvest Party, Parent Teacher Conferences