OURAY, Dec. 10, 4:54 p.m. – The Ouray School Board of Education is working with the school faculty, staff, administration, and members of the community on formulating a five-year Strategic Plan to guide curriculum, budget, facilities, technology, and staff-related decisions.

The planning committee members will set an overall goal for the schools and establish measurable sub-plans to achieve success in each of the individual areas. The major planning areas are:

• Excellence in Education Fundamentals – reading, writing, mathematics, and science.

• Excellence in Education Enhancements – music and arts, foreign languages, vocational training, and athletics.

• Excellence in Education Enablers – facilities, staff satisfaction, and technology.

The school board will review progress in the major planning areas on a rotating basis at monthly board meetings. Our target is to have the plan sufficiently developed so we can set next year’s budget based on plan priorities. We encourage everyone interested in the education of our students to participate in setting a high bar for our school system and working to come up with a challenging, achievable and affordable path to get there. Planning committee meeting times and locations are on the school calendar on the district’s website: ouray.k12.co.us.

Colorado Association of School Board Meeting

School board President Mike Fedel and Secretary Jerry Hellman, along with elementary/ middle school Principal Tim Finkbeiner attended the 2007 meeting. At both the “How-To” and general sessions, the strong focus was on three major areas:

• How quickly the world is changing and how our education today must prepare our students for a world that is highly digital and highly competitive.

• The need for our schools to have an excellent planning process in place to guide school-related decision making – with our planning committee underway, we are ahead of the curve on this recommendation.

• The importance of keeping the community aware of the successes and needs of the school, and involved in building on those successes and addressing the needs; in a word, communication.

Regional Cooperation

The school board is considering working with school boards from neighboring school districts to develop and leverage individual “Centers of Excellence” in each district to the benefit of all of our students. This cooperation has the potential of expanding the options available to the students with minimal duplication of effort and freeing up funds to address other needs.

Congratulations!

The school board congratulates Jake Abell, a junior at the Ouray School, for taking first place in Storytelling at the Fourth Annual Patriot Games Classic Forensics Tournament. As icing on the cake, he also placed sixth in Dramatic Interpretation. The tournament, held in Fairfax, Va., attracted 1,000 students from 20 states. The school board would like to also congratulate his coach, school staff member Nancy Nixon, on Jake’s achievement and thank the Mt. Sneffels Educational Foundation for supporting his trip.

You’re Invited

The Ouray School Board of Education invites residents of the district to attend monthly board meetings and get involved in school activities. Meetings are held in the school library and the dates are posted on the school’s website calendar.