JCAA Spring Issues Forums

Thank you for attending the JCAA Issues Forums meetings this spring. The JCAA Board of Directors will be reviewing the reports generated from your discussions at our May 6, 2005 Board meeting. Reports will be available for members by mid May.

Unfortunately due to the snow day on Monday, April 11, the north area Issues Forum was canceled and will not be rescheduled. The south and central area Issues Forums were held as scheduled.

Topics covered this spring were:

Agenda Topic 1: Supporting Administrative Staff Development and Training
Purpose/Action: To better serve JCAA members through professional development, participants discussed ideas for how JCAA and the district can better support administrative learning and meet the specific skills and knowledge base requirements of the various job levels, including building based and central based administrators. Key ideas from the small group discussions were recorded and will be shared with the JCAA Professional Development Steering Committee and the district personnel who manage administrator staff development. A list of recently sponsored JCAA events was provided to assist in the discussion.

Agenda Topic 2: School Choice and Program Options
Purpose/Action: To be proactive in dealing with the national, state, and local trends in providing school choice and options, the discussion included talking about 1) what we believe about choice, 2) how we think public schools should manage choice, 3) the types of programs we have in place at our schools which might be appealing to parents looking for options and school choice, and 4) how we communicate with parents regarding program options and opportunities offered at neighborhood schools. During the discussion, participants gained insight from each other, gathering ideas on how to manage choice in their own schools and areas. In addition, key ideas from the small group discussions will be shared with the Board of Education. (Note: The Board of Education will be asking community members similar questions in the next year.)

Agenda Topic 3: Open Forum
Purpose/Action: Participants shared any issues in a small group setting, which they feel the JCAA Board should address and recorded those issues on the feedback forms. Thoughts, ideas, and concerns shared will be discussed and considered at the May 6, 2005 JCAA Board of Directors meeting.

JCAA Board of Directors' Elections

Attention General Members: Please look for your JCAA Board of Directors' election ballot to come on the pony this week. Please exercise your right to vote by completing the confidential ballot, sealing it in the enclosed return envelope, and sending it back to JCAA by the deadline, Friday, May 20. 2005.

Board of Directors Minutes - April 2005

Click here to download the minutes from the JCAA Board meeting on April 1, 2005. This is one of the best ways to learn how your representatives are supporting you through the many programs, services, and events JCAA sponsors.

Administrative Workload Issues

One of the most frequently raised comments at the JCAA Fall Issues Forums was the need to reduce administrator workload. To help address this issue, the JCAA Board of Directors was charged with asking their constituents for specific ideas on how to reduce workload. Ten articulation areas responded and two central areas. The ideas were compiled, categorized by topics raised, and topics were listed in alphabetical order. The topics are:

• Evaluations
• Meetings
• Paperwork
• Programs
• Staffing
• Work Year.

The compilation report was presented and discussed at the February 4, 2005 and April 1, 2005 JCAA Board of Directors meetings. At the April 1, 2005 Board meeting, representatives met in small groups, each group discussing one of the topics. To ensure that the components of the report were addressed, the small groups were asked to:

1. Combine like statements. (What are the common themes?)
2. Narrow down and prioritize the issues to be addressed. (What is important / possible?)
3. List their group's recommendations for how to address the priority issues.

Next Steps: The JCAA officers will look at all the recommendations and identify the next steps for addressing the issues, including taking the recommendations to the proper authorities.

Spring Leadership Development Seminar Series

The series was quite successful this spring. JCAA offered 10 workshops to support our members with district initiatives and their professional development needs. The JCAA Professional Development Steering Committee is working on plans for 2005-06. Stay tuned!

District's Administrator Staff Development Fund

Funding for 2004-2005: Administrator staff development funding is no longer available for this year, because all the funds have been allocated. If you were approved for funding, you have been notified. Please be sure to follow the policies of submitting your completed form and receipts no later than 30 days after the event and before June 29, 2005.

Because some funding may not be used by those who have been approved, you may still submit an application for attending an event in 2004-2005 by the next deadline date (Friday, April 29, 2005), and you will be placed on a waiting list.

Funding for 2005-2006: The JCAA Administrator Staff Development Fund Committee will be meeting to talk about fund allocation policies and procedures for 2005-06. As soon as the district budget has been approved and the form has been revised, you will be able to start applying for funding for next year. Most likely the first deadline date for next year's funds will be May 31, 2005. Stay tuned for more information.

JCAA Fall 2005 Professional Development Event
Save This Date! Bring a Team of Teachers!

Featuring: Maria Guajardo Lucero, Ph.D.
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
7:30 AM - 8:30 AM Full Breakfast Buffet
8:30 AM - 11:30 AM Program Presentation
Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities

Maria Guajardo Lucero is the executive director of the Mayor's Office for Education and children in Denver. Focusing on the first two decades of life, the charge of her office is to champion educational advancement for children and youth in Denver. She oversees operations from Head Start to providing high school students an even start to postsecondary education. A licensed clinical psychologist, in 2004 she was invited by Denver Public Schools to serve as a commissioner on the Secondary Reform Commission.

Maria is a national spokesperson on topics of educational attainment, positive youth development and the strength of diversity.

Dr. Guarjardo Lucero graduated with honors from Harvard University and earned her Masters and Ph.D. from the University of Denver. She is also a graduate of the Kennedy School of Government Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government. Her publications include The Power of Parents: Parent Engagement in Schools and the Developmental Assets. A daughter of migrant parents, she currently has a son enrolled in Denver Public Schools.

School administrators will be encouraged to bring a team of teachers from their building to hear Dr. Guarjardo Lucero's message.

Save These Dates!

Registration information for these 2 events will come out later.

JCAA Year End Event Celebration!
Wednesday, June 8, 2005
Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities
Featuring: Moonlighting Teachers

JCAA School Year Kick-Off Motivational Event!
Friday, July 29, 2005
Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities
Featuring: Albert Mensa

For more information about these events, see the networking events web page:
http://jeffcoweb.jeffco.k12.co.us/jcaa/networking_events.html

Emeritus Members Spring and Summer Events

The Emeritus Member Program Steering Committee has designed 4 events for our retired members during the spring and summer 2005.

Click here to download a flyer with the registration information. Flyers were distributed to all retired members via email and regular mail. The events still available are:

• Spring 2005 Retired Administrators Networking Breakfast: Program Presenter: Community Liaison Barnes and Noble, Wednesday, May 25, 2005, 9:30 - 11:30 AM, Rolling Hills Country Club
• Annual New England Clam Bake on First Day of School: Hosted by Kristi and Gerry Difford, Monday, August 22, 2005, 6:00 - 7:00 PM Cocktail Hour - Dinner at 7:00 PM

Click here to go to the Emeritus Member Web Page. This page is currently being developed and will expand in phases.

Serving Kids Clothing Program

Do you know a child in need of clothing or shoes? We can help!

JCAA and The Jefferson Foundation manage this charitable program, which provides near new clothing to Jeffco School Children in need and is cosponsored by JCAA, CSEA, JCEA, Jeffco PTA, and The Jefferson Foundation. If you know a child in need of clothing, please click here to learn how you can request clothing -- or Serving Kids now has our own web site. Check us out! http://jeffcoweb.jeffco.k12.co.us/partners/servingkids/

Jeffco Schools Employee Appreciation Celebration 2005
Six Flags Elitch Gardens

Click here to download a flyer on how to purchase your Six Flags Elitch Gardens tickets. Jeffco Public Schools employees can purchase tickets good for Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday June 3rd through 6th for $20 each (good for one day.) Regular gate prices are $37.99.

Jeffco Credit Union Youth Expo

Thursday, April 21, 2005

In conjunction with the expo, JCU is offering workshops for youth on:

• Identity Theft
• The Job Hunt
• Your First Car

Click here for more information to share with your students.

Colorado Principals' Center 2005 Fall Institute
Colorado: Reaching the Peaks
Reflections Upon Practice & Promise

November 10-12, 2005
Colorado Convention Center

The 2005 CPC Fall School Leadership Institute will offer three days of interactive, in-depth workshop opportunities with leading experts on school reform, improving student achievement, tackling the achievement gap, and creating high-performing schools and districts.

Featured presenters are Carol Glickman, Anthony Alvarado, Ealine Fink, and Dwight Jones.

Click here for more information.

McREL’s Balanced Leadership Workshop:
Developing a Purposeful Community

Click here for a flyer on McREL's Balanced Leadership workshop on May 18 and 19. The workshop is free for the first twenty people to sign up.

For more information, contact:

Cherie A. Lyons, Ph.D.
Principal Consultant McREL
2550 S. Parker Road, Suite 500
Aurora, Colorado 80014
Phone: 303-632-5537
FAX: 303-337-3005
Email: clyons@mcrel.org
Web: www.mcrel.org