A hub of innovative education

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East of Main Street, situated near both the Longmont Recreation Center and the Longmont Museum, looms a building of glass and steel. When the sun hits, it could be an architectural drawing brought to reality, with clean lines that evoke a blueprint.

That building is the Innovation Center, St. Vrain Valley School District’s hub for advanced science and technology education. Transcending traditional classroom education, the Innovation Center offers hands-on experience for students in more than a dozen different programs, including aeronautics, bioscience, cybersecurity and robotics.

Read the full story in the Boulder Weekly

BVSD, SVVSD see CMAS test scores start to rebound

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Local scores on statewide language arts and math tests are closing in on pre-pandemic levels, though student achievement continues to lag in some grades and subjects after more than two years of COVID-19 school disruptions.

“The teachers and staff at all of our buildings have worked extremely hard,” said St. Vrain Valley Executive Director of Assessment Ann Reed.

Overall, both the Boulder Valley and St. Vrain Valley school districts outscored the state on all tests, according to results released Wednesday. Participation rates in both districts, as well as statewide, also are approaching 2019’s levels on the Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS), PSAT and SAT tests.

Read the full story in the Times-Call

Frederick High student resource officer car redesigned with new Golden Eagle mascot

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Frederick High School’s new mascot — the Golden Eagle — has been featured front and center on the school’s redesigned student resource officer vehicle.

The vehicle’s design was crafted by Frederick High School student Kyle Richards, town officials said in a news release. Richards met with the school’s principal and Student Resource Officer Andy Fairbanks last week to see the printed design in person.

Read the full story in the Times-Call

SVVSD gives incoming freshmen a jump on high school

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About 50 of Niwot High’s new ninth-graders are spending 10 days getting a primer on algebra and high school language arts, along with learning ways to be their best selves through social and emotional learning lessons.

They’ll also start the school year knowing a few teachers and how to navigate through the building, as well as knowing more about how high school works.

Read the full story in the Times-Call

Free, reduced-price meal applications available for the 22-23 school year

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St. Vrain Valley Schools’ department of Nutrition Services provides quality, nutritious, and well-balanced meals for all students across the district. Due to the expiration of federal pandemic waivers, there will be a cost to school meals for the 2022-2023 school year.

All families who believe they may qualify for free or reduced-price meals are encouraged to fill out an application before August 16 to avoid fees and/or charges upon the start of the school year. Applications are continuously accepted and processed throughout the school year and families are invited to apply or reapply at any time. In addition to receiving school meals at no cost, families receive benefits including fee waivers for school and preschool programming, and discounts on SAT and ACT exams and college applications, utilities and internet service, and participation in community organizations like sports or YMCA programs. 

St. Vrain schools also benefit when families submit their free or reduced-price meal applications. Schools receive an increase in federal dollars for student and classroom support, school programs during and after-school, preschool programs, technology, and additional snacks and meals at no cost to all families outside of normal school hours.

The application is completely confidential and not shared with any other agency or organization.

Learn more and submit an application

SVVSD embraces early college P-TECH program

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Abraham Tinajero was an eighth grader when he saw a poster in his Longmont middle school’s library advertising a new program offering free college with a technology focus.

Interested, he talked to a counselor to learn more about P-TECH, an early college program where he could earn an associate’s degree along with his high school diploma. Liking the sound of the program, he enrolled in the inaugural P-TECH class as a freshman at Longmont’s Skyline High School.

Read the full story in the Times-Call

SVVSD hosts ‘AP for All’ teacher workshops

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Close to 200 educators are at Erie High School this week learning how to become better advanced placement teachers and to create more inclusive classrooms.

The Colorado Education Initiative is partnering with St. Vrain Valley Schools to host the 11th annual AP for All Summer Institute. The College Board-certified institute was held virtually during the last two years because of the pandemic.

Read the full story in the Times-Call

St. Vrain will use AI to help support teacher development

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St. Vrain Valley School District will be one of the first districts in the nation to use artificial intelligence-driving coaching to support the professional development of its teachers this school year.

This past spring, the district piloted AI Coach by Edthena, which utilizes a virtual, computerizied coach named Edie to supplement the schools’ and districts’ existing observation and feedback models. Edie asks teachers about their professional goals, and teachers analyze and reflect on videos of their classroom instruction by adding time-stamped comments.

Read the full story in the Longmont Leader

To Infinity and Beyond – Fiske Planetarium Partners with Eagle Crest’s Project Launch

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ECES students on-site filed trip, Fiske Planetarium

Summer programming provides many great opportunities for students. Students participating in Project Launch at Eagle Crest Elementary have had the unique opportunity to connect with CU Boulder’s Fiske Planetarium, which pairs nicely with this year’s theme, ‘Space Exploration.’ 

Teachers are finding creative ways to weave this theme into their instruction across the content areas. “We chose to partner with Fiske Planetarium because their programming provides students with on-site field trips that expand the scope of learning beyond our traditional walls,” shared Lindsey Cheney, Dean of Students, Eagle Crest Elementary.

Experts from Fiske Planetarium visited Eagle Crest Elementary on June 16. Partnering with Fiske Planetarium gave students many benefits – students have been able to explore, read, and design for outer space. The first program with the planetarium was the MiniDome, where students took a tour of the solar system in their inflatable planetarium. “After we got to visit the Planetarium, I now know way more about outer space. I loved getting to see the stars and the planets,” shared a student from Eagle Crest Elementary. This MiniDome experience provided students the opportunity to learn more in depth about the different components of the solar system, how scientists study the solar system, and the technology they use. Students saw the constellations and a simulation about how Earth rotates, and images that were taken from rovers and telescopes.

On June 28, Fiske Planetarium provided the Project Launch students with stomp rockets; this gave students the opportunity to learn the basics on how rockets fly to space and immersed students with an experience of the engineering design process. “Through the designing, building, and testing phases, students learn to iterate and persevere through challenges,” explained Cheney. “Students at this age are great at exploring and learning to fail, adapt, and improve the things they build.” For many students, the best part of the stomp rocket projects was having a competition and then making the necessary adjustments to the aerodynamics in order to make the rocket fly smoother in the air.

“We want students to see adults doing the work they love in STEM fields and be able to have experiences that will influence their perceptions of the careers and opportunities that could be a part of their future, that is why it’s important to bring STEM experts to our students,” shared Cheney. 

St. Vrain Valley Schools