SVVSD will create a program that can be expanded to other districts.
On Tuesday, education leaders from around the state gathered at the Innovation Center to learn how the St. Vrain Valley School District designs, tests and scales innovative and effective practices within the district, across the state and the nation. .
SVVSD received a Polis Government Response, Innovation, and Student Equity (RISE) Fund grant in November. This funding was allocated to provide youth apprenticeships with an emphasis on technology and K-12 education.
The district has received two RISE grants to date, the most recent being announced in October. The school district was awarded $383,489. The first award totals $2.79 million and was awarded in 2021. The 2021 award allowed the district to expand its summer literacy program for students in kindergarten through fifth grade in low-performing schools in Cheraw, Estes Park, Las Animas and Montezuma Cortez. and Sheridan School District.
Members of the Colorado Education Initiative, which promotes positive change in public education in Colorado, spent several days inside SVVSD learning about the district's process for innovating its educational practices. CEI uses her SVVSD as an example of how to change the educational infrastructure of schools across the state.
Educational leaders spent the day experiencing hands-on training in education and cybersecurity from SVVSD students. These leaders were also able to learn during the panel discussion what it takes to lead the system with academic rigor and solid innovation.
“Our system is built on a system called Foundation Innovation,” said SVVSD Superintendent Don Haddad. “We believe that a good education system requires two parts: one, a strong academic foundation where all core and co-curricular programs are very rigorous; The aim is to layer robust innovation on top of that strong foundation. And importantly, one without the other limits the student body.”
Over the years, SVVSD has expanded its offerings to students, including apprenticeship programs, five technology pathways programs, education pathways programs, concurrent enrollment, AP courses, and a telecommunications program that allows students from across the district and state to join SVVSD. I've been working to do that. You can take courses virtually that aren't taught in school.
Through these grants, SVVSD has created programs that increase educational opportunities for students across the state. Haddad said it is important to invest in the education of all public school students because 90% of the population attends public schools.
SVVSD's administrative staff is committed to creating programs that allow students to compete on a world level. These programs are designed to be expandable to other districts.
“If we can't scale it up, it becomes just another event or an activity. We need to scale this kind of effort across the state, region and country, and we can do that,” Haddad said. “Our commitment is not just to the St. Vrain Valley School District, but to all of our children, because who you interact with, whether they become your doctor, Because we don't know either. So we want to make this kind of work available to every child in every region, because school district territorialism isn't really realistic. And that's because It’s absolutely possible.”
