At its February 6, 2024, meeting, the Gilpin RE-1 Board of Education heard about the problems with the County placing a historic road sign across from the school.

The board heard a request from two Missouri Lakes HOA board members regarding the proposed placement of a historic marker road sign across from the entrance to the school.

Chris Iacono and Bill Merline of the Missouri Lakes HOA board expressed their concern for the placement of the sign and asked that the school board send a letter to the County regarding the proposed placement. The Board by unanimous vote directed District Superintendent David MacKenzie to write the letter and recommend that the sign be moved outside the school zone.

Upon receiving the letter from MacKenzie and one from the Missouri Lakes HOA board, the County agreed to move the historic marker to another location.

During “Congratulations and Celebrations,” art teacher Curtis Halsted recognized the art of three students and presented their artwork to the Board to be displayed in the boardroom. Halsted started with kindergartener Zinnia Thornton, who had painted some sunflowers after learning about Vincent van Gogh. Halsted said Zinnia is superfocused and asks great questions. He is looking forward to seeing some amazing art from her, he added.

Fifth grader Eden Mayer displayed a portrait that was based on a famous Renaissance painting. Through the painting, Eden said, she learned a lot about drawing and shading techniques. Halsted said it was an exceptional example of Eden’s abilities. The Board expressed admiration for the facial details in Eden’s portrait.

Brayden Mason is a junior and a new student to the school. The artwork that Brayden presented to the board was from an assignment to paint expressive lines with texture and depth.

Also during the congratulations segment, MacKenzie brought up that January was Board of Education Appreciation Month, and offered his delayed congratulations to the Board for their work and dedication to the school district. He said that, while they are elected officials, they are not paid, and that each member spends a great deal of their time and expertise to tend to Board business, and they do it all to support students and staff.

In MacKenzie’s Superintendent’s report, he told the board that the district had received the revised final 2023 School Performance rating: they had received an Accredited status, with an overall score of 68.7 out of a 100. The district fell just short of the participation rate, with 93.9 % in Math and 93.5% English. The threshold is 95% in each.

MacKenzie concluded his report by informing the Board that the Sheriff’s Office will be charging more for a School Resource Officer in the 2024/2025 school year. He is seeking clarification from the Sheriff’s Office on the exact amount.

In the new business section of the meeting, the Board unanimously voted to adopt changes to the school district Educator Evaluation Guidelines to follow state statutes that were passed in 2022.

The primary change required by statute would be the balance between professional practices and student data/scores. Previously educators were evaluated on a 50/50 split. The new guidelines evaluated educators on a 70/30 split.

MacKenzie and four other staff members have already completed the mandatory retraining in how to use the educator evaluation software.

The other new business on the agenda was the unanimous approval of graduate and educator profiles from the Strategic Purpose Design Team. The profiles were developed in conjunction with students, staff, parents, and consultants from the Colorado Education Initiative. The profiles set lofty standards for what it means to be a graduate or educator from Gilpin RE-1.

The next meeting of the RE-1 Board will be held on February 20, 2024. There will be a special meeting at 6:30 p.m. to review the construction contract and financing for the Wastewater Interconnect Project. A final Meet and Confer meeting with staff will be at 7 p.m.

A video of the February 6 meeting can be viewed on the RE-1 YouTube channel. The agenda, charts, and documents for this meeting are on the RE-1 website (gilpin.k12. co.us) under “Board of Education Agendas.”