CISD School Board met on Monday, April 10, for their regularly scheduled board meeting.
The board approved significant and exciting changes to enhance food quality for students on all District campuses.
CISD and their partnership with Walker Quality Services will amp up food options beginning now! Nutrition plays a vital role in academics by fueling our students for success.
From chef coats to wing bars, how our students are fed is changing. The importance of evolving food quality is as necessary as the curricular and facility transitions CISD has planned for the future.
Colorado ISD and Walker Quality Services have tapped into quality and understand the diversity of student needs and wants. From a grab-and-go breakfast bar to a stir-fry station, students will be provided with many delicious options with the approval of the partnership.
CISD's Food Service Specialists play a vital role in feeding our Wolves. Director of Child Nutrition Becky Sanford and her crew will implement the upgrades and improvements to food service and will further their knowledge over the summer with professional training courses offered by Walker Quality Services.
"When it comes to food and nutrition, we want to utilize the people we have, but we want to learn how to stress these creative and quality situations in food service. Presentation is important, it increases participation, and we want to utilize that potential," said Superintendent Dr. Larry Polk.
These changes to our food program transform CISD cafeterias into a food court full of options. A picture is worth a thousand words. Take a look at the nutritional opportunities coming to CISD https://www.walkerqualityservices.com/.
"The exciting part is giving the innovation to our staff and employees on sprucing up our nutrition," said School Board Trustee Jamie Alvarez.
Mrs. Shelby Gainey and Mrs. Tracey Komppa spoke to the board regarding the National Institute For Excellence In Teaching (NIET) Conference they attended with 10 other representatives of Wolf Nation. Twelve of our educators, administrators, and board members joined approximately 1,300 educators to engage in professional learning based on elevating educators to support student success on March 23-24 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
CISD Board President Emily Strain attended the NIET Conference and said, "It brought light to what exactly this all means. The main thing that we all brought back was that there was nothing they did that we could not do, and that was exciting."
Our educators collaborated with and learned alongside NIET specialists and peers during the two-day conference.
"If it wasn't for our board supporting us as educators, we would have never had this experience, and I think it speaks to how much you all care for our community to invest in us as educators to send us to something like this. I came back re-energized. NIET stressed that building relationships is key," said Mrs.Gainey.
In agreement with Mrs. Gainey, Mrs. Komppa added, "Implementing this program doesn't have to look like one specific thing. We have a guideline but can design it around our students' needs. That's the focus. The focus is on student needs and meeting those needs. We can all grow and learn. Seeing that we are already on the right path was awesome."
Dr. Rachael McClain, Chief of Staff for Collegiate Edu-Nation, addressed the board and gave a presentation on the CISD P-20 Redesign.
P-20 Redesign focuses on rural schools to provide more rigorous experiential learning opportunities that are integrated with the community and local economics. Rural P-20 redesigns rural campuses with PK-8 grade level bands to serve rural community needs, align to PTECH college and career pathways that support work-based learning opportunities across the district.
CES/CMS Principal Lorianne Toombs, Dr. McClain, and many others have spent a year in the planning stages of CISD's P-20 Redesign. The board approved CISD's P-20 Redesign in their meeting Monday night.
The next step in the redesign process is the PTECH (Pathways in Technology Early College High School) program. Planning for the PTECH Program has been approved, and with the continued hard work and dedication of Mrs. Toombs and her staff, PTECH will reach our campuses beginning in the 2024-2025 school year.
In other business, the board touched on all possible opportunities for the future of the softball and baseball fields, also CTE (Career Technical Education) buildings, and future CTE programs. Our CISD Board and Superintendent, Dr. Polk, strive to achieve strong partnerships within the community and our county.
TOGETHER WE ARE BETTER!