Principal Blog

Semester 1

Caringer, Ashton R
Kranitz, Jacqueline E
Ludwick, Lucas A
Major, Kristion A
Norris, Kathryn C
Romero, Kyleigh J
Schmidt, Zane R
Smith, Kelli R
Tangney, Kaila A

Congratulations to the following students for earning A’s or B’s in every class!

Barnes, Griffin T
Bird, Tyler D
Buckner, Ashley E
Crew, Mallory R
Daniel, Makenna G
Deets, Noah A
Fox, Haley C
Gregory, Charles T
Ingle, Allison B
Kelly, Zachary J
Kennedy, Logan M
Long, William P
Payne, Brigitte E

Hello Friends,
The last quarter encompassed times of renewal and refocus along with tremendous student achievement. Families, students and staff engaged in times of thanks and giving. In that spirit I’d like to personally thank each of you for your continued commitment to individual growth and achievement. Parents are developing skills as the “learning coach” supporting and guiding their children as they navigate the online learning environment. Students gain confidence while building assets in self-advocacy, time management, problem-solving and self-discipline. Staff continuously strive to assess student learning, adjust instruction meet each child where they are in their individual achievement.

I am excited to share some highlights from our student survey.  Of the students who responded:

• 81%  feel they belong at this school
• 95% believe their teachers care about them
• 84% are excited about learning
• 100% feel safe when logged into  CO Cyber School
• 84% know how to respond when being bullied or intimidated
• 96% know what their teachers expect of them
• 96% are comfortable using current technology
• 98% have support for learning at home
• 95% believe their teachers grade fairly
• 96% believe adults promote good character and ethical behavior

What we need to improve…

• 38% believe they are not recognized for their success at school
• 43% believe their teachers do not provide regular feedback
• 22% believe they are not challenged to learn new ideas
• 16% don’t believe they have the skills to influence others in a positive way

At Colorado Cyber we continuously strive to improve, reaching each learner individually, developing unique and flexible educational pathways. We simply cannot be effective without the input of our community. Thank you students who responded. The parent survey will launch in April so be looking for that.

As we respond to our learners needs, we seek out evidence-based programming and interventions. We are fortunate to have an opportunity to bring one such program to our school – Sources of Strength. More information will be forth coming, however feel free to read more at www.sourcesofstrength.org.

Finally, please remember that our Standardized testing window is drawing near. As you know, the state utilizes the results of these tests to build a school performance framework resulting in a rating for Colorado Cyber. It is most important that your students are in attendance for these assessments.

Sohne S. Van Selus

Our world has evolved from the industrial Age for which public schools were developed through the Knowledge age onto an Information Age. Some might say information overload…. Regardless, we are consumers of information and believe we have a right to customize that information in a fashion that is meaningful to us as individuals. Consider RSS feeds, subscribing to news, blogs and twitter posts. We develop our personal learning network around our interests and goals to most effectively utilize the deluge of information flooding our daily existence.

Thus, blended learning provides an opportunity to personalize the educational journey meeting each child where he or she is currently experiencing life.  As educational theories suggest, not all students learn in the same way and not all students thrive in the same environment. Providing a menu of blended learning options creates the ultimate learning cafeteria. Students who flourish when given opportunities to develop their own solutions and come to their own understanding through exploration, trial and error benefit from fully online or hybrid options because they can access multiple versions and examples of a particular concept at a pace that suites them rather than a group. Yet, this very same learner will need to successfully analyze information develop and support their point of view as well as create new products in order to demonstrate mastery learning.  Some students may need additional structure and guidance to achieve at this level. Thus, a classroom structure where students work in learning centers accessing digital content may prove more viable for this type of learner.

Ultimately, organizations must determine what factors are contributing to achievement short falls and craft a model that reduces root causes within our control.  For example, remediation and credit recovery in a standards-based movement can be addressed through modular digital learning units.  High performing schools may overcome budget restraints by providing Advanced Placement or College Ready concurrent enrollment options via online courses creating a hybrid schedule. Middle schools could increase math achievement through targeted computer-based practice routines delivered in a lab supervised by paraprofessionals. The term “short falls” is not intended to be narrow in its scope, but rather represent the belief that all students should have an opportunity to achieve their greatest potential.

I firmly believe American Education will continue to dominate if we can bridge the gap between what students perceive as “school” and “real life.” Learning is no longer confined to four walls, printed text, or skills demonstrated by a journeyman to an apprentice. 21^st Century skills abound and are applied regularly in everyday life. People make ethical decisions and collaborate of projects using social networks. Citizens acquire knowledge about our government, economy and climate via digital and electronic media. We make decisions based upon data and references gathered from sources across the nation available at our fingertips. We rely on reviews from Trip Advisor and Expedia to select hotels. Consider this, students can be physically present in today’s classrooms and pose critical, challenging questions to an instructor simply due to the immediate access to information. Teachers must learn to facilitate the acquisition of knowledge and encourage students to exploit their environment in authentic learning experiences and challenges. To do so, educators must embrace the reality that they are no longer the keeper of information, recognizing that true academic achievement is realized when students create and defend a new position or product applying the information they have consumed in new and creative ways.

Certainly, to become “contributing citizens in our society” and compete in a global economy, students must have opportunities to practice leadership, ethical decision-making, problem-solving, communicating, collaborating, critical thinking and creating. Blended learning models of all varieties encompass the application of these 21^st century skills while utilizing a delivery system that is flexible and personalized.

Middle School

November: Ashley Tenn – Ashley is not only an outstanding Academic student in Science, but she also attends all fieldtrips and is a talented photographer,  donating her time to photograph events for the yearbook!

December: Hyo Chul Kim -Kenny works ahead in Science and is doing an outstanding job!

January: Griffin Barnes – Griffin just started this semester and is doing a great job in 6^th grade science!

High School:

November: Catherine Von Russow – Catherine is an outstanding student in Biology. She is a diligent worker!

December: Jenna Carara – Jenna is an independent, part-time student.  She has to juggle her schedule and obviously does a great job as she is outstanding in all  her courses!

January: Nicholas Anderson – Nick just started with our online program and is doing outstanding work in Biology!

Math: November: Grades 6-8 Joey Murphy – great participation and leadership in weekly VC

Grades 9-12 Lauren Wade – great work ethic and effort, also good to ask questions and seek help

December: Grades 6-8 Alison Thompson – She is a 4th grader taking 6th grade math. She cannot attend my VC weekly so she watches the recording and learns on her own. Then she emails me her notes and any questions she has. Great work ethic!!

Grades 9-12 Jessica Santistevan – Great improvement in her work ethic from first quarter to second quarter.

January: Grades 6-8 Annegelica Shaffer – Great participation in weekly VC and works hard.

Grades 9-12 Allie Johnston – Trig student who seeks help and understanding. Great work ethic. Goes above and beyond what is expected each week to learn the concepts.

Grades 6-8 Rebekah Hutchinson – Social Studies excellent participation during VC and contributes in Class activities.

Grades 9-12 – Allison Fox attendance in VC and continued excellent work in American History.

ELEMENTARY

K-2:

November: Shawn Tanuz: Kindergarten student always turns in work in a timely manner with great quality.

January: Emma Sammoury: Was a Kindergarten student and has moved t 1st Grade.  Works beyond 1st Grade level expectations.  Turns in work in a timely manner.

3-4:

November: Katie Kinch: Student works above and beyond on projects and takes her learning to new levels.

December: Katelynn Lewis: Consistently attends VCs and actively participates in each session. Applies learning from VCs to assignments.

January: Lauren Lewis: Has taken what was taught in VCs for writing and applied them to her weekly assignments, which really improved her writing.

Congratulations goes out to the following students who earned their spot on the Honor Roll for the Fall Semester:

Elite Honors – 4.0 or above:

Jeremy Cahill

Jenna Carara

Alec Head

Kelcey Howell

Nicholas Howell

Stephanie Kadlec

Christopher Larson

Sarah Linder

Katey Nyquist

Garret Ohashi

Jeanette Pollock

Phoebe Schneider

Kendall Turner

Lauren vonClausburg

Anthony Wada

Deanna Zarei

Ruoqi Zhou

High Honors – 3.75-3.99:

Kelli Earnest

Benjamin Hutchinson

Madelaine Mills

Steven Trummer

High Honors – 3.5-3.74

Alea Gardner

Cody Hartman

Kristen Miller

Madeline Parde

Kelli Sandberg

Corinne Sasine

Paul Ton

Benjamin Woods