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Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this update on the academic and financial/budget work we are doing in the Summit School District. As always, please feel free to reach-out to me any time with questions and/or concerns.
Academic Rigor
Last week I wrote about teaching to “grade-level standards.” You may wonder, “What does that actually mean for my child?”
In the Summit School District, we believe every student should be working on challenging material that matches their grade level.
This means:
- All students work with the same rich, challenging content aligned to the Colorado Academic Standards
- Teachers provide different types of support to help students succeed
- No student misses out on important learning
For example, in a 7th grade math class, all students work on 7th grade math concepts. If a student finds it challenging, they get extra support during class rather than being given easier work. If a student needs more challenge, they dig deeper into the same concept - maybe solving more complex problems or explaining their thinking in different ways.
This approach is already working - last year we saw improvements in elementary math scores across all student groups because teachers are keeping expectations high while providing the right support for each student to succeed.
Finances and Budget Timeline
As we move into planning the 2025-26 budget, it is important for you to know the process and timeline we use for gathering input from the various parts of the Summit County community. The budget process begins in January with the Board of Education and District Leadership creating Guiding Principles, which are used throughout the budget process to provide guidelines to align resources to support student achievement.
The development of the future year budget continues though May as the Board evaluates assumptions included in the budget, community stakeholder input and any legislative impacts affecting school funding. The proposed budget is presented to the Board of Education in May.
Public comment is encouraged by the Board of Education of obtain taxpayer comments. Prior to June 30, the budget is adopted by formal resolution. Detailed information regarding the budget development process was presented to the Board of Education in December.
We will be seeking your input in a variety of ways. I will keep you posted. Please note that we anticipate a very tight budget season.
My best to you,
Tony Byrd
Superintendent