Talk with the Superintendent

This months podcast covers the following topics and related questions:

Security incidents at various schools in The District, in particular Sunset Middle School and Longmont High School.

The Districts position on participating in the creation of an Olympic pool and Hocky Rink (what’s called ‘Pool and Ice by City of Longmont staff).

The various specialities that each St. Vrain Valley School District High School focuses on and the philosophy behind why The District approaches it that way.

“Late start” and why The District does it from time to time.

Some background discussion on the ‘Day of Excellence’ held to show the community the great work The District is up to.

Some additional information on the Innovative Business of the Year award that was recently awarded to The District.

Why job fairs, bringing high school students into environments also populated with college students helps prepare them for real world jobs.

The recent movement by students encouraging a state bill to lower the voting age for school board elections to 16 or 17 years old.

The effects of Weld Counties ‘Second Amendment Sanctuary’ approach to guns on District schools.

An update on PTECH (Pathways in Technology Early College High School) and the education model that supports as well as recent and planned PTECH expansions.

A review of some of the great programs happening withing the school district.

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Dr. Don Haddad, Superintendent of the St. Vrain Valley School District, sits down for a talk with Scott Converse, Publisher of the Longmont Observer.

Dr. Don Haddad, SVVSD Superintendent (Photo by the Longmont Observer)

Topics covered in this episode include:

The podcast series produced by St. Vrain Valley School District employees called “Vrainwaves”.

What is the “Infinite Campus”?

What is open enrollment and how does it work?

The school district added 6 SRO’s (School Resource Officers, members of the Longmont Police or County Sheriff’s office) to middle and high schools; how’s that going?

Thoughts on the recent St. Vrain Valley School District Salary Explorer published by the Longmont Observer, and Dr. Haddad’s thoughts on transparency of the school district’s information.

Discussion about a recent Colorado House Bill (17-1375) that changes how mill levy override revenue is distributed to Charter Schools, how that affects Charter Schools and how, or if, it affects neighborhood (non-charter) schools.

How the school district is outperforming its 2008 bond, and how it uses well thought through strategies to put the school districts dollars to the best and highest use.

Some overview of new projects as well as recently finished projects in the district as well as the opening of the Innovation Center, a world class educational facility that does things few other K-12 school districts in the country are doing.

Dr. Haddad’s thoughts on/answer to the question, “How important are public schools vs. other kinds of schools, to the future of our nation?”

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How much do you value the Longmont Observer?

As Longmont’s only nonprofit newsroom, our only vested interest is to supply you with quality, nonpartisan, community-driven, Longmont-focused journalism. But, we need your help. We depend on our members to help us report Longmont news and to keep our journalism available and accessible by all. If you value what we do at the Longmont Observer, please show us with your support. 

Yes, I’ll Donate Today

Dr. Don Haddad, SVVSD Superintendent

Scott Converse and Don Haddad talk about guns in schools, the AA+ bond rating of the school district, how the latest $260 million bond is being spent and its effects, the fiscal responsibility awards the district was recently awarded, the incredible new Innovation Center that the SSVSD just opened, how one of the district’s teachers is a finalist for ‘teacher of the year’ and other topics related to Longmont’s schools.

How much do you value the Longmont Observer?

As Longmont’s only nonprofit newsroom, our only vested interest is to supply you with quality, nonpartisan, community-driven, Longmont-focused journalism. But, we need your help. We depend on our members to help us report Longmont news and to keep our journalism available and accessible by all. If you value what we do at the Longmont Observer, please show us with your support. 

Yes, I'll Donate Today

The St. Vrain Valley School District Superintendent and the Publisher of the Longmont Observer, Scott Converse, sit down for their monthly podcast.

Dr. Don Haddad, SVVSD Superintendent

This month’s topic: The SVVSD Strategic Priorities. These basic principles, each discussed in detail, are:

Excellent Teachers and Staff

Strong/Visionary Leadership

School Safety

Student Well-Being

Outstanding Communication and Community Collaboration

Excellence in Technology/Innovation

Portfolio of 21st Century Instructional Focus Schools

Excellent Standards, Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment

Success For Every Student

 

The Longmont Observer is supported by readers like you and it is through your donor contributions that we are able to provide our community Longmont focused news. With your help we are able to make podcasts, such as this one, to fulfill our mission of educating and informing our Longmont community.

Click here to Become a Member today

Sgt. Craig Mortensen and Chief Mike Butler of Longmont’s Public Safety organization sit down with Scott Converse, publisher of the Longmont Observer, and talk about School Resources Officers (SROs), how safe our schools are and what the school district and the police department do to ensure our kids are well taken care of.

Some of the areas covered include how often SROs are in the schools, the differences between an SRO and other Longmont police officers, the training SROs get, who pays for the SROs, how they integrate with the schools, the staff and the students, along with several other topics.

If you’re interested in how Longmont Schools and our local Police Department work to keep our schools safe, this is well worth watching/listening to.

The Longmont Observer does a broad range of podcasts that cover various topics in Longmont Colorado.  You can subscribe to our general podcast channel by clicking here.

You can also watch this interview as a video on youtube by clicking here.

The Longmont Observer is supported by readers like you and it is through your donor contributions that we are able to provide our community Longmont focused news. With your help we are able to make podcasts, such as this one, to fulfill our mission of educating and informing our Longmont community.

Click here to Become a Member today

Dr. Don Haddad, SVVSD Superintendent

Our first sit down with Dr. Don Haddad, Superintendent of the St. Vrain Valley School District.  This is the first in a series of monthly interviews with Dr. Haddad and covered a broad range of introductory subjects from finances to initiatives to school safety.  If you’re interested in having specific questions asked, email the publisher, Scott Converse ([email protected]) and we’ll do our best to fit them into our program.

You can find out more about what the St. Vrain Valley School District is doing on their website at: SVVSD.org.

 

 

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