Laying the Foundation for Lifelong Success
ANNOUNCEMENT OF VACANCY
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
Cheraw School District Mission Statement
The Cheraw School District shall strive to provide a safe environment for all students and staff and meaningful opportunities and innovative educational programs for all students so that they reach their learning potential, including that they meet or exceed state and district content standards, through partnerships between home, school and the community.
Cheraw School District Vision Statement
Cheraw School District #31 desires to create and reach for a vision of uniqueness in education that will bring meaning to the daily life in our school. We envision doing this through a relevant program, which enhances student motivation. Our vision must do two things. First, set a theme of excellence that can capture the imagination, commitment, and energy of everyone associated with our schools. Second, lead to a progressive set of educational practices that support our new mission. Our goal must be to facilitate life-long growth, as well as dispense information. Knowledge, reason, character, and a sense of individual accomplishment are dimensions that need to be in balance for educational growth.
The Community
Cheraw is a small town located in rural southeastern Colorado.The community is heavily engaged in agriculture and the school serves as the hub of the community.Cheraw may be limited in many ways for shopping and attractions, but what it lacks in these areas it makes up for with a strong, rural minded, supporting community.Cheraw is in close proximity to La Junta which is the county seat. La Junta provides all the necessities for shopping as well as healthcare providers and a hospital, a community theater, a junior college, and numerous churches. Area attractions include the Santa Fe Trail, Bent’s Old Fort, Picketwire Canyon and Dinosaur Tracks, Comanche National Grasslands, world renowned Koshare Indian Dancers and Kiva Museum, John Martin Reservoir, Holbrook Lake, and excellent hunting.Cheraw is an hour east of Pueblo, two hours southeast of Colorado Springs and about three hours southeast from Denver.
The School District
Cheraw School has a student population of 203 in Pre K-12th grades. The Colorado Preschool Project helps supply most of the revenue for the preschool, which operates Tuesday through Thursday within the same hours as K-12 school: 7:45 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Kindergarten through fifth grades are self-contained with music and art occurring in specials classrooms and the sixth through twelfth grades are departmentalized. Most teachers carry some extra duty assignments, and most secondary teachers teach in more than one subject area.
The district is unique in that roughly 50 percent of the student body is out of district. Maintaining a strong educational program with small class sizes and strong academic performance has enabled the district to attract such a large out of district population. Cheraw is home for a very diverse student population. Elementary classes are much larger than the middle and high school level. Retaining students from elementary to high school has been a challenge. Despite this challenge, overall enrollment has remained constant over the years.
The district incorporates best instructional practices which support and engage our students. The small class size allows for teachers to really get to know their students, which creates a safe, supportive school community. With low student-teacher ratios, the school has been recognized numerous times at the state and national level for academic success. High school students can take dual credit classes and also attend courses off-campus through Otero Junior College. In school year 2015-2016 the school received a technology grant and purchased Chromebooks for all students K-12 and updated bandwidth for internet connectivity.
Students are served by 18 licensed teachers, 14 classified staff and 2 administrators. The retention rate for employees is average. Cheraw School belongs to the Santa Fe Trails BOCES, located in La Junta. The BOCES provides additional support for the district. Cheraw is on a four-day school week and uses Fridays for teacher staff development, parent-teacher conferences and teacher workdays as needed. Extra-curricular activities are offered starting after 4 p.m. on school days as well as on weekends. This affords our students with more classroom time.
DISTRICT GOALS AND FOCUS
The District has recently engaged in a district facilities review with guidance from RTA Architects. From this review, a Master Plan for upgrade, renovations, and improvements is in its final stage of development with the intention of submitting a BEST Grant application to the Colorado Department of Education to support this work. Implementation of the Master Plan will be a priority in the next several years according to budget feasibility.
Additionally, the board supports increased educational opportunities on the secondary level with intentions to implement additional career-based course options. An area of focus is developing a budget that would incorporate the addition of a vocational/agriculture program. The district prides itself in being financially responsible and will continue to be conservative in the budgeting process to remain so. The board’s utmost priority is to develop competent, responsible, well-rounded graduates who are ready to face the future upon graduation, whether the graduate is college bound or workplace ready.
FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Assessed Valuation $7,168,530
Per Pupil State Funding $13,719
Pupil Count 203
Budget Year 2017-18
General Fund $2,587,579
Pupil Activity Fund $120,000
Total Appropriation $3,233,384
Beginning Fund Balance $1,386,790
COMPENSATION
The board of education is offering a salary range of $65,000 to $80,000 based on qualifications and experience. A competitive compensation package which includes housing and insurance is offered in addition to salary. Colorado Association of School Executives membership fees are paid by the district.
QUALIFICATIONS
The board of education, staff and community have determined the following qualities to be essential to the success of their superintendent:
- Demonstration of strong leadership skills, visionary leadership and development of short and long-term goals
- Ability to successfully interact with the board, staff, students and community to reach common goals
- A passion for and experience in K-12 education: classroom teacher, building administrator and/or district level administrator
- Experience in curriculum development, instruction and assessments in standards-based educational systems
- Solid understanding of Colorado school finance and law
- Understanding of the rural community lifestyle and culture
- Ability and willingness to hold himself/herself, as well as others, accountable
- Demonstrates integrity, honesty and ethical behavior
- Approachable and optimistic with strong listening and communication skills
- Ability to create and implement ways to market our school
- Ability to evaluate staff members and help them reach their potential
- A Colorado Administrator license is preferred but not required.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Applications open February 8, 2018. Please submit a complete application to Cheraw School Board by March 9, 2018 by email: or by mail: Cheraw School Board, P.O. Box 160, Cheraw, Colorado 81030.
A complete application must include the following:
- A completed and signed application
- A current professional resume
- Transcripts, placement papers and/or credentials requested by you from college or university placement center (photocopies are acceptable)
- Three recent (dated within the past two years) letters of recommendation
- Copies of any current licenses held
- Answers to the following four questions, citing examples of past experiences, no longer than two typewritten pages each:
- Explain your experiences as a manager and educational leader in relation to the role of a superintendent of schools. Share an actual scenario to illustrate your leadership style in one or both of these responsibilities.
- Discuss your beliefs about small communities, their values, the challenges of small school districts and why you choose to be a part of this environment.
- How do you evaluate student performance and growth, and specifically what do you do with these measurements throughout the year? Do you communicate performance results to staff, students, parents, and if so, how specifically and for what purpose(s)?
- How have you successfully recruited and retained quality staff?
The District shall not discriminate in its employment or hiring practices on the basis of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation (which includes transgender), religion, national origin, ancestry, age, genetic information, marital status, disability, conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth, or any other basis prohibited by applicable law.