Shoshone Education Foundation

Here are some pictures of some of the wonderful projects our partners in education, the Shoshone Education Foundation, have helped make possible.  To get involved in the Foundation, contact any foundation member. 

Did you know???

Statewide measures 1, 2 and 3 are in the news.  Measure 2, is a statewide pay for performance plan.  Did you know that during the 2010-2011 school year, the Shoshone School District implemented a local pay for performance plan.  The plan was developed as a joint venture between the Board of Trustees and the Shoshone teachers.  Upon development of the plan, both the Board and the teachers approved of the plan.  The plan is designed based upon our overall school ISAT goals.  The goals are:  keep students that score “advanced” or “proficient” on ISAT at those levels, move students scoring “basic” to “advanced” or “proficient” and moving those student scoring “below basic” to at least “basic.”  The system rewards teachers meeting these goals with pay, but also rewards students meeting these goals with reward trips.  The plan has generally been considered a success by students, parents, and the Board. 

Celebration of Success! More Pictures.

Celebration of Success Banquet!  Teacher of the year: Ginger Koonce, Support Staff: Wendy Auker, MS Student of the Year: Cecilia Torres, HS Student of the Year: DJ Stanhope, Volunteer of the Year; Vickie Pine, Distinguished Alumni: Ed and Janet Sandy.  A great time was had by all!  We have a lot to be proud of in our district! 

Many of you have seen information regarding what we hope will become an annual celebration of the success of our school district, the “Celebration of Success” Banquet.  We hope this will be like no other awards ceremony.  We hope it will be about friends and families taking time out to celebrate the accomplishments we have all had in the past year working together to provide a quality education for our children!

The evening will begin with a catered dinner.  Serving will begin at 5:30.  After everyone has had a chance to eat and socialize, we will begin the awards portion of the evening.  The awards are designed to be representative of every group of people that contributes to the success of our school district.  “Volunteer” of the year will represent all the great parents, grandparents and others that volunteer time to help move education forward.  “Teacher” and “Support Staff Employee” of the year represent all the great employees we have working in our school.  Students of the year represent all the great students we have working hard to prepare for the future.  The final award of the evening will be the “Distinguish Alumni” award will represent the great things possible with an education from Shoshone. 

Get your tickets today to join us for a great evening.  Tickets are only $8.50, which includes a great meal.  We have had a successful year, come celebrate! 

Video from the most recent Idaho Leads meeting.  This is during a short break in the meeting.  Sadly, our district did not win the "lets dance" competition.  But, our district has recieved some valuable training during year one of the "Idaho Leads" project. 

Mr. Thueson retirement party!

As of today, Mr. Thueson is retired!  Everyone involved in school participated in a retirement party!  Congratulations Mr. Thueson, you will be missed! 

Supplemental Levy In May

    During the February school board meeting, the Shoshone Board of Trustees unanimously voted to ask resident to extend our current supplemental levy for another two years.  Voters will decide on the issue in May 15, 2012.  If passed, the levy will be for the same amount as the current levy which is $300,000 per year.

     If passed, the district plans to use the levy amount to keep school general fund budgets near the current level.  The amount of the supplemental levy request amounts to 8.9% of the total of last year’s budget for general fund state expenditures.  The state has reduced funding the Shoshone School District receives, and we expect a further reduction this year.  The objective of the school district budget committee has been to prioritize spending in the district on activities most directly related to our school goal of increased student achievement and our vision of becoming a school that exhibits the “Nine Characteristics of High-Performing Schools.”      

     Last year, the district received reduced funding and made several cuts to the budget.  The district also shifted money to priorities based on our school goal and vision.  Levy or no levy, we are projecting another reduction for the 2012-2013 school year.  Approval of this supplemental levy will fund activities, supplies and staffing to continue to support district efforts for school improvement. 

     The process of voting has changed from previous elections.  Lincoln County elections will now handle voting logistics.  The vote will take place at the polling place assigned by Lincoln County. 

     If you have any questions about the supplemental levy, or about district operations, feel free to call the district office at 886-2038.  Mr. Waite or any other staff member would be happy to answer any questions you have or hear any comments you would like to make. 

    

Idaho Leads First Meeting

Boise State University has a created a professional development project focused on strengthening leadership capacity in Idaho’s K-12 schools, and Shoshone was invited to be one of the inaugural members. The Idaho Leads Project will provide us with support and resources to become more effective leaders and create high-performing schools where all students succeed.

Boise State University’s Center for School Improvement & Policy Studies (CSIPS) is administrating the project, which is funded through a $3.85 million grant from the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation. 

Project co-directors are William Parrett, CSIPS director; Roger Quarles, assistant professor of Educational Leadership; Kathleen Budge, associate professor of Educational Leadership; and Lisa Kinnaman, director of National Improvement Support for CSIPS.

The goal of the Idaho Leads Project is twofold: first, to support and enhance the advancement of education improvement and innovation in Idaho, and second, to share in an easily accessible manner best practices to all interested districts and their stakeholders.

The participating districts will convene for four regional network meetings over the next 18 months where they will define priorities, identify successes, and isolate areas where improvements can be made. The first network meeting was held in February and was a wonderful experience. The day-long event included nationally recognized keynote speakers, team-building exercises and job-alike network meetings. The next network meeting will be held in May Sun Valley. 

Each district will be reimbursed for all of expenses, including travel and substitute teacher costs. 

The Idaho Leads team has provided books, technical tools and resources. We also are expecting an on-site visit from Idaho Leads team members to offer us customized professional development. Idaho Leads will also include our best practices on newsletters, websites and blogs.

Each of the 49 participating districts and charter schools has a team of 10 members. Jackie Owens, Norene Webber, Carl Horn, Kelly Chapman, Emily Nelsen, Ginger Koonce, David Hocklander,  Karen Osmin, and Caulen Bryant. 

As a result of our first experience with Idaho leads, the district is looking at ways to increase technology access to our students and families.  We are also looking at ways to use technology to make our education system more efficient and effective. 

February Board Meeting

Highlights of the agenda for the February school board meeting include:  potential supplmental levy and bus purchase, superintendent evaluation format, and a look at the potential new Idaho AYP process. 

Idaho Leads Project

Shoshone was one of the school selected for the "Idaho Leads Project."  The project is an 18 month program designed to build leadership capacity in all areas of school districts.  This is a wonderful opportunity to build leadership is Shoshone designed to prepare our students for the future.  The project will include a team made up of board members, administrators, teachers and students.  In addition to hearing about great ideas for leadership of schools, the program also allows us to share some of the ideas we have implemented in Shoshone.