• Jeffco changes graduation requirements
• Legislators tackle education issues
• School calendars available online
• Construction update
• Board of Education Meetings

Paul Breding
Nationally Recognized Cartographer
Bear Creek High School Alumnus

The Bright Stars program recognizes Jeffco
Public Schools' graduates who have gone on to distinguished careers or have accomplished a significant achievement. If you have a Bright Star you would like to nominate, please e-mail Communications Services.

Jeffco changes graduation requirements for Class of 2013

The Jefferson County Board of Education voted on Thursday, Jan. 24, 2008 to increase the number of credits required for graduation from a Jeffco public school. Beginning with the class of 2013, 24 credit hours will be needed for graduation instead of the current 22 hours.

The following are the new Jeffco Public Schools graduation requirements:
English: 4 credits
Math: 3 credits
Social Sciences: 3.5 credits
Science: 3 credits
World Languages: 2 credits
Electives: 8.5 credits

The changes in the graduation requirements are the result of a year-long process which involved input from the community, teachers, students and administrators.

What do you think about the new graduation requirements?

The Colorado General Assembly has now completed two weeks of work resulting in the introduction of more than 50 education-related bills. Here is a summary of some of the legislation that parents of public school students should be aware of:

Exemption of CSAP Scores
Representative Judy Solano and Senator Sue Windels have introduced House Bill 08-1186 which is designed to keep schools from being penalized for students who don’t take CSAP tests. Current law penalizes schools by factoring in a -0.5 for every student who doesn’t take the test, bringing down the school’s overall rating.

High School Reform and Graduation Requirements
Senate Bill 08-023, (Senator Joshua Penry and Representative Robert Witwer), requires high school students to take 4 years in math and English, 3 years in science and social studies, 2 years in foreign language, 1 year in PE or health, and 1 year of visual, performing, or applied arts. This bill is expected to be killed due to Governor Ritter’s “Colorado Achievement Plan for Kids” legislation, which will align educational standards from pre-school to college.

Senator Mike Kopp’s Senate Bill 08-061 would require the Colorado Department of Education to administer exit exams in 11th grade for students who failed to score partially proficient on the 10th grade CSAP in the areas of reading, math, and writing.

Modification to Age Requirements for Gifted Chidlren
Representative Cherylin Peniston introduced House Bill 08-1021 which would modify the definition of gifted and highly-gifted children to include 4 year olds. The bill directs the Colorado Department of Education to establish criteria to determine whether a 4-year-old is gifted and that kindergarten or first grade is appropriate.

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School calendars for the 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 years are available online through the District's Web site, http://jeffcoweb.jeffco.k12.co.us/calendars/. The Jeffco Board of Education appproved the calendars on May 31, 2007. The calendar committee included representatives from students, parents, staff, employee associations and community members. The 2008-09 calendar begins the school year on August 12, which is earlier than previous years. The following parameters were taken into account when the calendars were developed:

• A district calendar based on student achievement.
• A fall mini break based on the results of a community survey.
• Three “in common” non-student contact days (as in previous years).
• Ending the school year before Memorial Day as requested from a large number of e-mail comments from staff and parents.  (This was only possible in the 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 calendars).
• Ending first semester by the December holiday break based on the results of the survey.
• Every effort was made to limit the number of “shortened” weeks.
• The day before Thanksgiving will be a non-work day for school-based employees.  The committee’s decision to build this into the 187/180 count was two-fold:
1.  To help balance the instructional days in the semesters.
2.  To create a budget saving item, as no transportation or food service will be required that day when attendance is historically low.
• Keep spring break in the last week of March/first week of April, which will support the CSAP testing process. 

Was this information helpful?

Jeffco Public Schools currently has 200 school construction projects completed, 22 under construction and 41 projects in the design and/or bidding phase. All projects are part of the 2005-2010 Capital Improvement Program and funded from the 2004 $328.5 million bond. Upcoming groundbreakings for renovations this spring include:

Evergreen Middle School - Tuesday, February 26 at 3 p.m.
Sierra Elementary School - Friday, March 14 at 1:30 p.m.
Alameda High School - May 9 at 3:30 p.m.
Creighton Middle School - May 16 at 1:30 p.m.

School construction, funded from 2004 bonds, continues on-time and on-budget. To keep accurately informed, and to help inform others, please download and print the February District Construction Update fact sheet

What additional information would be helpful?

The Board of Education holds study/dialogue sessions (Seminar Room, 4th floor) and business meetings (Board Room, 5th floor) at the Educational Services Center, 1829 Denver West Drive, Bldg #27, Golden, unless otherwise noted.