State of the Schools & Performance Updates

Dear LCSD Parents & Guardians:

I hope this finds you well and enjoying the beautiful fall weather and changing leaves. I want to invite you to an event we are having a week from today called “State of the Schools.” This is a time for families and community members to hear updates on different elements of our work–from student outcomes, to finances, to facilities and more. The event will be held at 6:15pm on Monday, September 30th in the LCES cafeteria. Interpretation will be available, and you can learn more here.

At this time of year, we also receive our state-level performance results for the previous year. The Colorado Department of Education posts our “performance frameworks” on its website. Schools receive one of four ratings (Performance, Improvement, Priority Improvement or Turnaround). You can view the 2024 results here by choosing “Lake County” in the district dropdown and then “Framework Results.” These results reflect assessments taken by students last spring. I wanted to share a few bright spots with you:

• The District as a whole moved from Priority Improvement (due to low participation) to Improvement. While the district’s overall points remained essentially the same, by increasing the number of students taking the test the district came up one performance level.
• The High School regained its Improvement rating (also thanks to improved test participation) and received a “Meets Expectations” rating for postsecondary and workforce readiness.
• Cloud City High School received an Improvement rating (only .1% away from Performance!), and received an “Exceeds Expectations” rating for student engagement
• There were some grade-level bright spots at the Intermediate School.
• Lake County Elementary School does not receive a rating due to the grade levels it serves, but the state does report the progress of our multilingual students. Over 76% of our K-2 multilingual students are on track to English language proficiency.

We have work to do to improve academic growth and achievement for all students. We know that we can make these improvements because we have done it before, for example in 2017 when all of our schools and the district received a Performance rating. 

For 2024, the Intermediate School received a Priority Improvement rating after several years of Performance and Improvement ratings. In 2022, the school received the Governor’s Bright Spot award for its academic progress. The trajectory for schools that are working hard to improve is not always a straight one. We know the work at the Intermediate School is the right work, and teachers are creating rigorous and engaging learning environments every day. I have complete faith in the leadership and teachers in all of our schools to continue to drive improvements in student achievement.

If you want to learn more about our school performance and our improvement plans, in addition to the State of the Schools event you are also invited to attend the Board of Education meeting on October 14 at 5:30pm. The District Accountability Committee will also be discussing these plans on November 6 at 5:30pm. Both are open and public meetings. We welcome you!

Cheers,

Kate Bartlett

LCSD Superintendent