Student Spotlight

Letter from the Superintendent

Dear St. Vrain Valley Community,

Thank you for your continued partnership and support as we advance excellence across our system to support the ongoing success and well-being of our students. It has been an outstanding semester in St. Vrain, with so much to celebrate throughout our system.

Recently, we announced that St. Vrain Valley Schools was selected as one of only four school districts to be part of the groundbreaking Elevate Quantum Hub in Colorado. This initiative, funneling an estimated $50-75 million investment into our local economy, represents a significant leap forward in advancing quantum computing and developing a future-ready technology workforce. Additionally, we continue to win large, competitive grants that serve to bolster and strengthen many initiatives across the district, including the prestigious Innovative School Systems Grant from the Center on Reinventing Public Education, which will invest $136,000 into our AGILE (Advanced Global Interactive Learning Environments) program which enables students to take courses at any high school online, taught synchronously by highly effective St. Vrain teachers. This brings our total grant dollars to approximately $64 million over the past several years that has been invested in programs, services, and opportunities that are giving our students a strong competitive advantage and best preparing them for future success.

We also continue to see significant academic achievement across our schools, including eight high schools receiving the prestigious College Board AP Honor Roll School designation for excellent student performance on college-level Advanced Placement exams. Additionally, as our seniors are preparing for college and their postsecondary plans, we have been celebrating our national merit semifinalists, student-athletes participating in signing day, news of prestigious university admissions, and so much more. St. Vrain also had the only two schools in Colorado – Longmont Estates Elementary and the Innovation Center – to receive an Apple Distinguished Schools recognition this year.

Over the past several months, we have also seen incredible performances across the district in music, performing arts, and athletics, including marching band performances at this weekend’s Veterans Day parade, our all-district Elementary Honor Choir, high school and middle school theater performances, and our student-athletes dominating at state and national tournaments, including the Niwot Cross Country team winning both the boys and girls state championships, the Erie High football headed to the state quarterfinals, and the Lyons High 8-man football team headed to the semifinals this weekend. Additionally, last weekend, we celebrated our district tournament for our Unified Bowling teams, and earlier this semester, CHSAA’s first Unified Gymnastics athlete competed for Niwot High School.

Community engagement remains a cornerstone of our success, and we continue to see high levels of engagement from our families, business community, elected officials, and so many others, including Leadership St. Vrain, our fall town hall meetings, Parent University, and many other school and community events, including the many school open houses as our families prepare for open enrollment. Last week, we also welcomed three new members of our Board of Education, Geno Lechuga, Jackie Weiss, and Jocelyn Gilligan, and recognized three outgoing members of our board, Joie Siegrist, Dr. Richard Martyr, and Chico Garcia. In addition to the strong commitment from our community, our Board of Education members are pivotal to the advancement of our district, and I want to thank all of them for their service and deep commitment to the success of our students, teachers, staff, and schools.

As we approach the season of gratitude, I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to each of you – parents, teachers, staff, and community members. Your commitment to excellence, as evidenced by the many news headlines and celebrations highlighted below, continues to ensure that St. Vrain students have the opportunity to receive the best educational experiences that will elevate their futures. As we look ahead to a strong finish to the semester, I wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving.

With gratitude,
Don Haddad, Ed.D.
Superintendent, St. Vrain Valley Schools
@SVVSDSupt

Featured Stories

In the News

• Lyons Earns Top Spot in State Rankings
• Innovation Center students teach AI at the Senior Center
• Two Colorado schools win Apple Global Distinction Awards
• Leading with Kindness through the Longmont Estates Peer Mentorship Program
• Unified Theater Takes Center Stage at Frederick High School
• Innovation Center Students Inspire Young Scientists at Indian Peaks Elementary
• SVVSD hosts inaugural InspirED Conference for future educators
• Mead Middle recognized as Unified Champion School for inclusive programs
• Skyline FalconTECH Students Thrive with New Internship Opportunities
• Sunset Spartans Unleash Their Inner Warrior at Fall Crawl
• Distinguished llustrator Dave Valeza visits Timberline PK-8 as part of CU Boulder Book Festival
• Longmont High School holds ‘Mentor Day’ for business P-TECH program
• Northridge Elementary Scores a New Soccer Club
• Coal Ridge Middle School’s National Junior Honor Society’s Commitment to Scholarship and Service
• Unity Through Language: Columbine Elementary’s Journey to Learn Spanish
• Mead students move to the music
• Innovation Center influences AI studies in Armenia
• Timberline PK-8 Achieves Green Star School Status in Partnership with EcoCycle
• Changing Seasons, Changing Traditions: Central’s Field Day Held in September

Important Reminders, Events, and Opportunities

Get ready and get engaged with many upcoming opportunities in St. Vrain.

Educator Highlight: P-TEACH