The Hayden School District is entering the school year with a renewed focus on academic rigor and consistent behavioral expectations, both of which are part of a broad and continual effort to strengthen outcomes for students district-wide.

The district, which is now entering year four of a five-year strategic plan, is hoping to foster an increased rate of student growth and achievement. While previous years saw improvement in several areas, Superintendent Eric Owen acknowledged that growth and achievement data have not increased to desired levels.

In response, the HVSD Board of Education has decided to support administration and staff on delivering the best possible education to every student in every classroom.

The decision followed a in-depth review of internal and external data including state assessments like CMAS, PSAT and SAT, as well as other in-district benchmarks. While some content areas and classrooms showed strong results, others did not, which district leaders believe revealed inconsistencies in academic rigor and behavioral expectations across grade levels.

“Certainly, that can be due to different students in those settings, but we want to make sure that we remove any inconsistencies from classroom to classroom that are under our control,” Owen said.

With this shift in expectations, HVSD hopes to see consistent growth on all assessments, as well as better support for gifted and advanced learners and the creation of an academic environment that challenges students while also allowing teachers to explore content deeply.

“We are better able to address the learning needs of gifted students and advanced learners,” Owen said. “Students are challenged more with class content, and are able to respond to those greater academic challenges.”

To support the work ahead, Hayden has added two instructional coaches and a dean of students to its leadership team. The coaches, Lysa Long and Haley Beurskens, have previously worked in Hayden’s elementary and middle school classrooms, respectively. Both will collaborate with staff on everything from curricular alignment to instructional strategy. Their work is rooted in the High Reliability Schools framework from Marzano Research, which the district has utilized over the past several years.

The new K-12 Dean of Students is Ashley Daigle.

Rather than evaluate staff, the coaches are intended to be a trusted resource. Over the summer, they received training with a coaching consultant to better understand the underlying strategies that teachers are using and to provide effective, collaborative support.

“The entire purpose is to provide staff a resource to access that can help improve student learning,” Owen said.

Meanwhile, Daigle will focus on behavior, attendance and consistent classroom routines. With a background in school administration, she’ll be a key point of contact for both families and teachers, all while ensuring shared expectations for students across the different learning environments of the district.

“The first point of contact continues to be the teacher with regard to questions or issues in the classroom,” Owen said. He went on to note that the dean will step in when additional support is needed.

The district’s Board of Education has also taken steps to support both students and staff through the transition.

Dedicated professional development funding has been set aside and greater visibility from building administrators, district leaders and the coaching team is expected throughout the year.

In the eyes of the district’s administrative and leadership teams, students will benefit from greater consistency across classrooms, which is intended to eliminate confusion about academic and behavioral standards regardless of the teacher or subject.

The Board’s summer retreat played an important role in laying the groundwork for the new expectations, as Beurskens and Daigle helped guide conversations on what academic rigor should look like and what it shouldn’t look like.

Owen said it became clear that the term “rigor” needed to be better defined to ensure alignment across the district.

“Our coaches are tremendous advocates for our teachers,” he said. “They have been in the classroom in Hayden School District and bring a perspective of what our teachers and students are dealing with on a daily basis.”

Recent experiences have also helped the district prepare both students and staff for the shift in expectations.

Last year, Hayden implemented a cell phone policy, which limited personal device use during instructional time, in an effort aimed at minimizing distractions while also creating more focused learning environments.

Though the policy was seen as a positive step by staff and students, Owen said it taught district leaders the importance of system-wide consistency. Mid-year implementation proved challenging, and the experience emphasized the value of setting clear expectations from day one in future shifts in policy and expectations.

This year also brings several new academic and enrichment opportunities. Elementary students will once again have music as part of their specials rotation and foreign language is returning at the secondary level after a yearlong hiatus. At the high school, a new course called “Legacy Leadership” will guide students in becoming leaders at school and in the community. Additionally, Owen feels that there has been great growth within the district with the senior capstone projects as well as community outreach, as well.

He also emphasized the success of alumni engagement efforts.

Grant funding has also allowed the district to expand mental health support through a new partnership with Northwest Colorado Health. Experiential learning will remain a district priority and staff will continue to develop hands-on educational opportunities tailored to student interests.

“Staff has really worked to provide a greater array of experiential learning opportunities for our students over these past two years,” Owen said.

While many of the changes stem from rising expectations, Owen said the intent is to create an environment where students and educators alike are equipped to succeed.

“The Board of Education has made it very clear that there will be an expectation that the learning environment should look different this year, but that it was done with an eye on providing as much support for students and staff as possible,” he said.

Editor’s note: The author of this article, John Camponeschi, is an educator in the Hayden Valley School District as well as being a writer for The Steamboat Pilot & Today and the Craig Press.