BOULDER - U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced earlier this month that Boulder High School student Sophie Harrington was named to the 48th class of Presidential Scholars, recognizing 141 high school seniors for their accomplishments in academics or the arts. Three of these 141 students recognized nationally are from Colorado and two of these three Coloradans are from the Boulder Valley School District. Ms. Harrington identified Boulder High School Language Arts Teacher Adair Taylor as her most influential teacher. Ms. Harrington will be attending Cambridge University in the arts and sciences.

Ms. Taylor writes of her student, "Sophie Harrington is one of the finest scholars I have had the pleasure to teach in the twenty years I've been at Boulder High, and that is no small thing. The quality of her writing alone is simply astounding. She never falters, never fails to take her readers on amazing introspective journeys. Her capacity to inhale difficult material like a fresh breeze takes my breath away. Her reading tastes also make me very happy. Here's a student who has read a lot of the more challenging classics completely on her own. And yet I am profoundly grateful that she has her sights on studying medicine because I know that her agile mind will lead society forward in far-reaching ways. Bravo, Sophie!"

"Honoring Presidential Scholars is an important celebration of students showing the dedication, creativity and ambition to become future leaders," Duncan said. "As national, state and local leaders work side by side with principals, teachers, and parents to make our schools better, we can learn from the students all around us whose hard work and accomplishments embody the kind of excellence we want every child to achieve."

The White House Commission on Presidential Scholars, appointed by President Obama, selects honored scholars annually based on their academic success, artistic excellence, essays, school evaluations and transcripts, as well as evidence of community service, leadership, and demonstrated commitment to high ideals. Of the three million students expected to graduate from high school this year, more than 3,300 candidates qualified for the 2012 awards determined by outstanding performance on the College Board SAT and ACT exams, and through nominations made by Chief State School Officers or the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts nationwide YoungArts™ competition.

The 2012 Presidential Scholars are comprised of one young man and one young woman from each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and from U.S. families living abroad, as well as 15 chosen at-large and 20 Presidential Scholars in the Arts.

Created in 1964, the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program has honored more than 6,000 of the nation's top-performing students with the prestigious award given to honorees during the annual ceremony in D.C. The program was expanded in 1979 to recognize students who demonstrate exceptional talent in the visual, literary and performing arts. Since 1983, each Presidential Scholar has been offered the opportunity to invite his or her most inspiring and challenging teacher to the annual ceremony where they are honored with a Teacher Recognition Award from the U.S. Department of Education.

The 2012 ceremony will be held June 16, when each honoree will receive a Presidential Scholar Medallion.

A complete list of 2012 U.S. Presidential Scholars follows and is available at http://www.ed.gov/programs/psp/awards.html.

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(PLEASE NOTE: Parts of this release are reproduced from text of a May 2, 2012 U.S. Department of Education news release.)

Twenty-five K-12 teachers across Colorado are chosen each year by GreatWest Life and Annuity Insurance Company to receive the grant. Mr. Trinkner says he is going to use the grant money to increase the teaching of financial literacy in his AP Macroeconomics, AP Microeconomics, and US History classes. The money is earmarked for a SmartBoard for his classroom, engaging personal financial literacy texts for teens to be used in AP economics and US History classes, and economics periodical subscriptions. The funds will also pay for AP economics students to play the Colorado Stock Market Game during both semesters next year.

A group shot of some of the BHS students in Band, Choir and Orchestra who were placed on the Boulder Valley School District Superintendent's Honor Roll for Music for 2012.

Thank you to everyone who participated in last Friday's TEACH Bolder luncheon! It was a wonderful launch of our new fund to ensure professional development for BHS teachers. Special thanks to Peter Shapiro and Dr. Lisa Halperin for instituting the fund, to all donors and volunteers, to our partners at Impact on Education, and to Mike Bohn, keynote speaker.

We raised approximately $5,000 for teacher training. Bolder teachers mean better learners!

Contact Michelle Carpenter for more information on this effort or on how to make a donation.

Dear Boulder Valley School District Community Member,

The seven members of the Boulder Valley Board of Education, the BVSD Budget Office and I are inviting any interested BVSD community member to join in the discussion of 2012-2013 instructional and operational priorities as we begin our work in developing a proposed balanced 2012-2013 budget.

The school board and I have begun public discussions around a preliminary budget. A preliminary budget is the starting point for weighing what BVSD would like to do instructionally and operationally in the coming school year against the just finalized amount of Colorado state and local per pupil funding we can expect.

A preliminary budget is not yet a proposed budget. A proposed budget is the budget that I am required to recommend to the school board for their review and eventual action. It must be in balance with hard program choices made in line with expected funding. I plan to take the proposed budget to the school board at their May 22, 2012 meeting. State law requires the district to have an approved 2012-2013 balanced budget in place by June 30, 2012.

I have directed the district's communications office to update the BVSD Financial Transparency page to add a 2012-2013 Budget Facts section this week to reflect all key issues being discussed currently regarding the development of a budget for next year. This update will:

• Explain the expected new revenue and projected expenses which will eventually require that the district identify $6.1 million in savings to offset projected cost increases in compensation, utilities, fuel, etc.;
• Post supporting documents that the school board and administration are using in our preliminary budget discussions including where dollars could come from to create a balanced budget for 2012-2013 with an opportunity for you to comment; and
• Give notice of two public budget meetings prior to finalizing a proposed 2012-2013 budget. The dates and times for these meetings are:
  • Monday evening, May 14, 6:15 - 7:45 PM, in the Arapahoe Ridge High School Cafeteria, 6600 E. Arapahoe Road, Boulder
  • Wednesday morning, May 16, 10:00 - 11:30 AM, in the Board Meeting Room of the BVSD Education Center, 6500 E. Arapahoe Road, Boulder

I want to stress that no final package of budget balancing decisions has been decided upon. I urge everyone interested to review the materials being posted this week on the BVSD website and then, either electronically or in person share your comments. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Bruce K. Messinger, Ph.D.

Superintendent

Boulder High students won 6 of the 8 awards in the Jared Polis Congressional Art Show this past weekend.
We had 30 student entries.

Also, Dylan Kahn and Dominique Fenichell will be honored by the Superintendent at the May 8th school board meeting for Gold Keys in the Scholastics Art Competition.

Please congratulate the following award winning artists:

Students and staff sign a banner to eliminate the derogatory use of the R word. If you did not get a chance to sign our banner go to r-word.com to pledge your support online.

We've posted a Senior Update that includes information about graduation and the activities during the week leading up to graduation. Be sure to check it out!

If you need a tassel for graduation, please see Laurie Goodman, Principal's Assistant. Cost is $9.

Let's Keep The BHS Senior BBQ Tradition Alive: Donations Needed!

A BHS tradition is that the senior class, faculty and staff gather to enjoy a BBQ on the school grounds following commencement rehearsal and cap & gown distribution on the Friday before graduation. May 18 is the last time the Class of 2012 will come together as one before the big event the next morning. It's an opportunity for students to say goodbye to each other, to their teachers and to sign yearbooks. In order to keep this tradition alive, PAC is asking for a $10 per student donation to help fund this memorable event. Make your check payable to BHS or send cash in a sealed envelope, delivered to Laurie Goodman, Principal Braney's assistant. You can also mail donations to Laurie Goodman, Boulder High, 1604 Arapahoe Ave., Boulder CO 80303. We need all donations by Fri., May 4. Please note: this is a free-will donation; we understand that not everyone may be able to contribute. Please be assured that the BBQ is open to every senior student. Questions? Contact Co-Chair, Leah Kahn, leah@optionsforedu.com. Thank you!

This student-run group of ninth graders will read and discuss literature in order to enrich in-class learning. The Literary Society is open to all ninth graders and meets in room 3352 after school. Students are not required to attend the discussions, but it is highly encouraged. Society members are able to read any title offered in the ninth grade curriculum at their own pace. For more information write Jill Campbell at jill.campbell@bvsd.org or come by room 3352 during period 8.