FRIDAY FOLDER: A roundup of regional school news

Falcon showcases school choice

Looking for a new school? Falcon School District 49 is presenting a "Showcase of Schools" to acquaint parents with the range of educational choices in the district. The event is 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Vista Ridge High School, 6888 Black Forest Road.
The evening is set up as a trade show so people can get information on each school or program that interests them.

This is the first time that parents can choose from all schools in the district. But there are limited openings, and applications are due no later than March 6. Applications will be available at the program and at the district Web site www.d49.org.

Get info on D-11 gifted programs

Parent information meetings on one of Colorado Springs School District 11's gifted magnet programs have been scheduled for January and February.

The Student-Centered Academic Interdisciplinary Lab (SAIL) is a full-time program for fourth- through ninth-grader and is housed at five D-11 schools. The meetings are 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Mitchell High School, 1205 Potter Drive.; 6 p.m. Jan. 22 at Irving Middle School, 1702 N. Murray Blvd.; 6:30 p.m. Feb. 3 at Stratton Elementary School, 2460 Paseo Road; and 6:30 p.m. Feb. 10 at Fremont Elementary School, 5110 El Camino Drive.

Applications for the SAIL programs are available at the D-11 Gifted and Talented Web site:  www.d11.org/GT. The SAIL application deadline is Feb. 29.

D-11 puts high schools on display

It's time for eighth-grade students to start thinking about, gasp, high school! Colorado Springs School District 11 high schools have scheduled open houses for incoming freshman and their parents, or for students who may be interested in choosing a high school outside of their regular attendance area. Each school will present an overview of school curriculum, special programs, sports, clubs and other extracurricular activities as well as a school tour.  Parents and students will be able to meet school personnel.

The open houses schedule is: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Wasson High School, 2115 Afton Way; 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Coronado High School, 1590 W. Fillmore St.; 6:15 p.m.  Jan. 20 at Doherty High School, 4515 Barnes Road; 6 p.m. Jan. 21 at Palmer High School, 301 N. Nevada Ave.,  and 6 p.m. Jan. 22 at Mitchell High School, 1205 Potter Drive.

Also this month, high school counselors will be at middle schools to begin registering students and distributing information regarding class selection.

Weigh in on D-49 textbooks

Falcon School District 49 is offering a preview of new textbooks for social studies, business, foreign language and fine arts. The community is invited to examine them and make comments. They will be on display 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.  Jan. 14-28,  at the Patriot Learning Center, 11990 Swingline NE Rd., modular 4. The school  board is expected to vote on the books in February.

Toss a tree, help a band student

You've got a couple more chances to recycle that no-longer fresh Christmas tree - and help the Manitou High School Band earn money for a trip to Chicago this spring. Trees can be dropped off 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday behind the Manitou Springs High School, where band members will help unload the trees and accept cash donations. The group also will pick up trees within a "reasonable distance" of the school. Call 649-1503 to arrange a pick up.

D-11 classes target adult learners

The Colorado Springs School District 11 Adult and Family Education Officeoffers English classes for adult learners from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Mondays and Wednesdays (beginner level) and Tuesdays and Thursdays (intermediate level). Evening classes are 6 to 9 p.m. (beginning and intermediate) and 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. (advanced level) on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Registration takes about 2.5 hours. Adults 21 years or older pay $50, with a $25 deposit due at registration; those ages 7 to 20 and refugees registered with Lutheran Family Services pay no fee, and books cost $23.

Registration for morning classes is at 9 a.m. this Tuesday, and Jan. 29, Feb. 11 and 14 and March 18. Registration for evening classes is at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, and Jan. 29, Feb. 12 and 26 and March 17.

D-11 also offers English for Families classes at four elementary schools. The programs are for adults with children ages 6 weeks old to fifth grade. The family must live in the district, and parent and child must both attend. The classes are free. Day programs take place at Hunt (7:45 to 10:45 a.m.), Wilson (8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.), Twain (12 to 3 p.m.) and Adams (8 a.m. to 12 p.m.) elementary schools. Evening programs are 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Hunt, Monroe and Edison elementary schools.

For more information, please call the Adult and Family Education office at 328-2975. Call 328-2993 for more information on evening classes.

Check into D-20 schools

Academy School District 20's window for enrolling in a school outside of a student's normal attendance area for the 2009-10 school year opens at 8 a.m. today and closes at 4 p.m. Feb. 20. Details about the district's programs and application procedures can be found at the D-20 Web site, www.asd20.org - click on the link in the lefthand menu called "Enroll in D20." Choice selection is not administered on a first-come, first-served basis; if there are more choice applicants than seats in a school, a lottery will be used.

The calendar of each school's choice information night is also posted on the Web.

From 6 to 8 p.m. Jan. 22, D-20 officials will answer questions about school choice during a live online discussion. A link to the discussion will be posted on the district Web site on Jan. 22. Questions also can be sent in advance to nanette.anderson@asd20.org.

D-20's annual report available online

Academy School District 20's 2007-2008 Annual Report to Patrons is available on the district's Web site. The Colorado Department of Education decided last fall that Colorado school districts could place their annual report information online, reducing printing and mailing costs for districts. To see the report, go to www.asd20.org/annualreport. Individual School Accountability Report links can be found in the district annual report document and paper copies are available at each school.

'Produtive' UCCS prof gets noticed

Gary Klein, a business professor at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, is the most productive scholar in the field of information systems, according to a study recently published in the European Journal of Information Systems.

Klein was cited at the top of a list of the top 32 most productive authors in the world in information systems.

Manitou's community ed classes starting up

Interested in learning to use the laptop you got for Christmas? Or maybe you'd rather improve your parenting skills. Manitou Springs School District 14's community education classes for this semester have been posted and registration is open. Go to www.mssd14.org/district/index.html and click on "community education classes - spring" to see the full offering. Registrations are taken until about a week before the class starts.