Thompson School District Board of Education Study Session 10/6/25

A recording of this meeting is available here:

Carrie Martin Elementary School hosted the board’s study session. Student tour guides and members of the Student Lighthouse group led board members on a tour of the school. Student Lighthouse is a leadership group with representatives from each grade, K-5. These students come together once a month to plan spirit days, fundraising activities, and other ways to support the school community. Student Lighthouse representatives presented their leadership notebooks, and discussed how they use them to illustrate their accomplishments during parent/teacher conferences.

The board heard presentations about several items in preparation for the next regular meeting.

Assistant Superintendent of Learning Services Sara Rasmussen, Director of Assessment and Accountability Carrie Bartmann, and Compliance Coordinator Colin Dike led a discussion about proposed changes to four different state-required open/choice enrollment policies. Open enrollment is for district resident students seeking a school outside their assigned attendance area, while choice enrollment is for non-resident students who want to attend a TSD school.

TSD staff recommends these revisions to the open/choice enrollment policies:

• reducing the enrollment period from twice to once per year,
• expanding access for resident students by allowing them to enroll under both open and choice enrollment policies,
• adding access to hardship placements for students who need to change schools due to unexpected circumstances, and
• updating the list of academic programs requiring priority enrollment status.

The board also heard presentations about:

• TSD organization chart
  Chief Human Resources Officer Tiffany Rogers spoke about a proposal to eliminate names from the TSD organization chart, displaying titles only, to more easily accommodate staffing changes. Individual staff names would still be available elsewhere on the TSD website.
• ADA assessment
  Assistant Superintendent of Operations Todd Piccone gave an update about the ADA assessment of TSD school buildings. The district will work with two firms specializing in ADA self-assessments, Wold Architects and Engineers and Julee Quarve-Peterson (JQP), Inc. They will prioritize schools built or renovated prior to the adoption of the 2010 ADA standards. The updated budget, incorporating the ADA assessment plan expenditure of $231,00, is available in this slideshow.
• 2025 Colorado State Ballot Propositions LL and MM: Providing Funding for the “Healthy School Meals for All” Program
  These ballot measures will provide funds for the continuation of the Healthy School Meals for All program, which offers free school meals to all students regardless of household income. Superintendent Bret Heller noted that, should the measures fail, the district would see increased food costs and decreased access to food for students. Some other Front Range area school boards have proposed resolutions supporting these ballot measures, and the TSD board will consider this. Board Vice-President Stu Boyd will contact Colorado Association of School Boards (CASB) to see if they have taken a position on the propositions.
• Proclamation recognizing classified staff appreciation week
  Chief Human Resources Officer Tiffany Rogers asked that the board issue a proclamation recognizing the importance of the classified staff and declare Oct. 20-24 as Classified Staff Appreciation Week.
• Budgeting software purchase
  Chief Financial Officer Bob Ebersole presented two items that will appear in the next meeting’s consent agenda for funding the purchase of Euna Solutions software. He said this software will greatly improve TSD budgeting processes, and will increase transparency. Implementation for unlimited licences will be funded by one-time funds of $98,876, with an ongoing annual subscription of $103,243. Board member Nancy Rumfelt noted that though this is a large expense, the benefits will be well worth the cost.

Staff shared assessment performance and achievement data from last spring.

Sara Rasmussen and Carrie Bartmann summarized what was learned from this most recent data.

• Each year, the district receives a District Performance Framework (DPF) from the state and each school receives a School Performance Framework (SPF). TSD maintained “Accredited” status, and increased the number of schools that were “Accredited with Distinction”. Of the 30 schools, two received a “Turnaround” status, indicating lower performance. Both schools, Laurene Edmondson and Peakview Academy, are requesting reconsideration from the state.
• Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS) scores show that TSD elementary schools outperformed state levels in both English Language Arts (ELA) and Math. Middle schools showed growth but remained slightly below the state average.
• The district saw significant growth in SAT scores, with juniors outperforming state levels in Evidence-Based Reading and Writing.
• The district had a goal that multilingual learners and students with Individualized Education Programs (IEP) would achieve a median growth percentile rating that meets or exceeds the 50th percentile in both ELA and Math, and they did not meet this goal.
• Students in grades K-2 do not take CMAS tests. Instead, for these students, the district measures early literacy with iReady testing. Results for TSD K-2 students show a majority reading on or above grade level.

Rasmussen and Bartmann followed with information about TSD’s instructional vision for the future.

After going through the data, they have identified areas of focus:

• Meeting the needs of student groups, specifically multilingual learners and students with disabilities
• Ensuring consistent growth in ELA and Math at all levels
• Fostering a sense of belonging in the students

They said that next steps include implementing an instructional framework that provides consistent expectations for the classroom experience of each TSD student. Central to the framework is the belief that all students will learn, grow, and achieve at high levels.

This proposed framework encompasses a few broad ideas:

• Inclusive and Supportive Learning Environment
• Intentional Instructional Planning
• Facilitation of Learning
• Assessment and Evaluation through Professional Learning Communities (PLC)

Much more detailed information is available in the presentation slideshow.

Questions to Consider

1. Will the two schools that received Turnaround status for lower performance present to parents or the district about their plans to ask for reconsideration?
2. Will TSD families be consulted about the proposed framework for the district’s instructional vision?

Next Meeting

The next meeting will be a regular meeting on September 17, 2025, 6 p.m., at Berthoud High School, 850 Spartan Ave, Berthoud, CO.

The meeting will be broadcast live on (Loveland) Channel 14, and also livestreamed, linked from the Board Meetings web page.

Board Members

Present: Vice-President Stu Boyd, Denise Chapman, Amy Doran, Dawn Kirk, President Barb Kruse, Alexandra Lessem, Nancy Rumfelt

Links

• Agenda and Packet, Study Session
• View live-streamed meeting, Study Session
• Thompson School District Board of Education website

Observer Lisa Love Blankenship consulted an AI summary to help with this report.

Members of the Citizen Observer Project use AI with discretion to help expand the project scope.

---

*Citizen Observers further the commitment of the League of Women Voters to its principle of Citizens Right to Know, however, we are not acting as journalists. Omissions and errors are possible. It is assumed that users of this information are responsible for their own fact-checking. This could include contacting a government clerk, conversing with an elected official or staff, and/or asking us to speak to the Observer who attended.