The only state-wide Youth Career Fair is just a month away, April 18^th-21^st 4:00-7:00 p.m.! My name is Shriya Biddala, 11^th Grade, Peak to Peak Charter School, and I am a member of the Colorado State Youth Council (SYC), a youth advisory group to the Colorado Workforce Development Council (CWDC).

I am personally very excited to help connect students like myself with industry members from all sixteen Colorado Career Clusters. Students will have the opportunity to engage in Meaningful Career Conversations while learning about career paths that support each student’s Individual Career and Academic Plan (ICAP). The SYC firmly believes that every student/youth/parent in Colorado deserves the opportunity to learn about a variety of careers. In its inaugural year in 2021, the fair was 100% virtual. This year, we are proud to continue those efforts, for maximum accessibility, and to offer in-person components, as well.

Melanie D’Evelyn brings extensive college success experience to the Adams County Finish What You Started program supporting some college, no-degree adults.

CHICAGO, March 17, 2022 - One Million Degrees (OMD), a leading provider of wraparound student supports to ensure community college student success, today named Melanie D'Evelyn, as its Colorado executive director. As part of her responsibilities, Melanie will lead OMD’s partnership with the Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative (COSI) to implement the Adams County Finish What You Started program for low-income Colorado adults, aged 25+, to obtain college credentials or degrees. D’Evelyn, a Colorado native, joins OMD from Detroit Drives Degrees, whereas director she focused on building a coalition of 50 colleges, business leaders, and funders to support college access, success, and upward pathways for adult students in the workforce.

The Office of Learning Supports’ new Online Academy provides participants with on-demand training on topics related to COMTSS in Colorado. Courses are free and offer continuing education credits for course completion.

Topics include:
• COMTSS 101
• Team-Driven Shared Leadership
• Data-Based Problem Solving and Decision Making
• Family, School, and Community Partnerships
• Layered Continuum of Supports
• Evidence-Based Practices
• Implementation Science
• Response to Intervention
• Universal Design for Learning

Register online at comtss.learnworlds.com. For assistance navigating LearnWorlds, please email [email protected].

Visit the Online Academy and Training webpage for additional information.

Applications for districts to participate in the Local Food Program for School Year 2022-23 are open. The LFP is a statewide pilot that provides funding for school food authorities to purchase Colorado-grown, raised, processed, and value-added products.

Register now for an informational webinar about the program at 2 p.m. on Thursday, March 31.

Districts considering applying should complete the intent to apply form by Friday, April 1.

The application closes Friday, April 15.

The Special Education Fiscal Advisory Committee (SEFAC) has a vacancy for a small rural or BOCES fiscal member.

SEFAC was established in 2006 by House Bill 06-1375 and is the Special Education Fiscal Advisory Committee. The committee is charged with the allocation of an annual appropriation, currently $4 million. The committee has the discretion to award grants to administrative units for students with disabilities who qualify as “high cost” students. In addition to analyzing the high-cost applications and awarding grants to administrative units, the SEFAC produces an annual report to the legislature which includes special education data from the collection year, current fiscal year, and changes the committee recommends regarding the manner of distributing funds to Administrative Units for special education programs through the Exceptional Children’s Educational Act (ECEA).