Welcometo thegood life.

While we don’t mean to brag, we’re also not shy about living the good life

in Eagle County. In fact, we work hard to keep it good. The spirit of Eagle

County is embodied in the story of the creation of Vail as a ski resort.

Vision. Big dreams. Collaboration. Tenacity. Luck. Commitment. It was a

magnet for people who wanted to live on purpose and build a magic

valley. It’s still such a magnet. We’re not for everyone. We don’t have

malls, a ton of fast food, or twenty cineplexes sprinkled around town.

But, what we do have is pretty special.

The internationally-known ski resorts of Vail and Beaver Creek bring

more than skiers to our small community. They bring world-class

performers, artisans, chefs, and fascinating boutique retailers. Outdoor

concert series in the summer, festivals, and farmers markets mean year-

round fun. And, they foster a community aesthetic: walking paths, biking

lanes, play parks, and play dates.

The one thing that makes our Valley special is exceedingly rare: we each

want the other to succeed. We help, support, and build-up our

community members. For new teachers, that means you’re partnered

with a Mentor or Master teacher. You’ll receive embedded professional

development, and enjoy the coaching of your colleagues. Your first year

with us will be a success by design. It will also be balanced with living the

good life beyond your classroom walls.

It’s this good on purpose.

We take children from all walks of life, with varying degrees of ability,

wide-ranging challenges, and guide them for 13 years through a sea of

information and social situations so that they can succeed in life.

It’s nothing short of miracle work.

Regardless of competing stresses, we strive to inspire every student,

every moment, to develop a lifelong passion for learning.

We care for our students.

We offer students and staff a safe environment for learning and living.

We look for new ways to engage: students with learning, their parents

with the district, and the community for support of our noble mission.

Most importantly, we ignite curiosity, open eyes, fuel confidence, protect

innocence, feed intelligence, create joy, soften sadness, stimulate

creativity, and prepare children for adulthood.

Education is a lofty goal, but that’s what we do.

We only recruit the best educators for our noble mission.

In a sense, we see educators differently. We believe highly educated,

licensed educators are professionals along the lines of other such

practitioners: doctors, attorneys, and architects. You are to be afforded

respect, autonomy, and the freedom to analyze the needs of your

students. Only then can you tailor instruction to meet their needs.

That doesn’t mean our schools are free-for-alls. High expectations,

exceptional leaders, well-defined systemic and structural norms, and

organizational pride permit a loose-tight dynamic that keeps us on track

to achieve our ultimate goal: student success on par with International

high performers.

The heart of our professional model of teaching is our practice of small,

building-level teams taking ownership of the unique challenges of their

school and grade levels. These teams brainstorm solutions. They are

supported by district-level coaches and curriculum experts to help find

and implement solutions. This inverts the typical professional

development paradigm in education. Ideas and solutions don’t come

down from on high for implementation by teachers. Ideas and solutions

bubble up from the teachers closest to the work.

Master and Mentor teachers at each school deliver coaching on best

practices directly to teachers. They don’t judge – they coach, inspire,

collaborate – and lift the whole organization to new heights.

We are a professional model of teaching.

Eagle County Schools practices International Benchmarking of the

world’s top performing school systems and adapts those proven, dynamic

strategies to our context. We encourage you to read Unparalleled

Altitude: A Globally Inspired Vision for Eagle County Schools, which is

available from the home page of our website: www.eagleschools.net.

The vision and strategies therein insulate us from unproven, silver-bullet

ideas, and keep us focused on the instructional core: students and

teachers in the presence of content. Our efforts to improve are guided by

impacting this holy trinity of learning.

So, what do the highest performing schools in the world do differently

than typical schools?

• They recruit the best candidates from the best teacher prep universities.

• They strive to help the community hold teachers in the same regard as

doctors, attorneys, and other licensed professionals.

• They work to mitigate the effects of poverty on learning.

• They have one set of high academic standards for all students.

• They tailor instruction to the needs of each student.

• They have clear college and career pathways in high schools.

• They offer student internships and apprenticeships with local businesses.

• They focus on the instructional core.

Maybe you wonder, “Does the community understand and support this

direction?” You bet they do.

A well-defined vision has us on our way toachieving world-class results.

UNPARALLELED ALTITUDE:A Globally Inspired Vision for Eagle County Schools

AuthorJason E. Glass, Ed.D.

Superintendent & Chief LearnerEagle County Schools

Read online at http://issuu.com/eagleschools

Download our district fact sheet at www.eagleschools.net

Even though we believe that we have the absolute best place to work and

live in the world, we do have many challenges. And, we need your

expertise to help us overcome them and achieve world-class success. Our

biggest challenge is engaging our Latino population and overcoming

language, cultural, and socio-economic conditions that hinder their

achievement and success.

Our population demographics are about 50/50 White/Latino. We have

among the highest percentages of English Language Learners in the state.

Plus, the gulf between the wealthy in our community and the working

poor is immense.

But, we are undeterred. We have schools that have become National Blue

Ribbon schools for performance growth by their Latino students. Our

ELL Director was Director of the Year in the State in 2014. Dual language

programs are engaging our Latinos and demonstrating success. Our

International Baccalaureate program capitalizes on the strengths of

multiculturalism. Our Expeditionary Learning schools provide hands-on,

minds-on experiences. And, the AVID program at our high schools has

reduced discipline issues, raised GPAs, and ignited the spirit of learning.

A funny thing happens when you see your challenges as opportunities for

innovation – teams form, excitement builds, and kids thrive! You should

want to be part of this – changing their lives, changes our own.

We need your help to reach our goals.

Who says you can’thave fun at work?

eagleschools.net/jobs • facebook/eagle.schools • twitter.com/eagleCOschools • issuu.com/eagleschools948 Chambers Avenue, Eagle, CO 81631 • 970 328-6321

Apply today at www.eagleschools.net