Harrison School District Two

Dr. Jim Null, Chair for the UCCS Center of Government and the Individual (CSGI), awarded Superintendent Mike Miles with the 2011 Civic Innovator of the Year Award on December 6 at a formal luncheon held at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort. Each year CSGI honors members of our community whose innovative ideas and civic-minded service benefit those of us who live in the Colorado Springs region. Dr. Null said, "This year's award winner is responsible for the most successful school system reform in the history of our great city. This is our opportunity to thank him for the many contributions he makes."

Of all the demonstrated strengths, Mike's strongest suit is his ability to be a creative problem solver and innovator. As a result, our District has implemented reforms that promise to be state and national models. Under Mike's leadership the District has implemented:

• A 21st Century curriculum program in two schools. Students in this program study six subjects: critical thinking and analysis, information literacy, economics and globalization, math and science reasoning, Chinese language, and the Arts.
• Leadership academies for all levels. We conduct leadership academies for principals, assistant principals, teachers, and support staff. The District also has the only community leadership academy.
• The most comprehensive and progressive Pay-for-Performance system for licensed staff and principals. We are in the process of implementing a Pay-for-Performance plan for the Superintendent in 2012-2013.
• Distinguished teacher and support staff certification program. This program recognizes exemplary employees.
• Early recruitment of teachers. We collaborate with the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs to hire teachers before they receive a teacher's license. The
• District pays for some of their tuition in return for a commitment to work for the District.
• Professional substitute program. We hire and train a number of full-time substitute teachers in order to provide stability in the classroom.

The most dramatic innovation, and the one that most likely will have a huge impact on how HSD2 helps students achieve, has been four years in the making. In 2010-2011, the District eliminated the teacher salary schedule for classroom teachers. The traditional salary schedule has been replaced with only nine levels of performance from "novice" to "master." Teachers have been placed based on performance and student achievement results.