Fountain-Fort Carson School District 8

OUR VISION is to empower every student to thrive as a responsible, productive, and engaged citizen by inspiring life-long learning and civic engagement, by challenging and supporting every student to achieve his/her fullest potential, and by embracing the diversity of both the local and global community.

Every student in our school district can be successful. Employees feel like FFC8 is a family and that we all contribute to student success. Fountain-Fort Carson School District 8 serves approximately 8,500 students in grades PreK-12th. We have 15 educational sites in Fountain, a small town located just south of Colorado Springs, CO, and on the Fort Carson Army Installation. Roughly 70% of our student population is federally-connected and we pride ourselves on serving those families and children who serve our nation. Our vision is to empower every student to thrive as a responsible, productive, and engaged citizen by inspiring life-long learning and civic engagement, by challenging and supporting every student to achieve his/her fullest potential, and by embracing the diversity of both the local and global community. To ensure academic excellence for all students, we value a well-trained and diverse staff, safe and secure learning environments, innovative and aligned curriculum, and regular collaboration with our Fountain and Fort Carson communities. In 2018-2019, approximately half of our student body was comprised of students identifying as a minority or two or more races, and almost 18% of our students were on an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). One of our elementary schools, Abrams Elementary on Fort Carson, was named a 2018 National Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Distinguished School by the Colorado Department of Education.

Leaders and teachers at Fountain-Fort Carson School District 8 believe in the power of collaboration, feedback, professional learning communities, teacher education opportunities, professional development, and leadership opportunities for our staff.  

Mentor Program:

FFC8’s Mentor & Induction Program’s purpose is to assist new teachers of District 8 in gaining confidence in the job skills and the technical aspects of teaching. The induction portion of the program is mandatory for educators with an interim or initial license.

Goals:

• To improve educators’ personal and professional well being
• To increase educators’ satisfaction with the profession
• To provide educators with an increased knowledge base and improved professional skills
• To foster knowledge, skills and attitudes in educators that will allow them to achieve success in the classroom
• To provide collegial support and an on-going dialogue about teaching for both mentors and new educators to District 8
• To acclimate educators with experience to their new environment, including but not limited to, social, curricular, and academic 

Professional Development:

Fountain-Fort Carson offers many opportunities for professional development from after school classes, online learning, and a Teacher Leadership Institute (TLI) during the summer. The summer learning gives a team of teachers from each school the chance to spend three days learning a subject which they implement and provide support within their schools throughout the year.  During the year, there are chances for graduate credit with local universities as well as continuing education credits to help with license renewal as well as salary increase.

FFC8 offers a competitive salary and benefit package.  The starting salary for teachers is $44,000.00/ year.  Benefits include options for health, dental, vision, chiropractic, and life insurance. Employees benefit from enrollment in Colorado PERA.   Additionally, the district provides a staff wellness program that supports the physical, mental, and social well being of our team.  Monthly wellness activities are scheduled and include programs such as zumba and yoga classes, cooking classes, painting/project based opportunities, as well as a District-wide Biggest Loser Competition each year.  The district offers an Employee Assistance Program that is designed to support employees during times of need.

The FFC8 Staff commits to the following for our students:

• Ensure academic and behavioral growth and achievement
• Create safe and supportive learning environments
• Implement rigorous curriculum and instruction
• Honor diversity in the learning environment
• Enrich learning through strategic use of technology
• Enhance teacher effectiveness

Students at FFC8 have opportunities to engage in a variety of extracurricular, scholastic, career, technical and trade programming. Of note, Fountain Fort Carson High School offers a Teacher Cadet program that focuses on preparing interested high school students to pursue a degree in teaching.  Teacher Cadet students spend time working with several of our elementary schools, teachers, and students throughout the school year to engage in opportunities that facilitate their learning of the teaching profession.