A Plus Denver News

Report: DPS must set higher goals

Wed, 23 May 2012 15:46:00 GMT

Originally posted on EdNewsColorado, May 23, 2012. Copyright © EdNewsColorado.org
Read here. Written by Nancy Mitchell.

The report, True North: Goals for Denver Public Schools, states the five broad goals outlined in the district’s current strategic plan “lack rigor, structure and consistency” and that “too few of these goals … either focus on or prioritize academic achievement.”

For example, the report notes two of the district’s goals – to increase access to full-day kindergarten and to see higher enrollment – are worthwhile but should not be among the top priorities listed in its Denver Plan.

“We are hard-pressed to accept that this should be one of five major goals for a school district – particularly as the directive to enroll all students in full-day kindergarten is neither within DPS’s power nor mandate,” the report states.

As for enrollment, the report’s authors continue, “Adding students to the district without strengthening the core educational program simply increases the number of children with insufficient academic preparation.”

Instead, the report urges DPS to focus on the proficiency of its high school graduates and to provide more quality school offerings regardless of geography, grade level or income.

Recommended goal: Increasing exit-level proficiency

Among available options, the report’s authors cite performance on the 11th-grade ACT – which now draws little attention – as the best districtwide measurement of proficiency and college-readiness.

A version of the ACT college entrance exam is given to all Colorado high school juniors, capping the annual CSAP/TCAP exams given in grades 3 through 10. No state exams are given to high school seniors.

Here are the goals advocated for ACT performance by the report’s authors compared to current DPS results:

Goal: All 11th-grade students should meet the Colorado Department of Higher Education’s recommended ACT scores to bypass college remediation – 18 in English, 17 in reading, 19 in math.

Goal: The average 11th-grade student should meet the national College Board’s recommended ACT scores to have a high probability of success in college – 18 in English, 21 in reading, 22 in math.

Current status: In 2011, DPS’ average 11-grade scores were 16 in English, 18 in reading and 18 in math. State averages were 19 in English, 20 in reading and 20 in math.

To get to higher ACT scores, the report argues for higher academic growth goals in the grades along the way.

DPS currently exceeds the state’s median academic growth, which roughly translates into a year’s growth in a year’s time. The report acknowledges that but says the district must improve faster if it is to bridge academic gaps.

For example, the statewide average Median Growth Percentile is 50. DPS’ 2011 growth scores were 51 for elementary, 54 for middle school and 54 for high school. The report recommends goals of 55 for all grade levels.

Such growth figures would put DPS in roughly the highest third of the state’s 35 largest school districts. DPS now ranks 7th among the 35 at the middle and high school levels but is 15th at the elementary level, according to the report.

Recommended goal: Improving access to quality schools

In defining a “quality school,” the report’s authors use the district’s current School Performance Framework but set a higher bar.

Currently, the annual school report cards denote schools achieving 50 percent of its possible points as “meets expectations” or “exceeds expectations.” More than half of DPS’ schools have attained those levels.

The report lists the 50 percent benchmark as “far too low” and raises it to 70 percent. Twenty-five Denver schools, or 18 percent, meet that higher mark in 2011.

Using that higher bar, that equates to 13 percent of DPS students attending a quality school. Consider income and the number sharply declines.

Among students eligible for federal lunch assistance, an indicator of poverty, seven percent were enrolled in a quality school in 2011. That compares to 29 percent of their more affluent classmates.

And the older students get, the less likely they are – affluent or not – to attend a quality school by that higher definition. In 2011, the report’s authors estimate there were “roughly 6,830 elementary student in quality schools but just 2,040 middle school students and 1,100 high school students.”

To increase access, the report recommends setting numerical goals for each grade level. For example, increasing the number of high school students in quality schools by 400 each year, with at least 320 of those students qualifying for federal lunch aid.

Report: DPS still doesn't make the grade, despite effort for improvement

Tue, 22 May 2012 22:07:00 GMT

Originally posted on Denver Post May 22, 2012. Copyright © denverpost.com
Read here. Written by Karen Auge.

Despite years of effort, an infusion of resources and some improvement, Denver Public Schools "is far behind and not rapidly making the grade," a report by a consortium of influential education non-profits and advocates concludes.

The report by the Donnell-Kay Foundation, Stand for Children Colorado, Together Colorado and A+ Denver, criticizes the district's much-touted improvement blueprint, The Denver Plan, for not setting its bars high enough.

And, in a diversion from the prevailing conventional wisdom, the report takes issue with the Denver Plan's goal of providing all kids access to Kindergarten.

The report calls that "a worthwhile initiative," but, citing what it says is considerable overlap with the city's voter-approved preschool program, concludes "we would prefer to see DPS strengthen the subsequent 12 years students spend in its schools rather than expand its scope in areas already covered by capable institutions."

In general, the report, called "True North: Goals for Denver Public Schools," faults The Denver Plan's goals because they, "lack rigor structure and consistency."
The authors write that DPS should be among the state's top achievers in academic growth, rather than falling roughly in 6the middle.

"While DPS is above average at all levels, given the considerable resources and attention on improvements over the past several years, the district should do better," the report states.

Instead of the district's five improvement goals, the report's authors would substitute two:

• Academic achievement

• Equal access to quality schools for all students

One measure they suggest for academic achievement would be raising DPS students' scores on the ACT test.

The ACT is a standardized test taken by all Colorado 11th graders, and used as an admissions yardstick by many colleges. The state sets goals for ACT scores; currently DPS students meet that goal only in reading, but fall 1.6 points short in English and one point short in math.

The institute also proposed lifting the standards DPS uses for determining which schools meet expectations.

DPS' own school report card, as outlined in the Denver Plan, rates schools based on the number of points they achieve on seeral growth and achievemtn meansures. If a school meets 50 percent of those, it is ranked "meets expectations."

The authors argue that's much too low and a threshold of 70 percent would be more meaningful.

Karen Augé: 303-954-1733 or kauge@denverpost.com

Testing: Checks and Balances

Wed, 16 May 2012 15:58:00 GMT

Dear Members and Friends,

Some of you may have seen the very distressing news yesterday on the investigation into cheating at several Denver Public Schools including the highly acclaimed Beach Court Elementary (EdNews article here).

Over the last five years I, like many, have been a huge supporter and cheerleader for Beach Court and given what I had understood was happening from my visits and an analysis of publically available data over the years they seemed to be doing an amazing job. Beach Court saw a dramatic change in CSAP proficiency scores from the low 40's to the upper 60's in 2007 with numbers growing into the upper 80's, amongst the highest in Denver, and certainly the highest for any elementary school serving so many low-income students (growth was also in the 80 and 90 percentage points for many of those years).

Yesterday's news concerning an investigation by the Colorado Attorney General, Colorado Department of Education and Denver Public Schools raises all sorts of worries though it is important to remind ourselves that this is an on-going investigation and that people (and schools) are innocent until proven guilty.

It's also important to recall that when stakes are high, a small number will try to game or cheat the system. This is true in professional sports, on Wall Street or in almost any sector including education. Most people will do the right thing but some for greed, fame or other unique circumstances will cut corners. This is why strong oversight systems are needed whether on Wall Street or in public education. A good oversight system for educational testing is as much about protecting and validating great work as it is about identifying cheating.

Regardless of the outcome of this investigation of Beach Court and Hallet, the good news is that we have other schools in Denver and around the country that continue to demonstrate that through effective practices and proper support low-income kids are excelling. This investigation on testing improprieties seems to have only picked up a few schools among the growing number of schools in Denver that are showing positive change. Recent EdNews, Atlanta Constitution and USA Today (another one here) stories seem to indicate that Colorado had fewer statistically anomalous scores than some other states and districts.

While I want to praise the DPS administration for taking this so seriously, it's unfortunate that this was not discovered earlier given the number of years this may have been occuring. I thought I would outline a few policies and practices that could help ensure that this does not happen again and/or is identified earlier by the state and district.

Ensure that the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) has the resources and capacity to investigate any school or district that shows some anomalous statistical improvement or is given a tip that something is suspicious at a school or district. Currently the state is very limited in it's capacity to investigate these situations. The same should be true for large districts like DPS.
DPS should do more spot monitoring of schools and increase oversight whenever a school shows a dramatic increase in test scores. Schools and the district should be able to ask for monitoring once a school has made a dramatic change to guarantee to the public that students and the public have not been bamboozled.
Teachers administering assessments should not be allowed to alter anything on student test booklets without other teachers and administrators that are designated assessment monitors present. Allowing teachers to "clean up" student responses without supervision could lead to all sorts of problems given the pressure for teachers to have their students perform well.

While it can take time and some resources, having a system of checks and balances in school districts and at the state level for state testing are critical to having a system of assessment and accountability that will build public trust and provide policy makers with guidance for what works.

Thanks,

Van

We're Hiring! Program Associate--VISTA Position

Thu, 17 May 2012 16:27:00 GMT

Background on A+ Denver

Mission

The mission of A+ Denver is to harness the power of Denver’s civic leadership to build public will and advocate for the changes necessary to dramatically increase student achievement in public education in Denver.

Objective

A+ Denver is an independent, non-partisan 501(c)(3) organization working to bring the power of Denver’s citizens to the effort of school reform. A+ Denver members are comprised of community and business leaders, parents, representatives from local foundations, and universities.

Our singular goal is to do whatever is necessary to bring about dramatic improvement in student achievement so that all Denver children have the opportunity to reach their highest potential through the foundation of a quality K-12 education. Our work focuses on:

Building community-wide support for necessary reforms that put the needs and interests of the students over the adults
Establishing a community-based long-term view and commitment that bridges the inevitable changes in administrations and school boards
Holding all stakeholders responsible for the results

Responsibilities – Program Associate

Research
- Assist in the drafting and marketing of reports regarding DPS performance
- Develop a tracking system and monitor outreach of reports and popularity of topics, as well as track trends of DPS data
- Work with Policy Director to outline and edit op-eds to promote A+ policy briefs
Community Engagement
- Become familiar with membership program and develop strategies for improving membership participation
- Develop multi-year strategy with goals we can use to track progress of organizational and strategic partnerships
- Attend community meetings related to education in order to inform others of A+ priorities and find potential partners for collaboration on projects
Special Projects
- Create and execute a proposal for a new leadership training program for people interested in education reform and advocacy

Qualifications

•Bachelors Degree or Masters Degree

• Strong writing and editing skills

• Strong research experience and analytical thinking skills

• Interest in education reform and alignment with organization mission

• Community organizing experience helpful

What is the AmeriCorps VISTA program?

AmeriCorps VISTA is the national service program designed specifically to fight poverty. Authorized in 1964 and founded as Volunteers in Service to America in 1965, VISTA was incorporated into the AmeriCorps network of programs in 1993. VISTA has been on the front lines in the fight against poverty in America for more than 45 years

VISTA members commit to serve full-time for a year at a nonprofit organization or local government agency, working to fight illiteracy, improve health services, create businesses, strengthen community groups, and much more. With passion, commitment, and hard work, you’ll create or expand programs designed to bring individuals and communities out of poverty.

Please visit the AmeriCorps VISTA website to familiarize yourself with how the program works: http://www.americorps.gov/about/programs/vista.asp

To apply, please email Liz Platz (liz@aplusdenver.org) with your cover letter explaining your interest in volunteering for AmeriCorps VISTA and working with A+ Denver, resume, and an academic writing sample. We will accept applications and conduct interviews on a rolling basis. The position will begin August 15th, 2012.

May Newsletter: New board members, New scores, New schools, and No New Plan

Thu, 10 May 2012 16:10:00 GMT

It's time to tie up some loose ends here at A+ Denver and fill you in on what we've been up to the past month.

Introductions

First, we would like to welcome and introduce our newest staff member, Kathryn Frazier, who is joining us for one year as a part of the AmeriCorps VISTA program. Kathryn will assist with our development work and manage our marketing and social media outreach. We are delighted to have her!

Next, we are excited to announce the addition of two fantastic members to our Board of Directors.

Landri Taylor

Landri is currently the President/CEO of the Urban League and is a passionate advocate for improving education in Colorado. He has worked in numerous organizations in a variety of development and community engagement capacities. He has been recognized a number of times for his commitment and service to the community.

Denise Maes
Denise recently returned to Denver from Washington, D.C. were she served as the White House Office of Administration General Counsel. She is now the Public Policy Director for the ACLU of Colorado and a fearless leader and advocate for hispanic, LGBT and women's rights.

We are thrilled to have you both join A+ Denver!
You can find their full bios on our website.

1st Annual Spring Survey
We preach evaluation here at A+ Denver and in that spirit we invite all of our friends and members to participate in our Spring Survey.

We have been hard at work adding staff, producing reports and rekindling the A+ brand and now we want to know if we are headed in the right direction! The survey is short and sweet, it should only take about 5-10 minutes to complete depending on how thorough you want to be.

A+ Denver Spring Survey

Thank you in advance for your participation!

3rd Grade TCAP (slightly improved CSAP) scores...good signs but need all the scores
3rd grade TCAP scores improved in 2012 by 3% in Denver compared to 2011. We will have more analysis later when the other scores are available in August but this is a good sign given previous scores. The breakdown in scores by income and ethnicity are not yet available. These will be critical to understand what's working in DPS. There were also many schools including Sandoval, Whittier, Howell, Odyssey and others that continued to improve the number of students reading at 3rd grade and deserve to be called out (and read the EdNews article to find out how your school did). We are hoping that Colorado can make all TCAP scores available before the end of the school year. It is ridiculous to have to wait for the scores to come out in August when students will have new teachers and five months have passed from when they were tested.

Denver Plan revision...it's time for the district and board to get to work
We have heard that the Denver Board of Education may take up this topic in late May while we have also heard the administration is currently working on a revision.

It has been 83 days since we sent them a letter about an urgent need to narrow DPS priorities with a clear set of metrics. We will continue to push for the board and district to have a strategic plan that we can all support.

DPS Bond and Mill Levy Update... positive movement
The Community Planning and Advisory Committee (CPAC) has been meeting for several months reviewing recent bond and mill projects while constructing a proposal to be presented to the DPS Board sometime in June. Van Schoales along with several other A+ members have been actively participating in a number of committees.

While we are still a few weeks from the final proposal, this process and the draft proposals make a great deal of sense given the needs of the district on the facilities and programs front. It has been one of the better bond/mill processes so far: working backwards from needs rather than starting with the politics. Our main concern at this point is what the oversight process and metrics for impact will be on the program (mill) side if Denver voters pass a new mill this fall. We are working with the district to make sure this is well defined before the November ballot.

New Schools approval and the political season
In the coming month, the DPS board will be voting on 11 new innovation and charter school applications while also considering where these new schools will be located if approved. This unfortunately is the time where all sorts of folks get motivated to exert their political power for or against a particular school. A+ Denver is committed to make sure that the district uses data on school quality and also proven demand for a particular school to drive decisions about school approval and location.

We want great traditional district, innovation, and charter schools with different school programs throughout the city so that every family has quality choices.

Next week, DPS is hosting a community meeting to discuss North's development and the possible placement of new high performing school in the building. North recently went through a $38 million bond to update the building and create a more flexible space so that if North is under enrolled, other high performing schools might be placed there (of course dependent upon student/family interest). We would like to see North improve while we would also like to see a great high school in NW Denver (there are none now).

We would love for any A+ Members to go to this meeting and lend your involvement.

Wednesday, May 16th - 5:30pm
Smedley Elementary School
4250 Shoshone Street
As always, we love to hear your thoughts or ideas so please don't hesitate to get in touch!

Cheers,

A+ Denver

Commentary: Take care with ECE planning

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 21:47:00 GMT

Originally posted on EdNewsColorado, April 25, 2012. Copyright © EdNewsColorado.org
Read here. Written by Van Schoales.

I recently completed a backyard construction project that got me thinking about early childhood education systems. My project has been a bit of an odyssey that began four or five years ago when I thought that with limited resources, unskilled labor and no clear long-term vision I could slowly but ultimately upgrade the quality of my backyard.

Several summers of moving flowerbeds and regular trips to Home Depot resulted in a yard that was marginally better at best. I thought that each of these small short-term improvements might add up to an overall improvement.

I was so wrong. You’d think I’d know better. Last summer I finally hired an architect and built a work plan with budget to redesign my backyard. The yard has just been completed, and wow what a change. The obvious missing ingredient the first time around was a plan that was built from design criteria tied to the use and aesthetic of the yard – and resources to get it done. Duh!

I’m a bit worried that with some of the increased interest and some funding for ECE we may inadvertently be building a new ECE system without the clarity about design principles that is needed.

Thankfully, ECE is finally getting more program support as the feds, some cities and a few school districts like Denver step up to invest more for programming from birth to kindergarten. As an aside, it’s still remarkable to me that such a supposedly educated state like Colorado still does not provide full-day kindergarten for those that need or want it – but that’s another blog post.

It’s also amazing to me that with all that we know about child development, including the fact that a child’s brain develops 85 percent of its capacity for cognitive and social-emotional learning skills before age 5, that we would not being doing more to set a design and invest in supports to ensure that children are on track to being productive learners and citizens at ages 3, 4 and 5. Instead we wait until they are 6 years old and play catch up. Our current public policy practices on ECE remind me a bit of my haphazard approach to fixing my yard.

While others more qualified than me should work through what the characteristics and blueprint should be for ECE in Colorado (the current state planning framework for ECE policy is here), I thought I’d throw out a set of design principles.

School quality indicators

These get fairly tricky for ECE, given that there isn’t publicly-available data on student outcomes available in Colorado or most places. The serious problem with today’s data on specific schools or programs is that they are tied to inputs such as facilities and the quality of teachers. While this is of value it does not really help a family make an informed decision about whether preschool X is likely to prepare their student for kindergarten or first grade. The Qualistar rating system is a bit like rating high schools on whether they have a gym or certain course offerings. It’s helpful but still not a true measure of the effectiveness of a school. As an example, the range of Developmental Reading Assessment scores for Denver schools with the Qualistar four-star rating (the highest ranking) varies from the 30s to the 90s. Colorado and Denver’s ECE system must have a complete set of assessments for student learning – inputs and outcomes – the results of which are reported to policy makers and the public.

School and program diversity

Denver, unlike many parts of Colorado, has a wide variety of public and private preschools. A rich diversity of offerings is critical, given different family needs, not to mention the fact that we really do not know what some of the most effective programs are for different populations of children. More diversity with quality data on student outcomes would be helpful in determining the most effective models. From my perspective, the ECE world has a huge advantage over K-12 because there are so many different options. Many of us have been working for decades to create more choices and to break the one-size-fits-all design of most K-12 systems, ECE can build on the existing diversity with the advantage of not needing to break down an entrenched monopoly.

Equitable and adequate funding tied to quality

Funding for ECE is complicated and fragmented. The Denver Preschool Program provides a great exemplar of the sort of model we need by providing additional public funding to students on a sliding scale based on need. The program also ties funding to quality while building on other funding sources. It’s critical that as more funding may come available that it be tied to students rather than institutions so that we are able to support expansion and replication of quality schools. I suspect the challenges for increasing quality will be very similar to those in K-12, so it’s critical to have funding more connected to students than to institutions.

Parent and guardian learning

We know that the most important lever in a child’s development outside of school is parent support. We also know the best opportunity for parents to be engaged in their child’s learning is at the ECE level. Any ECE system should be built to support parents in developing high expectations and parenting skills with programs like Baby College, Parents As Teachers and other home visiting programs so that parents can fully support the learning provided in school. These supports should be reinforced with well-defined ECE quality standards that include measures of how well programs support parents, all tied to performance-based funding.

Too frequently, the discussions about ECE seem to be driven by funding or program expansion . I think we need to spend a bit more time being specific on the end design for a coherent ECE system that’s driven by the needs of kids.

As I was reminded with my backyard, the lack of a plan often leads to a very mixed bag of improvements that may be more difficult and expensive to fix over time. Colorado ECE leaders have invested many years laying the foundations of an effective system. But up to now they have not had the high-level political and business support or funding that is needed to pull all the pieces together. But let’s spend the time and money to get a detailed set of plans before we embark on expansion of existing programs in Denver or elsewhere in Colorado.

Press Release: The Denver Plan and the Board of Education

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 00:49:00 GMT

News Release

Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 6pm

Media Contact:

Van Schoales, CEO, A+ Denver (303) 725-1151 van@aplusdenver.org

The Denver Plan and the Board of Education: Time to reevaluate the strategic plan to reflect current priorities and accountability measures.

A+ Denver has submitted a letter to the DPS Board of Education addressing our concerns with the current version of The Denver Plan. In the letter we have outlined a number of recommendations that we believe will help transform the Plan into a true strategic document that can be used to measure the success of specific initiatives.

As with any large organization, we believe the strategic plan is a vital document to guide decision-making and measure progress. This is especially important if the district decides to seek future tax-payer support.

Our hope is that the Board will consider our recommendations and improve the Denver Plan so that it can truly become a tool used to drive decision-making and hold the district accountable for results.

Some of the recommendations made to the Board of Education:

Improve goals and accountability measures based on real measurement tools and realistic benchmarks for each goal. Then, prioritize each goal to reflect district initiatives and allow the public to understand the strategy for achievement.
Update the areas outlined in the plan to reflect current district priorities identified in the 2011 State of the Schools address made to A+ Denver members. Those four areas were: Teacher Effectiveness, English Language Learners, New Standards/Use of Data in Assessments, and Turnaround schools; however, only the first two areas are described in detail in the current Denver Plan.
Employ true performance empowerment and identify where decisions making rests for each goal and how this will drive student achievement.
Expand academic focus to include subjects beyond math and literacy. Include measurements and benchmarks to identify improvement.
Add goals for school leadership around recruitment, training, and support to reflect current initiatives already underway in these areas in the district.

###

The mission of A+ Denver is to harness the power of Denver’s civic leadership to build

public will and advocate for the changes necessary to dramatically increase student achievement in public education in Denver. We are an independent, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization working to bring the power of Denver’s citizens to the effort of school reform. For more information, please visit www.aplusdenver.org.

Graduated, not educated

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:34:00 GMT

Originally posted on DenverPost.com, Feb. 12, 2012. Copyright © DenverPost.com
Read here. Written by Van Schoales and Barbara O'Brien.

Too many students are graduating from Colorado high schools without the skills or knowledge to succeed in college.

A little more than a decade ago, we were part of a team at the Colorado Children's Campaign that, with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, launched a set of initiatives aimed at improving high school education.

In 2002, we were mostly flying blind. Colorado had CSAP data, but that was just a snapshot. The tools to measure student progress over time hadn't yet been developed. Some high schools offered good educations, especially to high-performing students, but no Colorado high school graduated most of its low-income and minority students fully prepared for college or career training.

Today, Colorado has developed nationally recognized data systems that track a student's academic growth over time and their preparation for college. We've seen some improvement in ACT scores in a few districts, a reduction in dropouts, more rigorous course work in high schools, and a few students earning a community college associates degree while still in high school. This is progress.

However, the recent release of the Colorado Department of Higher Education's report on college remediation was a wake-up call. Too many students are graduating from high school without the skills or knowledge to succeed in college or vocational training without significant remedial education.

They graduate, but are unprepared for the next level.

Last year's direct costs for college remediation will top $46 million. Colorado also lost potential tax revenue from under-employed college dropouts. Many of these young adults drop out of college because they can't do the work ... and they're carrying sizeable student loans without improved job prospects. There is likelihood that their families will need public health care and social services.

We wouldn't be surprised if the total cost for Colorado's crisis in college preparedness is in the billions. And worse: There is a lifetime of lost opportunities for thousands of students.

DPS's college remediation rate deserves special attention. Despite a higher graduation rate, its remediation rate has grown from 46 percent in 2006 to 59 percent, one of the highest in Colorado. The good news is that more DPS students are going on to post-secondary education or training. However, many of Denver's high schools have remediation rates well over 60 percent. East has a 49 percent rate.

Lincoln High School is to be commended for sending 30 percent of its graduates to college, but more than 78 percent are unprepared, needing remediation to do college-level work. It is heartbreaking to talk to a student who can't understand why she was a top student in her high school but is failing her freshman courses.

Clearly, there must be a renewed emphasis on higher standards and accountability for what is learned during high school.

DPS Superintendent Tom Boasberg is facing this tough education challenge head-on: "Graduating students who are ready for success in college is our most important measure, and the remediation numbers show that we have a lot of work to do to make further improvements across the district. And it starts long before high school."

Colorado school districts, DPS in particular, must demand a substantive redesign of their high schools. More advanced placement courses, credit recovery programs or ninth-grade academies added to failing schools are no substitute for real reform. Districts need to create an education continuum that is committed to boosting student achievement so that most are ready to succeed:

• Preschool for children who are already behind, preparing them to enter school ready to learn to read;

• Elementary schools that lay the literacy and math foundations for school success;

• Middle schools that have a relentless focus on filling gaps in student's skills and accelerating their strengths;

• High schools that ensure every student is meeting benchmarks for post-secondary readiness, and principals and teachers who know well before graduation if a student needs extra help in meeting those benchmarks;

• Enriched, extra learning time for students who need it, every year.

We know it can be done. Denver School of Science and Technology and a number of schools around the country have proven it's possible to prepare all students for post- secondary education and training, regardless of the student's circumstances.

What's their secret? They have a rigorous academic program and high expectations for all students. They support and develop their teachers. They embrace accountability for themselves and foster a culture of responsibility among the students with a clear set of student-performa

Every school district must put student achievement above all else. We will need to not just closely monitor whether students get diplomas but also if they have the skills, habits and knowledge for success post-high school.

A high school diploma should mean something. Do we have the political will to tackle the college remediation crisis head on?

Barbara O'Brien is senior fellow at The Piton Foundation and is former Colorado lieutenant governor. She serves on the board of the Colorado Democrats for Education Reform.

Van Schoales is CEO of A+ Denver and vice president for education at the Colorado Children's Campaign, 2001-2006. He serves on the board of the Colorado Democrats for Education Reform.

Report Release - School Achievement in Denver: The Impact of Charter Schools

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:49:00 GMT

We are pleased to release our latest report, "School Achievement in Denver: The Impact of Charter Schools."

This report was created in response to one of many questions that were raised after we released "Start with the Facts: Strengthening the Denver Public Schools Pipeline".

We have disaggregated the school performance data for 2011 in the report in order to see how individual charters, district schools and charter management organizations (CMOs - West Denver Prep, DSST, and KIPP) are doing while answering the question of how charter achievement is affecting the overall achievement in Denver Public Schools.

You can read the entire report on our website by following this link:
School Achievement in Denver:
The Impact of Charter Schools

Read the article about it from today in EdNews Colorado:
Report says charters fueling DPS growth

We believe this report should help DPS and the Denver community begin to more thoughtfully focus on what is working in DPS so that achievement gains can be dramatically accelerated.

Our hope is that these reports will drive fact-based conversations so that policy making in DPS and Denver leads to greater improvement.

Cheers,
Van

Celebrating Denver's Best of 2011 in Education

Thu, 10 May 2012 15:47:00 GMT

I wanted to take the time to celebrate a short list of people and organizations that have made a difference in education reform in Denver for 2011.

It's been a great year for Denver on so many fronts from the new world-class taco shop down the street, a brave new education reformy mayor and a cutting edge new art museum. I guess there's also that Denver quarterback.

I've watched Denver move from a sleepy second-rate public education city with a fair amount of self-satisfaction in the 90's to being one of the country's leading centers for education reform. This last year's elections for school board and mayor proved that Denver voters are not satisfied and are demanding more from our public school system.

It's clear that Denver Public Schools has finally begun to change positively. The question now is whether they can take it to the next level and dramatically accelerate progress. 48 years is too long to wait to close the 4th grade reading gap. We have some good policies in DPS but we need to better understand exactly what is working so that great schools can be in every neighborhood.

So here's my list of some of the people that made a significant contribution to changing the public system so that not just a few but also possibly hundreds and even thousands of more Denver students might succeed.

My list is in no particular order of importance. For the last couple of years it has become more challenging to choose who has made the biggest difference in moving Denver Public Schools forward as more and more join the education reform movement.

Shannon Fitzgerald and her team at DPS for breaking the mold as paper-pushing bureaucrats to lead the district's new school choice program so that low-income families have greater access to quality schools. Kudos also go to the Get Smart Schools team for making it possible for DPS to make such a bold change.

Chris Gibbons and Bill Kurtz for doing truly remarkable work in replicating middle and high schools that prepare nearly all of their students to succeed. Their growing networks of a total of 8 schools are now collectively moving the overall achievement of Denver's low-income and students of color. While these schools still only represent a small number of Denver's middle and high school students, they are pulling the overall district numbers up.

Marco and Cathy Abarca, a NW Denver family that stepped up to create a local Latino political advocacy organization that brought in Tim and Bernie Marquez, Mario Carrera, Jesus Salazar, Theresa Pena and other Latino leaders focused on education reform. LFER is a powerful addition to DFER, Padres Unidos, MOP, Stand for Children, Colorado Succeeds and the Colorado Children's Campaign in helping to represent Denver's diversity and making sure education works for all.

Peter Sherman, the principal of Escuela Valdez, for showing us that with hard work you can use the state's innovation status to begin to turn around a low-performing neighborhood school.

Anne Bye Rowe for winning a school board race where she refused to go negative, focusing her campaign on substantive details in the context of the nastiest and most expensive school board race in Denver's history.

Liz Wolfson, the founder of Girls Athletic Leadership School (GALS) charter school, for building a radical new school design that seems to work for a diversity of Denver's young women. The school is still in its infancy but has begun to show some fantastic growth scores.

Tim Taylor and his team from Colorado Succeeds and the folks from CU Denver for taking the myriad of data on CO schools and translating them into an easy-to-understand, comprehensive site on school quality for parents (and wonks too). It builds on the great work of the Colorado Department of Education to create a site that doesn't require a Ph.D to navigate.

Charlie Brennan and the team at EdNews Colorado for taking education reporting to a new level in Denver and Colorado. Not only has Charlie done a great job on his first year reporting on education, but the opinion site on EdNews CO has become the space for debating education policy and surfacing important education issues in Colorado.

Landri Taylor for resurrecting the Urban League and stepping out to support education reform on all fronts, whether backing the development of new high quality schools in NE Denver or helping to thwart the ridiculous recall attempt on the School Board President Nate Easley.

Rosemary Rodriquez for stepping up to engage in substantive political and policy debates on public education in Denver on behalf of Denver's kids, even though many I'm sure advised her to stay out of the fights.

John Youngquist for building East into a very good comprehensive urban high school (yes the school still has a long way to go....these are the toughest schools to change). Here's hoping he'll be able to transform the district's poor record of recruiting, training and retaining great principals as he starts his new job at the district office this week.

Judge Sheila Rappaport for providing a very poorly thought through decision in favor of the Laboto Plaintiffs that may finally force Colorado policy makers to rework the school finance system so that most of Colorado's kids have a fighting chance for success in life. For the record, I thought both sides were wrong. Colorado clearly underfunds education and we know that pouring more money into the current system (which was never designed to get most students ready for the 21stcentury) will not lead to improved achievement. More money AND major reform is the only way to improve public education in Colorado.

Denver is clearly on the move relative to other cities when it comes to education policy. Let's hope that next year, I have much greater difficulty deciding who is making the biggest difference when it comes to education practice.

Have a great start to the New Year,

Van

Innovation law doesn’t spark major change

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 16:46:00 GMT

Colorado’s first schools granted more autonomy under the Innovation Schools Act don’t look a lot different today than they did before – particularly in terms of curriculum and instruction.

That’s because principals have chosen to move slowly and have focused so far on changes in budgeting, scheduling and managing their staffs, according to an initial report released Wednesday.

The 95-page document, titled Crafting an Innovation School, was completed by researchers at CU-Denver for Denver Public Schools, A+ Denver, the Colorado Education Association and the Denver Classroom Teachers Association.

It’s the final report for the first year, 2010-11, of a three-year study of innovation schools. Included in the first study are eight Denver schools – seven innovation schools and Bruce Randolph School, which did not seek formal innovation status after securing greater autonomy prior to the 2008 law.

To date, Colorado has 21 innovation schools – 18 in Denver, two in the rural Kit Carson district and one in Colorado Springs. Most of those gained innovation status after May 2011.

“Principals and schools didn’t seek innovation status to make wholesale changes,” lead researcher Kelci Price told a crowded room of lawmakers, education policy wonks and others during a legislative briefing Wednesday at CEA headquarters. “Innovation schools look very similar in a lot of ways to how they did before.”

But a series of interviews with seven principals, 13 teachers and six parents, coupled with climate surveys of 347 teachers, showed innovation status led all three groups to express a sense of greater ownership of their schools.

“There’s just a sense of ownership and of more empowerment of our teachers and of our parents,” one principal told interviewers.

In particular, according to the report, principals, teachers and parents cited as positives greater control over how and when they hire, the ability to opt out of direct teacher placements by the district and the use of one-year contracts to ensure new hires are a good fit with the school’s mission.

Still, the findings on innovation schools’ staff were acknowledged as a concern by some, including Carolyn Crowder, executive director of the Denver teachers’ union. The report noted teachers at the eight schools were less experienced – by about three years – and less likely to have master’s degrees than teachers in five comparison schools.

The report also found higher teacher turnover, about 20 percent, and higher principal turnover, with three of eight principals leaving.

Concern about “fuzzy boundaries” to schools’ autonomy
A key issue raised in the report is Denver Public Schools’ support of innovation schools and uncertainty about the boundaries of the schools’ autonomy.

A common frustration among innovation schools was a sense of “fuzzy boundaries” about exactly what they could do and what they could not.

Price said a common frustration among innovation schools was a sense of “fuzzy boundaries” about exactly what they could do and what they could not.

An example cited in the report revolved around the departure of a principal at one school – Manual High School, though the school is unnamed in the report – and the school community’s desire to name a successor.

“The staff selected a new principal candidate after a wide search, believing that through their Innovation status they had autonomy to choose their principal. However, the district did not agree with the school’s chosen candidate,” the report notes.

“Because the school and district were unable to come to any agreement, the school requested the appointment of an interim principal for a year. This situation resulted in concern and uncertainties among staff …”

It’s not a new issue for DPS. In May 2010, frustrated principals at three innovation schools obtained a legal opinion declaring the district in violation of the innovation law because district leaders refused to cede control of budget and staffing.

More recently, Price said, principals say the situation has improved and there’s a “changing attitude of service” from the district’s central office.

She noted all seven principals interviewed cited similar reasons for seeking innovation status – greater autonomy over budget, scheduling, workforce and school operations.

“Interestingly, these were also the most salient concepts brought up across respondent groups (principals, teachers and parents) when they described the changes which had occurred in their schools since Innovation,” the report states.

“Respondents were quite clear that without Innovation status their school would not have been able to make the changes it did in each of these areas.”

One example of a change came in scheduling, though not necessarily in increasing instructional time for students. More commonly, schools added collaboration, planning and training time for teachers.

One year not enough to gauge impact on achievement
Some audience members at Wednesday’s briefing questioned the need for the innovation law if schools weren’t using it to make more dramatic changes, particularly in curriculum and instruction.

And Price admitted that she was surprised by the lack of variation from the district curriculum.

But Alyssa Whitehead-Bust, DPS’ innovation and reform chief, said later innovation schools do include greater instructional diversity, such as an arts school and international studies programs.

It’s unclear whether later schools will be added to the study – researchers will meet in January with DPS, A+ Denver, CEA and DCTA to map out the next research questions.

Student achievement at the innovation schools was little discussed at the briefing, largely because the collaborators agreed it was too soon to draw conclusions, said Van Schoales, A+ executive director.

In the report, researchers note the innovation schools are experiencing growth in state test scores but that many were experiencing growth exceeding state averages prior to innovation status.

DPS officials on Wednesday released a statement highlighting the report’s findings on school culture, noting innovation schools had higher average ratings in areas such as community engagement and trust in principals.

The report notes four schools with particularly high marks, where teachers and parents expressed “considerable trust” in principals they described as motivators with a clear vision.

In two schools with recent leadership changes, however, the feedback was less positive and teachers expressed concern about “unilateral” decision-making.
Some DPS board members have expressed concern about principal leadership at innovation schools, fearing what happens when a leader given so much more autonomy exits a school.

Whitehead-Bust said DPS has adopted a policy requiring innovation school applications include a succession plan and that teachers and community members are interviewed, along with the principal, to ensure there’s a shared vision – so one person’s departure doesn’t derail the innovation plan.

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly: School Turnarounds and Profiteers

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 16:16:00 GMT

Written by Van Schoales, Dec. 13, 2011. Also posted on DFER.org here.

We recently did some research on the state of school turnarounds in Colorado. I was reminded of that great "spaghetti" western The Good, The Bad and the Ugly. For those of you that don't remember the movie, it was a tale of intrigue, deceit and murder among three men (not so good, bad, and ugly) in a quest for buried gold in the context of the chaos of the Civil War. It's one of my favorite movies for the remarkable cinematography, directing, and character acting, not to mention one of the best scores ever. Oh yes, there's also the interesting sub-texts on war and the West.

So, what's the connection with the federal School Improvement Grant (SIG)/ turnaround schools program? The SIG program is hardly as interesting as the movie, but turnarounds are filled with struggle, conflict, and failure; often the only ones benefiting are the outside consultants making upwards of $5,000 a day. It's like the end of the movie where after all the death and destruction, the "not so good" walks into the sunset with the gold. In this case it's the consultants walking off with a check on their way to the next district. And who says education doesn't pay?

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for identifying the worst schools and doing everything possible to turn them around or, when necessary, replacing them with new high performing schools. My fear, however, is that while the SIG program will have done some good helping to support the development of a few new schools (like several here in Denver), most of the funds will go to ill-conceived and clumsily implemented interventions with little change in student outcomes.

I just don't believe that many states and districts have the appropriate levels of oversight nor the capacity to manage turnarounds. The current program shovels out $4.5 billion over four years to states with the expectation that state departments of education can effectively oversee the distribution of these funds to improve schools.

Let's take my home state of Colorado as a detailed example. In Colorado we have a reform-focused and relatively well-run state department of education, but even here, I fear the SIG program will do little to improve our schools. I can only imagine how terrible it is in those states where the departments are in the business of shelling out cash and developing simplistic, check-off the box compliance procedures.

Colorado is positioned to receive a total of $51.4 million in federal SIG dollars, the majority of which will be allocated to support approximately 30 school turnaround schools. So far, 19 schools were awarded grants receiving an average of $2.3 million over three years - not chump change. The state, as all states, encourages its schools to have an outside turnaround partner. The problem is there are very few turnaround partners that have been proven successful. So the result is that you have numerous outside turnaround partners obtaining big money contracts, without having proven their ability to successfully turnaround a school. While it is fairly difficult to tell at this point who has these contracts, what they are expected to do and for how much, it's clear there is a great deal of money being made by these contractors who have yet to prove their effectiveness. The only good news is that the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) has just undergone reorganization and the new Assistant Commissioner has pledged to look into these questions and hold districts along with providers accountable.

Well, what about the results so far? I know it's only the first year for test results, but you'd expect some schools to have shown improvement, right? As far as I can tell this has only occurred in a few schools like West Denver Prep in Denver, which is a school that was just opened as one of three schools (and the only new charter) housed in the Lake Middle School turnaround complex. Overall, SIG grant funded schools in CO have not really improved as a group and some have even gotten worse. Pueblo, Colorado's five schools, for example, have shown no substantive improvement. Student growth in reading and math ranged from 22% to a high of 47% compared to student growth at a high performing Denver SIG school (West Denver Prep) with reading and math growth at 63% and 88%. In short, in these already low-performing Pueblo schools, students are actually losing ground, their achievement scores will be worse as a result of attending these schools. There are, however, several Denver SIG schools showing some growth like Lake middle school, even if they have not yet made much progress on the percent of students reaching proficiency, which is the end goal.

And what about the money being spent on outside turnaround partners? While perusing the CO Department of Education's website, I was surprised to discover that of those firms working as turnaround partners some disclosed cost structures which ranged from $800 per day (only one) to a high of about $7,000 a day; that must be one hell of a five-day workshop with an army of coaches. Even more surprising was the fact that not one of the firms listed on the website responded "YES" to whether they provided a "performance guarantee contract," regardless of cost. There was also a section on the website where the consulting firms gave references and examples of their work. The Leadership and Learning Center provided Carlile Elementary in Pueblo as a reference, a school that is far below the state median growth in all subjects (not a school I'd pitch as a success).

So where do we go from here? Do we wait till the feds have burned through $4.5 billion in the next couple of years, watch hundreds of new school turnaround businesses prosper while there is little change in student achievement for the nations' worst schools?

I hope not. Let's take a timeout and figure out how best to invest these precious public dollars so that our most disadvantaged kids have a quality education. While we may not know much about how to turn around low-performing schools, we do know how to create new high performing schools for the most disadvantaged students. Maybe more funding from SIG should go to new school development, not weaker transformations. In addition, the SIG program should undergo its own "turnaround" so districts and providers are held accountable for results from each year of the grant. State departments of education should be easily able to retract or extend funding if the schools are not meeting performance targets. State departments of education should also have strict performance contracts for managing their portfolio of turnaround schools. The kids trapped in failing schools deserve better leadership from our district, state and federal officials.

Somewhat ironically as one of the consultants, a former New York City education commissioner, Dr. Rudy Crew, said in a New York Times article published shortly after the grants were being given out, "This is like the aftermath of the Civil War, with all the carpetbaggers and charlatans."

Crew's firm, Global Partnership Schools, has a multi-year agreement for more than $6 million dollars from the Pueblo 60 School District. Global Partnership received half of the funding from SIG for Pueblo. Not a bad return on investment for Global Partnership; I wish I could say the same for taxpayers given the results of those Pueblo schools. I've heard a rumor that CDE may intervene in some way given the progress in Pueblo.

It's The Good, The Bad and The Ugly in education reform.

School Districts and Economic Development?

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 21:15:00 GMT

Written by Van Schoales. Also posted on EdNewsColorado.org, read here.

Some of you may have seen an interesting article this week in Education Week about a recent study on the impact of Virginia Beach City School District on the economic development of the region. The study performed by a North Carolina State economics professor, Dr. Michael Walden concluded that Virginia Beach taxpayers could expect to get a 53% return on investment for every dollar spent for the school district with the current level of student results.

I’ve sent a few notes to other national experts with strong economics backgrounds to get their take on the study but would also love to hear from any here about the value and validity of the study.

While it is clear that that high quality education (and quality BA) has enormous returns for an individual and larger community from a myriad of studies, I have to say I was bit surprised by how large the return was for Virginia Beach…53%! If true, I felt a little better about the huge sum I’m shelling out for my daughter’s fancy BA. I would like to know what the time frame is for the return (couldn’t find it in study) and how this compares to other potential investments. It seems very high to me.

Unfortunately, the study did not include any college success data; it had to rely on college success projections based on GPA, graduation rates and SAT/ACT scores. These are very good proxies for college success but we also know that graduation and GPA can be inflated as we have seen in a number of districts. In communication with Dr. Walden this morning, he admitted that this was a valid point but said that these numbers would “only account for about 2% of the return and not be a game changer” in terms of the results of the study.

So given all of this, it made me wonder how much of a “return on investment” Denver Public Schools (DPS) might have given the current level of investment in the district.

How would DPS numbers compare to Virginia Beach City School District? Should we expect a greater or smaller return given DPS results and the overall economic climate of the Denver Metro area?

I would hope that the Denver community (DPS and other partners) would invest some money in a similar study about Denver Public Schools before the district decides to go back to taxpayers for more funding. By the way, the cost of the study for Virginia Beach was less than $50,000.

It’s clear that while Denver taxpayers have historically been very generous to the district relative to other Colorado taxpayers, I worry that they will be more skeptical now given the dismal economy, the hammering of 103 by voters (I suspect that most voters want improvement/reform with any new investment) and the slow but measurable progress of DPS.

This sort of “return on investment” information for the district and public education should must be included as part of an informed public policy discussion on education funding in Colorado.

What do you all think?

Report seeks better DPS data to evaluate reforms

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 17:53:00 GMT

A new report complied by a coalition of local nonprofit groups is urging Denver Public Schools to press for better data and to evaluate reforms more closely.

"There's a challenge in terms of getting good data, and having publicly available data, but we know enough to know where the trends are," said A-Plus Denver's executive director, Van Schoales. "What we don't know is what's working well and what's not. Until we know that — from outside the school district's perspective — we're flying blind."

A-Plus Denver partnered with Metro Organizations for People and the Colorado Children's Campaign to produce the report, "Start With the Facts," released Wednesday.

Of six recommendations made by the report, five focus on creating better data systems — from better tracking of students who aren't tested through Colorado standardized tests, to making sure the data are clear and available to the public.

While the report restates previously released data about DPS showing faster-than-average growth, the gains have not been enough to show better achievement than state averages.

"People are working really hard — that's clear — but we should not fool ourselves into thinking that kids will be at 80 percent proficiency in reading soon," Schoales said.

A-Plus Denver board member Federico Peña, who spoke at the event where the report was presented, said it is the speed of improvements that is not acceptable right now.

Schoales and others at the event said the need is for a thorough evaluation of the district's strategies — including literacy interventions, the teacher pay-for-performance system or new schools — to determine what about them is helpful in order to replicate the helpful strategies and dump the useless ones.

"We're probably never going to have perfect data," Peña said. "But DPS ought to have better data with a billion-dollar budget."

Though evaluations are also costly, Schoales said it's a needed investment.

"These are programs we are spending a lot of resources on," Schoales said. "So it's also really expensive to not have evaluations."

Yesenia Robles: 303-954-1372 or yrobles@denverpost.com

Report highlights DPS progress, challenges

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 18:00:00 GMT

Denver Public Schools students are making some gains in achievement, but available data is insufficient to know which of the reforms adopted over the past five years are – and are not – working, according to a report released Wednesday by a trio of education advocacy groups.

Denver Public Schools' students mug for the camera in this EdNews file photo.
Also, the district can do a better job in clarifying its long-term goals, according to some of the two dozen education and policy leaders who were on hand for a presentation of the report, “Start With The Facts,” produced by A+ Denver, the Colorado Children’s Campaign and Metro Organizations for People.

Former Denver Mayor Federico Peña, a founding co-chair and board member of A+ Denver, challenged the district to do a better job of laying out its goals, beyond the Denver Plan’s aims to see the proficiency rate for grade-level cohorts increase by 3.5 percent in reading, writing and math each year.

“Where do we want to end up?” said Peña. “I would hope that the board and the superintendent at one point say, ‘In 2020, this is where we want to be.’ And put a stake in the ground.

“We don’t have a stake in the ground … and unless you have a goal, then you really don’t have the strategies to reach that goal.”

DPS Superintendent Tom Boasberg was unable to attend the presentation of the report but was represented by his chief of staff, Jennifer Walmer.

Later, Boasberg said, “The report highlights a number of areas where we are making significant progress, while also bringing attention to critical areas that we need to work on.”

Schoales: Report puts data in context

Van Schoales, executive director of A+ Denver, conceded while introducing the report during a noontime luncheon at the Colorado Children’s Campaign downtown Denver office, that “A lot of the information in this report is not necessarily new.”

“The last time we saw enrollment numbers like this, Grand Funk Railroad had a number one song.”
– Van Schoales, A+ Denver

That was the impression, voiced afterward, by Denver school board president Mary Seawell; she and former board president Nate Easley were the two current board members who attended the session.

“What’s new are their recommendations, as opposed to any of the data that was presented. That’s what I gravitated toward,” said Seawell.

Schoales said he believed the report’s greatest value is in placing information in context. As an example, he pointed to reading proficiency for DPS’ low-income fourth-graders. The numbers of those fourth-graders achieving proficiency or above on annual state reading tests grew from 27 percent to 32 percent from 2005 to 2011.

However, during the same time, the percentage of the state’s more affluent students reading proficient or above grew from 76 to 80 percent. At that rate, Schoales said, low-income DPS fourth-graders will need 48 years to pull even with their statewide higher-income peers.

The report draws on data from an array of sources, including DPS, the Colorado Department of Education and the Colorado Commission on Higher Education. Some of the points highlighted in the 20-page report, or by Schoales, in Wednesday’s discussion, include:

The achievement gap between higher-income students and their lower-income peers is widening; for example, the gap between those reading proficient or better at the fourth grade level as measured by state exams increased from 35 percentage points to 43 from 2005 to 2011.

DPS is making great progress in median math growth scores, moving from last out of the 10 largest school districts in the state in 2005 to third out of the top 10 in 2011.

ACT composite scores have improved from 15.4 in 2005 to 17.6 in 2011, surpassing growth statewide. And, while the number of students going to college has grown, so has the number requiring remediation once they get there, growing from 46.4 percent in 2007 to 59 percent in 2010.

Enrollment is growing, with an estimated 81 percent of Denver’s school-aged students attending DPS schools as of 2010, up from 76 percent in 2000.

“The last time we saw enrollment numbers like this, Grand Funk Railroad had a number one song,” said Schoales. That year, he added, was 1974.
Peña urges board to seek better data

In the discussion that followed Schoales’ presentation, Easley said he doesn’t believe using statewide data as a measuring stick for comparing DPS data is entirely valid.

“Since we’ve had this amazing growth, I’m sure that there’s an impact on what the state’s growth is, because we’re the second largest district in the state,” said Easley.

“And so, if you don’t pull out the district, and then compare it to what’s left, you don’t have a good comparison. That’s a flaw.”
Peña countered, “We’re probably never going to have perfect data” and said, “It’s better than we had 10 years ago.”

Challenging the DPS board members, who oversee a total operating and capital budget topping $1 billion, he added, “I would urge you to ask for better data. You ought to be able to have better data, for a billion bucks.”

One specific statistical area perceived as lacking for DPS is preschool through second grade – state assessments don’t currently begin until third grade – leaving educators “flying blind,” in Schoales’ words, when evaluating the growth or readiness of the district’s youngest students.

More comprehensive data, Seawell agreed, would enable the board to do a better job of analyzing the achievements of its turnaround schools and innovation schools, “so that we can drive resources to what is working … That is our role, and the board hasn’t been explicit enough in saying, ‘This is what we need to see.’”

One DPS parent attending the meeting, Ronda Belen, has two children in schools in the city’s far northeast. She said she and her husband are happy with the progress of their first-grader and their sixth-grader, but they understand that success for some is not cause for celebration.

“There’s thousands of kids in our district, and just because your kid is doing great, in a great school, they’re going to be going to high school and college with these other students,” said Belen.

“They’re going to be living in communities with these other students, and so we need to come up with a solution as a district to bring all of our schools to green and blue” – the DPS designations for schools that are rated as meeting expectations or distinguished, respectively.

Schoales, following Wednesday’s presentation, came back to the theme that DPS is showing progress, but not enough, and not as fast as he believes it should.

“We’re moving in the right direction, but it’s as if we’re going west. We want to get to California. We left Kansas in July, and we got to Denver in August. And we think we’re going to Sacramento?

“We may die trying,” Schoales said. “Something has got to change. We either have to invent a railroad, or invent a different way to get there.”

Recommendations from Start with the Facts: Strengthening DPS’ Education Pipeline

The performance of all students in the Denver Preschool Program should be tracked using a common statewide tool such as the Results Matter program.
In state or district reports concerning student performance, achievement and growth scores should be given equal weight.
Attention must be paid not only to graduation rates, but to ensuring that graduates have the tools to succeed in college, certificate programs, the military and work.
DPS college enrollment, remediation and success rates for all colleges – not just Colorado higher education institutions – should be tracked yearly by DPS and the state.
Each DPS high school should report its on-time graduation, college enrollment and remediation rates on its website; DPS should also develop a new measure to indicate how many DPS high school students are ready for college and careers.
The City of Denver and/or DPS should issue an annual report on the state of the DPS education pipeline.