August 23, 2004

Future Of School Choice Reaffirmed

More school choices – solid options that are based on demand and what works – are in the future for Denver Public Schools.

That was the overriding theme as the Board of Education emerged from a day-long retreat Friday, Aug. 20.

"It’s clear that the Board is proactively interested in creating more choice in the district," said Wayne Eckerling, Assistant Superintendent for Research, Planning and Special Projects. "This was an affirmation of the school revitalization plans and other efforts to create more choices that are attractive to parents across the district."

The discussion was designed in part to ensure that future decisions about charter schools, contract schools, magnet schools, and the district’s own ongoing school revitalization process for neighborhood schools are made within a master plan. These choices include high-quality, appealing neighborhood schools.

But the discussion also involved considerable talk about how best to make sure Denver Public Schools has a stronger appeal to the many families and students now choosing other options. About a quarter of students living in Denver don’t attend public schools – and those who do opt out tend to be from high-income brackets.

Part of the discussion centered on the financial reality. Each student equals more revenue through state funding formulas.

The day began with members of the Board of Education listing their "core values" about school choice. Among the many listed:

The discussion explored an inch-thick notebook of data about achievement, enrollment patterns and city demographic data.

State and federal data, for instance, show the percentage of children under 18 in Denver who live below the federal poverty line has dropped from 34 percent in 1989 to 21 percent in 2000.

At the same time, the percentage of DPS students who qualify for the federal free and reduced-price lunch program, a different indicator of poverty, is growing. The figure has nearly doubled, from 33 percent in 1989 to 65 percent in 2004.

Board members ended the session with a series of agreed-upon strategies, written in rough form, that provide the context for the future.

For instance: Create/provide choice opportunities geographically distributed throughout the district (so that they are reasonably available to all students). Board members agreed, however, that this does mean each quadrant of the city needs matching options. Providing options for at-risk students, Board members agreed, is also a high priority.

Another over-arching theme: Only institute or respond to programmatic options deemed to be proven or promising in achieving high levels of student achievement.

Assistant Superintendent Eckerling said the Board was very clear in its interest in investing in "what works."

In addition, Board members asked to fully assess and evaluate any impact that choice programs or schools may have on neighborhood schools and the families who attend those schools.

Board members also agreed that the district should initiate new programs that expand the depth and breadth of the current curricular offerings – and provide programs that run the entire grade-level span (where possible). In other words, if a style of teaching or educational focus is available in elementary grades, it should be available throughout a student’s K-12 experience.

In general, the Board also expressed interest in better middle school choice options and urged that the district conduct a detailed assessment of market demand, particularly at age ranges where the district has experienced the greatest loss of students.

The push for new choices is already off to a strong start, thanks to the school revitalization process – one of the six initiatives launched with the November 2003 mill levy election. Last spring, the Board selected 13 schools that are eligible to tap $2.5 million annually in an effort to improve student achievement and reengage parents.

Those 13 schools are Bradley, Brown, Ford, Gilpin, Montclair, Reminton, Sabin and Stedman elementary schools and Cole, Henry, Hill, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Skinner middle schools.

Each school has organized a committee of parents, school staff, the principal, Area Superintendent and others to evaluate what program or changes to consider as a means to making specific improvements – and revitalizing – each school.

A Picture of Choice

During the last school year, 48,063 students (66.3%) attended their neighborhood school. The other one-third of students enrolled into another neighborhood school, magnet school or other program through the Choice Process. Here are facts and figures about the Choice Process in Denver Public Schools:

Total Enrollment 72,489

Choice Enrollment 24,426 (33.7%)

Choice to Neighborhood Schools 11,009 (15.2%)

Choice to Magnets Schools 3,816 (5.3%)

Choice to Charter Schools 2,983 (4.1%)

Alternative Programs 1,407 (1.9%)

Special Education Programs 882 (1.2%)

Data are from official 2003-2004 enrollment.

Commission on School Nutrition and Physical Activity

The Commission on School Nutrition and Physical Activity has scheduled a public hearing for Tuesday, Sept. 28 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. at East High School.

The hearing will be co-hosted by Superintendent Jerry Wartgow, Mayor John Hickenlooper and members of the commission. The commission is co-chaired by Denver Board of Education member Elaine Gantz Berman and Reginald Washington, a prominent pediatric cardiologist and co-chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ National Task Force on Obesity.

The commission is inviting all students, parents and interested community members to comment on effective policies and practices in schools involving students’ nutrition, health, and physical well-being.

Interested speakers should contact Jacquie Luecero (303-764-3211) or e-mail Board@dpsk12.org by Friday, Sept. 24 at 5 p.m. Individuals may speak for up to two minutes and groups of two or more for up to five minutes. If time permits, people who did not sign up to speak in advance may follow those who did.

The agenda for the evening will include introductions of the commission members and a brief context of the work of the commission to date.

The commission was created in January 2004 and given the charge of proposing recommendations to the Board for 1) nutritional standards and their implementation for all food and beverages in DPS schools and facilities; 2) nutrition education for DPS students; and 3) appropriate outcome measurements. The commission also is charged with reviewing and revising as necessary DPS standards and implementation for physical education and determining the feasibility of its own recommendations as they pertain to costs, funding and sustainability.

East High School is located at 1545 Detroit St. The public hearing will be held in the school’s auditorium.

Public Hearing Changes Proposed

The Board of Education agreed at its meeting Aug. 19 to consider changes in how its monthly public hearings are conducted.

The Board typically holds monthly public hearings on the first Thursday of each month.

The changes include a new name from public hearing – to public comment session.

The proposed changes include changing the time allowed for each speaker from three minutes to two minutes and the time allowed for each group of speakers (on the same topic) from 15 minutes to 10.

Also under the proposed changes, public comments would begin immediately following the Board’s 5 p.m. regular meeting. Currently, public hearings begin at 7 p.m. The new plan would mean that public comment start time would vary but would generally start prior to 6 p.m.

Speakers would be required to sign up 24 hours prior to the public comment session.

"The opportunity for public comment is not intended to be used as a means to air views or address issues that are not directly related to the business of the Board of Education," says new language proposed for the change of policy.

New language also suggests that citizens wishing to bring concerns or issues unrelated to Board of Education agenda items may do so with appropriate district staff or to the Board of Education via e-mail (board@dpsk12.org).

Board Notes

In other action this week, the Board of Education:

This page was last updated: Tuesday, August 24, 2004 at 8:33:25 AM

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