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Transcript: Chat with Alan Davis

Published May 16, 2005 at midnight

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charley Question: Hi. I went to East about 10 years ago . Im not too shocked by the numbers. What can DPS do about this? Do you have any solutions?

Alan Answer: I can't say I have specific solutions, but I think we've got to make high school more personalized. For too many students, the schools are impersonal, very big, very bureaucratic. Students say no one really knows them or cares about them.

charley Question: Thanks. You mean smaller schools?

Alan Answer: I think smaller schools are worth investigating. But it's very hrd to convert an existing large school into a small school. Manual is an example — it's been a really difficult experience there.

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JJ_ Question: what do you think about manual going to three school?

Alan Answer: I'm not closely connected with Manual, but students I've spoken to who went there last year had lots of concerns. Some were upset about what seemed to them was segregation by ethnicity (Hispanics on the 3rd floor), and administrative confusion. I'm still hopeful that this year is better.

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charley Question: will dps open any new schools?

Alan Answer: I recently heard that MLK Middle School is planning to extend through grade 12. That's the only plan for a new high school I know about. But I'm not part of the district, and so I don't have an inside track on this.

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johninlongmont Question: What role or responsibility do you feel the teacher's union plays in the abysmal graduation statistics?

Alan Answer: I wouldn't rush to blame teachers. Right now, the typical high school teacher sees more than 150 kids every day. I'd like to see a scheduling system that cut down on that load, without increasing costs to the district. Good teachers are the most important element of the system.

mrjock Question: how did you start doing this? how long did it take.

Alan Answer: I was contacted by the News back in October, and we approached DPS for their data. We really started analyzing the data after Christmas.

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Yaakov_Watkins Question: Do you have total class numbers for 8,9,1-,11,and 12th grades? It might show ( in kind of a sloppy way) when the problems peak.

Alan Answer: We have those numbers, and I hope to study them further. The most surprising thing to me has been to see how many students disappear after the 8th grade and never show up in a Denver high school. That is one of the peaks that needs to be investigated. It applies to white students and Hispanic students, less so to Black students.

charley Question: yeah, but how do you not increase costs??

Alan Answer: I've seen block schedules that reduce the number of periods in the day, make each class longer (90 minutes), with teachers teaching the same number of hours but fewer classes, fewer students per day.

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Miguel Question: How can DPS better prepare students for higher education? I graduated from West in 1996 with honors but found myself gravely under prepared for the rigors of college study.

Alan Answer: Maybe they should base graduation less on credits and more on demonstrations of what students have learned. I'm not talking about a single test that everyone has to pass. I'm talking about demonstrations in the classroom that really show that you've learned and can apply it.

mrjock Question: controversial question: whould students benefit not being in diverse schools? so there aren't problems?

Alan Answer: I'm not sure what you mean. I think truly diverse schools (lots of different kinds of kids) are the best way to go. Problems arise when mainly low-income kids with very strong needs are all placed together in the same large high school. We have evidence, for example, and Hispanic kids at Thomas Jefferson graduate at a much higher rate than similar Hispanic kids at North.

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Yaakov_Watkins Question: Do these ex 8th graders request transcripts? They would have to in order to go to any high school. If the problem is middle school, changing high school won't help.

Alan Answer: I'm suprised at the number of 8th graders who leave without requesting transcrips. I'm not sure that high schools require transcripts of middle school records, since middle school grades don't count towards class rank, and middle school courses don't count towards graduation.

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johninlongmont Question: Considering the gross failure of the public schools that your series demonstrates, wouldn't it make sense to give parents vouchers so they could choose better alternatives for their kids?

Alan Answer: I'm all in favor of parental choice, but I'm also a strong believer in the responsibility of society to provide all students with a quality, free K-12 education. Most public high schools are doing a good job. Within DPS, there are schools with very high graduation rates and very low graduation rates. We shouldn't assume that because a school is a public school it isn't doing a good job. Remember, private schools aren't required to accept every student who shows up. Public schools are.

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Hi. This is Tim, the moderator. We're going to wrap this up in few minutes. Thanks to Alan Davis for anwering our questions today.

Miguel Question: Are there any systems out there like this?

Alan Answer: Miguel, remind me what sort of systems you are referring to.

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JJ_ Question: does this study saw anything about kids who drop out and then go back to the same school? does that happen alot to be significant?

Alan Answer: Kids definitely drop out and then go back to the same school. However, it is much more common for them to drop out and then show up at a different high school or a special school. Denver has several programs for kids who have dropped out and then returned. For example, one is at PS1 at The Spot in Five Points. I think some of these are very good.

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Miguel Question: A system that relies on demonstrated knowledge and not tests.

Alan Answer: Littleton High School and PS 1 (in Denver) are two high schools I know about in respect to this. At PS1, which is a charter school in Denver, seniors have to submit a portfolio of their work and make a public presentation of learning before teachers and peers, proving what they have learned. I think it gives them confidence and pride.

johninlongmont Question: re vouchers....I'm not saying do away with public schools, but what is the problem with giving parents a voucher so they can choose what they want for their kids?

Alan Answer: The main question I have with vouchers is whether they should be usable at a private school, many of which are religious schools. I'm not sure private schools should be supported with taxpayer money. But I think choice within tax-supported schools is very important.

christy Question: After reading your article I was amazed to see that one of the reasons to have an open campus was because the lunchrooms can't acommodate all of the students during the day. There has got to be other solutions, other rooms that can be used for lunch?

Alan Answer: I think you have a good point. Open campuses are creating problems.

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Hi. This is Tim, the moderator. We're going to stop the chat now. We'll have the transcript from the chat posted on the front page in a few minutes so that you can read answers that you may have missed.