DPS board gets revised reform plan

Second draft tackles issue of achievement gaps among students

Nancy Mitchell, Rocky Mountain News

Published February 3, 2006 at midnight

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A second draft of the strategic plan to reform Denver Public Schools tackles head-on the issue of achievement gaps among the different student groups attending the city's schools, including gaps by race, gender and poverty.

It also releases low-performing high school sophomores from mandatory double doses of math and literacy, while expanding other intervention strategies to include even gifted students who are not performing to their ability level.

In short, the revised draft appears to respond to many, though not all, of the concerns raised by students, parents, teachers and others since the original plan was released in November.

"I think we got what we bargained for . . . that public conversation has improved what's in front of you," DPS Superintendent Michael Bennet said Thursday, while presenting the revised plan to school board members.

Board members asked questions about the plan but did not approve any of its components during a four-hour study session. Bennet said their approval will be sought on some pieces - such as potential revisions to high school graduation requirements - but is not needed on others, such as creating academic intervention teams in every school.

"This is really the end of the beginning," Bennet said, noting the plan provides an outline but much of the detail work remains to be done.

Some 60 work groups made up of DPS staff - and community members, in some cases - are working on a range of issues such as graduation requirements, the student discipline policy and retention of struggling students. Each will present recommendations over the next six months.

Much of the work will be done by spring, according to timelines set out in the plan. Bennet and DPS Chief Academic Officer Jaime Aquino hope to implement their major initiatives with the start of school next fall.

Among them will be a key strategy, called "double blocking," to improve the performance of thousands of DPS students who are performing below grade level. The plan initially called for those students in grades six through 10 to get double doses of literacy and math instruction.

But the idea prompted an outpouring of criticism from high school students and their parents who worried that would squeeze out elective courses such as drama and languages.

Bennet pulled back, agreeing to try the strategy first for students in grades six through nine only. He wasn't "giving in," he said, but he was worried about finding enough math teachers.

The strategy could mean as many as 60 percent of students in grades six through nine are taking double classes of literacy and math this fall.

The revised plan also includes specific language around the district's achievement gaps, stating they will be evaluated by race, gender, language, poverty, special needs and "other."

It also states the district will "provide interventions designed to close achievement gaps" and will ensure that students receive "culturally relevant materials and culturally aware instruction."

"It was not an afterthought, it was explicit in our minds," Aquino said, noting that the district earlier Thursday had approved an elementary art and music curriculum. "One of the criteria we used was to make sure all cultures are represented, and they are."

One concern still unresolved in the plan is the issue of restricting high school students to campus at lunchtime, a strategy aimed at curbing truancy rates.

"We just need more time to work with high schools to figure out how this policy is going to work," Bennet said. "A consensus has not emerged."

He said a policy still could go before board members in time for fall classes.

Kim Ursetta, president of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association, said some suggestions from the teachers' union were included in the revision.

"It's a first step in showing the voices of teachers are heard and valued," she said.

Revamping the Denver Plan

Denver Public Schools Superintendent Michael Bennet on Thursday presented a "second draft" of his strategic plan for improving the city's schools, a revision based on input received since the first draft of the plan was released Nov. 16. Among the changes:

• Diversity is explicitly addressed. The plan makes specific references to "closing our achievement gaps" among Denver's different student groups. It also states teachers will receive "diversity training . . . to deal with issues of race, gender and class" and students will be given "culturally relevant materials and culturally aware instruction."

• Room for electives. Students performing below grade level in grades 6 through 9 only will be placed in double classes or "double blocks" of literacy and/or math. Those students in grades 6-8 also will take an extra 45 minutes daily of skills instruction; students in grade 9 will not. As a result, each student should be able to take at least one elective class.

• Including all achievers. The term "struggling students" has been replaced by "students who are not performing to their ability level," including those with special needs and those who are gifted. The idea is to accelerate students of all abilities.

What's next

Over the next six months, a series of small work groups will research and make recommendations to Bennet in major policy areas such as:

• Reviewing high school graduation requirements

• Restructuring the English language acquisition program

• Revising the student discipline policy

• Creating a consistent districtwide grading policy for grades K-12

• Developing a parent-friendly districtwide report card in grades K-8

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