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Time matters at two schools

Hispanic and lower-income students moving from DPS to charter schools are finding that the long hours and hard work is paying off as they catch up and move ahead

By Nancy Mitchell, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published December 17, 2007 at 12:30 a.m.

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Bridget Newman, a teacher at West Denver Prep, waits to make bus connections for her trip home to Boulder. Students at the school spend an hour more in class each day and go to school three weeks longer each year than the DPS average.

Photo by Javier Manzano © The Rocky

Bridget Newman, a teacher at West Denver Prep, waits to make bus connections for her trip home to Boulder. Students at the school spend an hour more in class each day and go to school three weeks longer each year than the DPS average.

Kipp Sunshine Peak Academy students Yajaira Lopez, left, and Joe Saucedo vie for a flying disc during a recent Saturday game at the school.

Photo by Javier Manzano / The Rocky

Kipp Sunshine Peak Academy students Yajaira Lopez, left, and Joe Saucedo vie for a flying disc during a recent Saturday game at the school.

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Elijah Ruff, age 14, has a daily schedule that would make many adults wince - nine hours of school, on average, followed by a couple hours of homework.

The eighth-grader at KIPP Sunshine Peak Academy, a Denver charter school targeting largely poor and minority students, is living proof of the words on the blue banner hanging in the school's front lobby:

"Welcome to KSPA," it reads, "Home of Denver's Hardest Working Students."

True. A Rocky Mountain News analysis shows the average school day for KIPP students is two hours and 23 minutes longer than their middle school peers in traditional Denver Public Schools.

Add Saturday school - 16 days in 2007-08 - and the required summer classes - up to 18 days in June - and the KIPP school year exceeds that of DPS by more than 600 hours.

In other words, DPS middle schools would have to add 89 more days to their annual calendars to match KIPP.

And that's still not enough for Richard Barrett, founder and director of KIPP Sunshine Peak, where the motto is "Work hard. Be nice. No shortcuts."

"We need more time," Barrett said. "Our kids are coming to us (from DPS elementary schools) usually three grade levels behind. It's taking us four years plus to catch these kids up."

Longer day, year

Requiring students to spend more time in school is a key feature of KIPP and West Denver Prep, another charter middle school in an impoverished southwest Denver neighborhood.

Both schools are seeing success with a population of students - Hispanic children from low-income families - who are floundering in traditional Denver middle schools.

At Rishel Middle School, across the parking lot from KIPP near the corner of Alameda Avenue and Tejon Street, fewer than one in five students were proficient on 2007 state reading tests.

At KIPP, where the poverty rate exceeds that of Rishel, 51 percent of students were reading at grade level.

Similarly, at Kepner Middle School, which is 1.3 miles from West Denver Prep, fewer than one in four students were proficient readers.

At West Denver Prep, 49 percent of students were proficient.

Chris Gibbons, who last fall opened West Denver Prep on South Federal Boulevard, said the need for more class time was clear from the outset.

Students coming into his school as sixth-graders were testing, on average, at early fourth-grade levels.

"Time is critical," Gibbons said, echoing Barrett. "If we're taking kids a couple years behind, on average, I need more time to get them on track."

A sense of urgency

Students at West Denver Prep average an eight-hour school day, in contrast to the seven-hour day in DPS, and attend school nearly three weeks longer.

The Rocky analysis showed DPS middle schools would have to add 41 seven-hour days to match West Denver Prep.

Gibbons, to drive home the "time is critical" message, visits each class in the fall with a stopwatch.

He times how long it takes for students to pass back papers and rewards the fastest classroom.

"What it conveys to kids is, time really matters. That may not have been the case before, so it helps set that difference," he said. "It's one part how important time is. It's another part understanding the kind of attitude we're going to take here."

For some students, it's a tough adjustment.

Tim Cruz, 11, came to West Denver Prep this fall after his grandmother heard about the school.

"I was just so shocked the school expected so much out of me because I just wasn't used to it," he said.

Time spent on homework has more than doubled - an hour and 20 minutes or more most nights.

"It's kind of too much," Cruz said. "The homework is too much and they're very, very strict."

Work now, payoff later

Still, he reasoned, "If they pass me now and I don't know stuff and I'm going to college, that could be pretty bad for me. I think how my future's going to be if they kick me out of college. I'll probably be working at McDonald's and making $2 an hour and living with my mom."

He sighed.

"So you might as well do it while you can and not have to go through all of that in high school and college," he said. "Do all the hard work now."

It is much the same reasoning that Gibbons uses when families approach him with time concerns.

"I've had some parents for whom it's a really big deal," he said. "They say, 'My kid's in school all day, doing homework all night.' It's not their idea of childhood."

Gibbons' response is to turn to his computer and pull up the academic data for his school vs. the school where the parent is considering a transfer.

He tells parents, "I believe my obligation to you is to get your child to grade level . . . If you don't agree, that's OK."

Six families have left the school, citing time as a factor. Another three have discussed it but decided to stay.

More time, more money

Some traditional Denver Public Schools are starting to become more flexible in how they use time.

At Montbello High School, Principal Antwan Wilson has implemented a Saturday school and "night" school - typically 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. - to help students catch up on credits and get them on track to graduate.

"We're committed to it," Wilson said, "but there are tough decisions that have to be made. It costs a lot of money. This year, I started out $30,000 in the hole."

Costs include paying for the self-paced computer program that is being used and, of course, personnel - paying teachers willing to stick around. Wilson is looking at different options, such as a later start for teachers willing to try it, to ease the expense.

DPS Superintendent Michael Bennet said he supports the idea of individual schools trying a longer school day or a longer school year.

But he said the costs for a districtwide move in that direction are prohibitive. Adding a single day to the student calendar equals about $1.3 million in teacher pay, or roughly $162,500 for every added hour.

"It's clear that there are places that have made really good use of a longer school day and a longer school year to meet the needs of kids," Bennet said, "and we'd love to see more of that in this school district."

Time for teachers

But, he added, "I'm not an advocate for teachers working longer and not getting paid for it."

Neither is Kim Ursetta, president of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association, the teachers union.

"We feel teachers, like all professionals, need to be compensated for the extra time they put in," she said.

The contract calls for teachers to work a 40-hour week, with 40 minutes daily set aside for planning and up to two hours per week for training and staff meetings.

Teachers in individual schools can vote to waive contract provisions and agree to minor schedule changes. But adding hours to the work week would require permission from the union and the district.

KIPP and West Denver Prep, as charters, aren't subject to the union contract. And while teachers in both schools work a longer day, they also get more time within the day to prepare and plan.

KIPP teachers get a minimum of 100 minutes per day for planning. West Denver Prep teachers have 220 minutes to 240 minutes daily.

Several teachers said it's easier, in some ways, than teaching in traditional public schools.

KIPP teacher Carolyn Brug, 26, said her two years in a North Carolina school were hard because behavior problems and other interruptions often got in the way of teaching.

At KIPP, discipline is strict and class time is protected.

"Now it feels a lot less stressful," she said, "because I'm actually teaching."

'I feel their pain'

In the lobby at KIPP, near the banner declaring its students the hardest working in Denver, is laminated proof that all that effort pays off.

Letters of acceptance from top public and private high schools - Denver School of the Arts and Kent Denver locally, The Masters School and Deerfield Academy nationally - line up to spell out the school initials.

For Elijah Ruff, who is now applying to some of those schools, time at KIPP has been its own revelation.

He spent his first year at the school not wanting to be there, bewildered by the sudden onslaught of work.

"To even bring books home was awkward. I had never done that before," he said, seated in KIPP's cafeteria. "If I had my own decision in the fifth grade, I would not be here."

But he's glad he stayed,

"Now I'm glad," he said, because what he wants even more than homework-free evenings and weekends without school is to become an engineer.

A graduate of the Colorado School of Mines, in fact.

Still, he looked over at a dozen younger students, off to the side, consigned to KIPP's version of in-school suspension, with sympathy.

"I feel their pain," he said. "I was there a lot. If I get a chance to talk to them, I motivate them."

mitchelln@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5245

About the series

Denver Public Schools can change the way it serves its 72,000 students - or continue tinkering around the edges of dismal achievement and stagnant enrollment in most buildings.

DPS Superintendent Michael Bennet admitted this reality after a series in the Rocky Mountain News explored why one in four Denver children do not attend the city's schools.

"It is hard to admit," he wrote, "but it is abundantly clear that we will fail the vast majority of children in Denver if we try to run our schools the same old way."

On Nov. 19, DPS board members approved their most dramatic reform package to date, including the closure of eight schools and the transformation of five more.

They also approved a pathway allowing those inside and outside DPS to propose innovative new schools to open in fall 2009. DPS leaders are particularly seeking ideas for middle schools, long the weak link in the district's academic chain. One report found poor children in Denver middle schools consistently score 10 to 14 percentage points lower on state tests than their low-income peers statewide, across all grades and subjects.

Today is Part 2 of an occasional Rocky series looking at outside-the-box strategies already working in Denver. Read Part 1 online at RockyMountainNews.com. Some charter schools are making gains with the very children - Hispanic, poor, middle school-aged or older - failing in traditional DPS schools. What are schools such as West Denver Preparatory and KIPP Sunshine Peak Academy doing to create success? And is the rest of DPS paying attention?

Comments

  • December 17, 2007

    5:49 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    jane writes:

    You will not find enough teachers to do a whole district of KIPP-hours schools, unless you pay them. When districts like CC, Aurora, and Boulder County are expanding and paying more, why would any teacher stay in Denver to work longer hours for less pay? You can always find retired or single teachers to work at a charter school for a few years, but you can't support a family that way.

    I agree with longer hours, but you'd have to run the school in shifts and hire more teachers. Additionally, as these schools have tougher discipline, DPS is slacking up its discipline. These schools can kick kids out - DPS can't. It's as easy as that - the kids (or the families) have to *want* to be at KIPP schools and follow their rules. With DPS, you teach whomever walks in the door.

  • December 17, 2007

    9:03 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    vudumom writes:

    My children go to school 6 hrs, and 45 mins, per day. Every Wednesday they have early release which knocks off another hour and 15 mins. of school. They have a long Christmas break this year and instead of going back to school on Mon. the 7th of Jan. they don't start school until tuesday the 8th. Then on wednesday they have early release.One year I counted up all the days they had off for teacher workdays,holidays,early release etc... It came to almost 2 months of school missed.Then they wonder why students are so far behind.

    Two issues need to be addressed here . One is discipline. The schools need to get these kids out of the classroom and into an alternative class.They should be sequestered from their peers until the work their way back into the class.

    The 2nd issue is teachers that are just putting their time in. If we have teachers who just teach the box than we will not have children who want to succeed in school progressing. I have found what is inside the box is a watered down minimum education.

    If you are a teacher who is tired of teaching and just putting your time in ,I have two words for you, GET OUT! You are doing more harm to our children. We need inspired teachers who love what they do and inspire each child to reach their fullest,not just going through the motions. If we could get rid of the teachers that are just there putting in their time,i wouldn't mind paying teachers more money. It's the one's that are uninspired and just going through the motions that are keeping teachers salaries down.

    There is a 4th grade teacher in my children's school. She is an engineer and could be easily making 5 times the money. She is world traveled. Her father was Ambassador to India and Egypt. She has inspired both my children and puts alot of extra time in school to run the M.E.S.A. Science Club.She is one of those one in a million teachers. We need teachers like her. Do you think she is teaching for the money? She is teaching to make a difference in children's lives.The teaching profession wants more respect and more money. We as parents want better teachers who can teach outside the box and inspire in our children a love of learning and self respect.

  • December 17, 2007

    11:29 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    vudumom writes:

    Also middle class students are being forced to learn a watered down curriculum. We don't get the extra hours to keep our children ahead. We don't get the commitment of teachers trying to keep them competitive. If the are proficient , so what. I want to see advanced scores,not mediocre proficient. If any parent would look at the broad test scores to be proficient they would be shocked at how low a score can be and be labled proficient.Why all the minorities and kids from poor families getting an extra education?Why can't all students get that?

  • December 17, 2007

    11:41 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    LOUIE writes:

    Thank you Mr. Gibbons and especially the teachers, I feel really humble and blessed for all your school does for my daughter. I hope many take notice of the sacrifices you and your staff give, it is much more than I have ever witnessed of any school. Having had our children in public schools for over twenty years, Mr. Gibbons, you and your staff are a God sent miracle. Thank you for being a part of daughter's life, you really care about the kids. Our society could use a few more priciples like Mr. Gibbons!