DPS board OKs autonomy plan

Union approval needed for change at Bruce Randolph

By Nancy Mitchell, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published December 21, 2007 at 12:30 a.m.

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Dennis Schroeder / The Rocky

Bruce Randolph Principal Kristin Waters, right, hugs DPS board member Jeannie Kaplan after the board voted unanimously in favor of the school's bid to free itself of district and union rules.

Denver Public Schools board members on Thursday unanimously - and enthusiastically - approved a historic proposal to unleash a Denver school from district and union regulations, a vote some predict will prompt a flood of similar requests.

"My hope is we will have 20 proposals like this on our desks," board President Theresa Pena said before voting in favor of the autonomy agreement for Bruce Randolph School in north Denver.

The only hesitation - a yes "with an asterisk" - came from board member Jeanne Kaplan, whose qualms were not about the proposal itself but rather how it might work for more of DPS' 150 schools.

"There isn't a school in our district that probably wouldn't benefit," Kaplan said. "So how do we get from this point to that?"

While other DPS schools have successfully sought waivers of selected union or district rules, the Bruce Randolph plan is unique because it is comprehensive.

Principal Kristin Waters and her staff asked for a waiver of most provisions of the contract between the district and its teachers union and freedom from any district policies that, as the agreement puts it, "impede their progress."

Specifically, the school sought control of its budget, staff, time and incentives while agreeing to adhere to the instructional tenets outlined in the Denver Plan, the district's strategic reform effort.

Teacher seeks vote delay

"They want a real fresh start," said board member Jill Conrad. "We as a district need to learn from their innovation."

The autonomy agreement must still be approved by the 22-member governing board of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association, expected to vote Jan. 8.

DCTA President Kim Ursetta did not mention the proposal in brief remarks to the board. She has repeatedly said the union has some questions about the plan and is working with Bruce Ran dolph staff to get answers.

Margaret Bobb, a science teacher at Bruce Randolph, was a lone voice of caution among a dozen speakers urging board members to back the plan. Bobb did not speak against the proposal, but rather urged the board to wait until January to vote.

"This is an impassioned plea," she said, "for thoughtful and reasonable deliberation on a profound change."

Bobb said she wanted the board to identify the policies and contract provisions that impeded progress at Bruce Randolph, noting other schools face similar issues.

"It is not the powerful, reforming tool that it could be for all the children of Denver Public Schools," she said.

Similarly, teachers from Slavens K-8 School in southeast Denver asked the board to consider changes to the practice of directly placing certain teachers in schools with vacancies.

The practice, dictated by union and district policies, forces schools to accept DPS teachers who have been unable to find jobs elsewhere in the district.

Slavens parent Andrea Gordon, along with two Slavens teachers and Principal Kurt Siebold, described how most of the directly placed teachers have hurt the school.

Member sees urgency

"This policy is broken," Gordon said. "I hope you do approve Bruce Randolph's request, but to stop there would be like putting a Band-Aid on a broken leg."

Siebold, after the board vote, said he would talk to his staff and parents about requesting a waiver from the direct placement practice.

Kaplan and other board members agreed they need to create a policy or framework for determining which schools are ready for the sort of autonomy sought by Bruce Randolph.

"We do need to think about that . . . so we can figure out how to replicate it," said board member Kevin Patterson.

But Patterson said Waters and her staff, who have successfully raised test scores at Bruce Randolph, once rated among the lowest-performing schools in Colorado, deserve their shot at autonomy.

"I understand the need to think things through . . . but we have to talk about the sense of urgency we have for our children today," Patterson said. "They don't get another chance to be 9 or 10 years old . . . we don't have one day to waste, we don't have one life to waste."

mitchelln@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5245

Examples of autonomy for Bruce Randolph

Denver Public Schools board approval Thursday of autonomy for Bruce Randolph School frees the North Denver school from what staff described as stifling school district and union contract rules. The plan must still be approved by the Denver teachers union governing board, expected to vote Jan. 8. If that board signs off, here are some likely changes:

1 Immediate and national recruiting for teachers. Principal Kristin Waters is most concerned about finding an 11th-grade chemistry teacher for the fall. Under current district and union rules, she can't officially recruit outside DPS or interview out-of-district candidates until late April. The autonomy proposal would let her decide when, and from where, she hires teachers. Waters said Thursday that she'll start recruiting as soon as the Denver Classroom Teachers Association board agrees.

2 Control over hiring. Current district and union rules mean Bruce Randolph, and every other DPS school, must accept DPS teachers with more than three years of experience who are unable to find jobs elsewhere in the district. The autonomy proposal would exempt Randolph from those so-called direct placements: "We would be in control of who works at our school," Waters said.

3 Flexibility in teacher pay. Middle and high school teachers typically teach five classes per day under current district and union rules. They cannot be required to teach a sixth class and cannot be paid for doing so. Waters and a science teacher this year wanted to add a chemistry class for advanced students, offering it before or after school. But the contract doesn't allow Waters to pay the teacher for the class, so they nixed the idea. Under the autonomy proposal, Waters and her staff could work out such arrangements.

Bruce Randolph School

* Enrollment: 680 students in grades 6 through 10. It is adding a grade a year to become a school serving grades 6 -12.

* Demographics: 95 percent of students are eligible for federal lunch assistance, an indicator of poverty; 87 percent of the students are Hispanic, 11 percent are black and 2 percent are white.

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