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DPS board reviews new incentive plan

Schools rewarded for improvement

By Nancy Mitchell, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published April 15, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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A new incentive system proposed for Denver Public Schools would reward schools performing well with more freedom in budgeting, hiring and instructional choice.

Struggling schools would be subject to greater supervision by the district and, eventually, sanctions, such as replacing the principal and closure.

"As schools begin to improve, we want to be able to release them," Brad Jupp, DPS senior academic policy adviser, told Denver school board members in a work session Monday. "As schools begin to decline, we want to be able to support them."

Jupp described the system as "progressive" in that improving performance means increasing rewards as schools move up within four performance levels to be announced in September.

On the flip side, declining performance means decreasing freedom as DPS leaders exert more control over a school's budget and instructional plan.

"As performance declines, we begin to introduce supervisions," Jupp said, pointing to such interventions as quarterly budget reviews, frequent visits by district staff and monitored implementation of the DPS curriculum.

A school in the lowest of the four categories, still unnamed, also could receive more frequent testing to monitor student progress, help with using data to change instructional practices and an academic support package, including a supplemental literacy program.

Also, if funding is available, the school could extend its school day and school year.

Jupp said the idea is not to punish schools or to be a "last- ditch effort" for a failing school.

Rather, "it puts us on the path of continuous improvement," said DPS Superintendent Michael Bennet.

Bennet recalled a meeting early in his 21/2-year tenure when a board member asked of a low-performing school facing state and federal sanctions, "What are we doing about this school?"

"That's one world we don't want to live in," he said Monday. "There's no excuse for the system to be caught by surprise anymore."

The proposed incentive system, slated for a May vote, is based on the district's new School Performance Framework, unveiled last week. The framework measures schools based mostly on how much students progress on state exams from year to year.

Principals in better-performing schools also could receive thousands of dollars in bonuses, Jupp said, and DPS is talking with teachers union leaders about bonuses for teachers, too.

Kim Ursetta, president of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association, said she was surprised by the comment.

"We haven't talked about any of this," she said. "I would love to have conversations with the district about where they're going with this effort."

Only four of the seven school board members attended Monday's entire meeting. They applauded district leaders for their work on the new framework.

Also at Monday's meeting, DPS leaders announced:

* A week's delay in the attempted refinancing of the district's pension plan debt. DPS will place its debt note on the market next Tuesday, instead of today, in hopes of receiving a favorable interest rate of 6 percent.

Board members already have voted to move ahead with a financial transaction that uses 17 school buildings as collateral to borrow $700 million. If successful, the district could save up to $18 million a year to be funneled into classrooms.

* A decline in forcibly placed or "direct-placed" teachers, from 250 last year to 140 this spring. Teachers who are unable to find jobs on their own are placed in schools with openings.

Chief Operating Officer Tom Boasberg said the 140 figure includes 40 teachers from eight schools that will close after the current school year ends May 29.

mitchelln@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5245

Examples of school district's proposal

Denver Public Schools leaders on Monday proposed a system of "incentives and interventions" for schools, tied to a new rating system based largely on student growth. Here's an idea how the system would treat schools:

LEVEL ONE, OR TOP-PERFORMING SCHOOLS, REWARDS

* Academic: Schools set their own goals and work with DPS leaders to vary implementation of district curriculum.

* Compensation: Principals, and possibly teachers, receive bonuses.

LEVEL FOUR, OR LOWEST PERFORMERS, INTERVENTIONS

* Academic: Schools work with district leaders on setting goals and are subject to frequent visits to monitor progress.

* Accountability: After two years without improvement, DPS may replace staff or close school.

Comments

  • April 15, 2008

    5:13 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    LOUIE writes:

    I have seen great people perform miricles on dimes in education; my daughter's charter school is one of them. Money doesn't compare to the dedication shown by the principal and staff at my daughter's school. D.P.S., as they evolve, should examine closely those who challenge them to do more. I can't say enough about dedication to excellence, than those who always do so much with so little.

  • April 15, 2008

    6:06 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    jane writes:

    Where's the part where they extend the day and school year for poorly performing kids, make it possible to hold kids back, increase after school reading and math tutors? What about providing transportation so that kids who move 3 times a year can attend the same school? It's like mini-NCLB - all stick and no support. "Or else" hasn't worked for NCLB either. You have to genuinely listen to what the kids need and provide it.

  • April 15, 2008

    6:36 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    vudumom writes:

    Jane, I agree with you about holding kids back. Alowing kids to go to the next grade without mastering the curriculum in the grade they are in, is one of the main reasons the schools are failing. I have seen many ,many children passed to the next grade no where near the grade level. This goes on every year and they are farther and farther behind.By the time they get into middle school the slow spiral starts of them being lost and giving up,only to hang on for a few years and drop out.
    Elementary school is the foundation of every childs success or failure. If a child is not caught early in those years and held back to catch up then that child is doomed for failure.The schools pass the child on already behind and the child never really catches up. Then they think that someone volunteering to read with the child every week will help the child and it does nothing.
    If a child is in kindergarten and can't master the basic skills in kindergarten ,that is the time to hold that child back to repeat the grade and get the foundation more solidified. If a child is held back then they should intensify their efforts to teach the basics and then pass the child on. I have seen children be held back in kindergarten and go on to do very well and graduate , because they needed that extra year of learning the basics and becoming more mature. This is where the schools should start looking at why the kids are failing. Not when they get into middle and high school,it's too late by then.

  • April 15, 2008

    3:14 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    kirbysfriend22 writes:

    It does start early and it compounds exponentially as kids get older, deeper into an academic hole. Our present day American culture makes it very difficult for schools to retain kids if they don't master the standards. Teachers meet much resistance when they suggest a child be retained.

    By the time they're in 6th or 7th grade things get even tougher for that kid and even tougher for a teacher to accomodate to those lagging behind and balance it out for those at and above.

    Schools who can't meet the goals of DPS need to be given more guidance and support in meeting them. It's not good enough to just increase expectations and more strict instructional guidelines. They say they will make more frequent visits. Will those visits mean more support or just supervision? Just having someone standing over your shoulder won't make a difference. Instead, I hope they get involved and lend a hand.