Denver charter school getting better results with same budget

On same budget, charter school gets better results

By Nancy Mitchell, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published August 18, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Photo by Tim Hussin © The Rocky

Students line up in the new meeting room Thursday at Denver West Preparatory Charter School. The school ranks No. 1 among the city's 44 middle schools in the academic growth of its students.

West Denver Preparatory Charter School was born over lukewarm coffee in the basement of a church called The Pearl in a graffiti- stained neighborhood at the south end of Federal Boulevard.

In meeting after meeting, a carefully selected and diverse group - The Pearl's minister, the city's chief operating officer, a troubled kid from L.A. turned veteran teacher - drew the bones of a school they hoped would change minds about what can be achieved in public education in Denver.

Today, West Denver Prep ranks No. 1 among the city's 44 middle schools in the academic growth of its students. It stages annual lotteries to select pupils from an overflow of applicants and, from those not chosen, tears are not unusual.

Less talked about, but just as important for that group at The Pearl, is the fact that the school runs on roughly the same budget as any other Denver Public School.

"We are trying to create a model that . . . can be grown without significant alternative sources of funding," said Chris Henderson, chief operating officer for the city of Denver.

"There are good examples in town of schools that are very successful that raise a lot of money," he said, "but in order to be viable as a true growing enterprise, as a public school, you have to be able to operate and be successful with that level of funding."

West Denver Prep opened in fall 2006 in a former nursing home on Federal. Though Henderson and others say they did not expect to be so successful so fast, they are planning to open a second middle school in fall 2009 and a high school three years later.

"It's compelling to keep growing . . . when you stand and watch the lottery and see the reactions of families and kids who don't make the list" to get into the school, Henderson said.

"You realize that the odds of them receiving a similar education in the short term are relatively low, and that's life-changing for them."

Mixing money, academics

Alexander Ooms, a partner in a Denver boutique investment bank and a founder of West Denver Prep, compared tax dollars spent on education at Denver middle schools with their proficiency levels on state academic exams.

The results were staggering. Kepner Middle School, for example, received $6.5 million in state funding to educate its sixth-graders in 2005-06, seventh-graders in 2006-07 and eighth-graders in 2007-08. But fewer than 25 percent of those students achieved proficiency during those years on any reading, writing or math exam.

So the average amount spent on each proficient student by grade eight was $124,839, or about the costs of four years of tuition at Harvard.

Ooms admits the analysis is crude. It doesn't consider, after all, where the students were achieving when they entered Kepner and how much they grew.

But the point, as he sees it, is clear:

"We're doing a really lousy job getting a return on what we're spending on education," Ooms said. "So let's start measuring what kind of value we're getting and figure out how we can do a better job of it."

A growing number of educators and researchers agree with him. Last year, Teachers College at Columbia University launched the national Center for Benefit-Cost Studies of Education, where a pair of economists considers questions such as whether raising teacher salaries by 10 percent pays off in the long run.

"There's a little bit of reluctance among educators to say this is about money," said center co-director Clive Belfield. "They think about making a difference in the lives of students. But . . . there's a lot of money involved."

"We take a purely economic perspective," he added. "We don't say, 'It's not right kids are not graduating from high school.' We say, 'What are the consequences for us if they don't?' "

In Colorado, the state's public school finance chief, Voreta Herr- mann, said conversations are beginning about how to complete a "return on investment" analysis for Gov. Bill Ritter's Colorado Achievement Plan for Kids.

And in Denver, the Piton Foundation is slated next month to release a report on education spending vs. academic results among the city's 140 schools.

Education on a budget

DPS Superintendent Michael Bennet said he has never seen such an study for the district or its schools.

Bennet, whose former jobs include turning around bankrupt companies for Phil Anschutz, said he once tried to complete such an analysis on spending per DPS graduate but was stymied by the district's "indecipherable" budget.

Now the DPS budget is more transparent, he said, and the district can measure student growth in its schools - and tie funding decisions to academic progress.

"What this is about is moving away from an era . . . where the politics around schools and the decisions that have been made in school systems are all based on opinion and conjecture and not fact," Bennet said.

Chris Gibbons, head of school for West Denver Prep, said he now can run his program solely on what he receives from the district. That wasn't possible in the first year.

That's because his school began with only one grade of 100 students and the low student-adult ratio required extra dollars. He took advantage of two grants available to most charter schools, including $230,000 from the Walton Foundation.

For 2008-09, Gibbons has set a private fundraising goal of $180,000, including $80,000 for his school's bonus plan for teachers based entirely on increasing student achievement. Another $60,000 will fund a trip to Washington, D.C., for his 57 eighth-graders.

And the remaining $40,000 will go to pay off debt for additions to his school building, a cost that he points out he would not have incurred if charters were able to make use of DPS buildings.

While some are squeamish about putting a price tag on education, Gibbons is not.

"We have to tackle this question of responsible funding and responsible use of funding," he said. "Just giving more money is not the answer."

mitchelln@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5245

Rating money spent on education: Worth the $$?

A business term known as "ROI" or return on investment is increasingly cropping up in education as K-12 school spending consumes a greater share of state budgets. Some examples of the types of comparisons:

* EXAMPLE 1: Colorado state spending vs. state test scores

2002-03 school year: $2.3 billion in general fund allocation, 41.7 percent of the state general fund.

2007-08 school year: $3.0 billion in general fund allocation, 41.8 percent of the state general fund

Difference: $710,492,470

* In 2002-03, 66.1 percent of students were proficient or advanced on state reading exams, grades 3-10. In that same school year, 40.9 percent of students were proficient or advanced on state math exams, grades 5-10.

* In 2007-08, 67.7 percent of students were proficient or advanced in state reading exams, grades 3-10. In that same year, 47.8 percent of students were proficient or advanced in state math exams, grades 5-10.

Difference in reading exams: 1.6 percent, or 15,471 students

Difference in math exams: 6.9 percent, or 25,942 students

Is it worth it?

"A lot of people think we should just be improving education as an end in itself. But the trouble with that is, I'm a taxpayer, you're a taxpayer and, at some point, you say to yourself, 'How much money are we supposed to throw at this?'"

Clive Belfield, economics professor and co-director of the Center for Benefit-Cost Studies of Education at Teachers College, Columbia University

* EXAMPLE 2: West Denver Prep, Grades 6 through 8

Location: 1825 S. Federal Court, 1.27 miles from Kepner Middle School

Poverty rate: 89%

Students: 200

* Sixth grade, spring '07: 49% proficient or advanced in reading, 66% proficient or advanced in math.

* Seventh grade: spring '08: 62% proficient or advanced in reading, 72% proficient or advanced in math.

Operating budget, 2007-08

* DPS receives $7,123 in state funding per pupil, or $1.4 million

* DPS keeps 3 percent for administrative costs, as allowed by state law with charter schools, and provides services such as special education by contract

* Results in per-pupil revenue of $5,360 to school

* EXAMPLE 3: Kepner Middle School, Grades 6 through 8

Location: 911 S. Hazel Court, 1.27 miles from West Denver Prep

Poverty rate: 87%

Students: 900

* Sixth grade, spring '07: 31% proficient or advanced in reading, 33% proficient or advanced in math.

* Seventh grade, spring '08: 30% proficient or advanced in reading, 17% proficient or advanced in math.

Operating budget, 2007-08

* DPS receives $7,123 in state funding per pupil

* DPS takes a cut for districtwide programs and services such as human resources, special education and transportation

* Results in per-pupil revenue of $4,499 to school, or a total of $4.1 million

• August 18, 2008

  6:17 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  Hambone writes:

  The Superintendent describes the budget as "indecipherable?" Wonderful.

  How can you compare a school where there are only 200 students and there's a lottery to get in to the dumping ground otherwise known as Kepner. What is the average class size? How about the discipline policy?

• August 18, 2008

  7:13 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  stella writes:

  I agree with Hambone. You cannot compare the schools at all and the RMN, once again, doesn't seem to realize this. Kepner must take everyone who enters their doors (FAPE)....kids who want to learn, kids who don't, special ed kids, etc....and WDP doesn't. That alone makes a huge difference and the RMN is disingenious in it's reporting when it doesn't make that clear.

• August 18, 2008

  7:29 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  LingLingfor_prez writes:

  MarineGrunt,
  How can you suggest taking the government out of schools? You might actually have better results and we can't have that now can we?

• August 18, 2008

  8:22 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  Dick_Tater writes:

  This is news? I hear this story over and over again. Government could not run a car wash efficiently. After filling out forms CAR-1404, H-20, HOZ-5FT and TMR-5, you would then wait for three months for them to process it all. After spending thousands on the processing, ( not to mention the $10,000 toilet seats in the bathroom ) you would receive approval for your wash. This is our money folks, the more they spend the deeper in debt our country gets. Less government, less politicians, less wasteful spending. The more we privatize the better off we are. Our educational system is just one area. I don't understand why any tax payer would want national health care. The costs will be exorbitant and the service will be pathetic.

• August 18, 2008

  8:25 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  Cowboy63 writes:

  Since the charter school has vague ties to a (gasp) church - it will only be a matter of time before the ACLU sues to have it shut down.

  We can't have trifling matters like a kid's future intruding on the separation of church and state!

• August 18, 2008

  8:44 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  woodjt1 writes:

  This proves what I've been saying for years. I went to Dennison in Jefferson County, which was just like a charter school. They had a grading system like private schools, you had to score at least 93% to get an "A." And even with the higher grading system, the school still had better test scores than the rest of the county's schools. The county superintendant did his level best to get rid of Dennison, it embarrased them since it proved that a better job could be done with the same funding. My kids attend a catholic school (even though we're not catholic) and believe me, that school doesn't have anywhere near the budget that a public school does, and they do so much more with so much less. Schools SHOULD be run like a business, if they fail to educate my child to the level that they should be at, I should have the right to take my business elsewhere. Which is why I think the voucher system will work. And that's my two cents.

• August 18, 2008

  8:46 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  radical4peace writes:

  I highly encourage anyone who thinks that WDP "creams the top" to come and visit the school. There are just as many struggling learners and discipline problems. In fact, some of our students come to our school precisely because their needs were not being served at their former school.

• August 18, 2008

  9:08 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  mmannino writes:

  The idea that the "the school runs on roughly the same budget as any other Denver Public School" is laughable. Charter schools run on shoe string budgets compared to public schools in the Denver area. In addition, charter schools are harrassed by local school districts. The school districts pile on administrative requirements without providing any budget for these requirements. The requirements are just harrassment, accomplishing little but taking resources from the critical missions of the charter schools. Charter schools receive little in capital budgets so basic facilities are very difficult to provide. The facilities in charter schools are primitive compared to your typical Denver area public school.

  I will provide a case study for those uninformed about charter school budgets and harrassment from local school districts. Global Village Academy (GVA) is a new (second year of operation) charter school in the Aurora Public School (APS) district. GVA is now educating more than 400 students in grades 1 to 6. Teacher salaries in GVA are lower than APS. Teaching support (classroom aids) is lower than APS. Volunteer parents typically provide the teaching support. GVA does not have a computer facility for its students. The GVA facility does not have a playground. Many GVA classrooms do not have doors. GVA as well as all charter schools does not provide bus service. Overall the GVA facility is primitive compared to other APS schools. Yet the APS wanted to impose a requirement that GVA provide a full service cafeteria. APS also has other harrassing requirements that provide no value and take away resources from the mission of GVA.

  As a parent of two GVA children, I am not complaining. I just want the APS to either leave GVA alone or provide fair funding from bond levies. In APS, charter schools educate 5% of the district's children. Yet APS does not provide one dime of bond levy funding. APS recently denied charter schools any funding from its proposed new bond levy.

  Charter schools demonstrate the possibilities when the parents are empowered to make their own choices. Charter schools provide better education at much lower cost than public schools. The teachers union hates charter schools because the union does not run charter schools. The parents do not want the teachers union involved with charter schools.

• August 18, 2008

  9:41 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  Ben_Arvada writes:

  Stella writes: "Kepner must take everyone who enters their doors (FAPE)....kids who want to learn, kids who don't, special ed kids, etc....and WDP doesn't. That alone makes a huge difference and the RMN is disingenious in it's reporting when it doesn't make that clear."

  Patently untrue. Charter schools - including West Denver Prep - cannot discriminate any more or less than Kepner or any other public school. Go read the charter school law. Go visit CDE's website. Go do your homework.

  My only hope is that you're not spreading this false information knowingly.

  Instead, RMN is closer to being disingenuous for the reasons mmannino stated. Charter schools get slightly less in Per Pupil Revenue, which for some means quite a bit less spent on operations per student (some have to use money to subsidize facilities costs). But the main point still stands, and the article explains it well - despite the headline.

  Congratulations to West Denver Prep, and best of continued success. Hopefully, other schools and our education policy makers will watch, listen, learn, and follow.

• August 18, 2008

  12:28 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  tazz909 writes:

  Stella, you couldn't be more wrong. West Denver Prep (and other charters) are PUBLIC schools. They must adhere to the same state laws as other PUBLIC schools. This means they cannot discriminate against any students. Charters have a wide variety of students....different nationalities, at-risk, special ed, etc. It even says so right in this article. I would highly suggest you go to West Denver Prep and take a tour and see the student population for yourself...you would be eating your words very quickly.

• August 18, 2008

  4:28 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  kcbrown writes:

  Ben_Arvada- I hate to tell you this, but what you are saying is not true. Do your homework! There are Charter schools in Colorado that require an IQ test to apply (check out charters in District 12). Not all people can afford this test, and not all students do well. This is a prerequisite to applying. Other schools may not state outright what their student requirements are but if students do not "fit in" they are strongly encouraged to find a better fit. This is not true for all, but many. What WDP needs to do is to inform other schools what it does with a student who enters the school as unsatisfatory in the 6th grade and leave the 8th grade proficient. This would be helpful to all. Getting a student who is proficient or advanced when they enter the school is very different than raising the scores of students who are behind. WDP- let us know what you are doing with these students.

• August 19, 2008

  8:38 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  axooms writes:

  Let me first say that I think Frank Gonzalez is doing some terrific work at Kempner and should be congratulated on his accomplishments in his short tenure.

  It's great to see people correcting the misperception that WDP somehow has different students than neighborhood schools. This is not true. More information on Colorado charter schools is at http://www.coloradoleague.org/spotlig...

  Lastly, I would encourage people who are interested in learning more to visit. WDP gives tours every Wednesday at 8AM - call in advance to say you are coming: 303.573.2017.

  -alexander ooms

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