kdoran, Author at Stand for Children Colorado

National Visit to CHSS Partner School

High School Success | 04/25/2022

Stand for Children

Connect Academy Classroom at Abraham Lincoln High School

In early April Colorado’s Center for High School Success (CHSS), in partnership with Abraham Lincoln High School (ALHS), hosted a unique opportunity for the CHSS Directors from across the country to visit Lincoln High School’s Ninth Grade Connect Academy and learn from Principal Antonio Esquibel, current school leaders, and students who are involved in the ninth-grade success work.

The National CHSS Director and six State CHSS Directors were joined by school and district leaders from Denver Public Schools, Englewood High School, Littleton Public Schools, and Pueblo D60 to experience a guided tour of Connect Academy and hear from students. While visiting classrooms, observers were encouraged to look for strong student-teacher relationships, adult collaboration to enhance student experience, and students engaging in a productive struggle with high-level academic work.

ALHS staff gave a presentation about their focus areas in building the Connect Academy which include parent engagement and communication, student supports and interventions, positive culture builders, and high priority staffing and scheduling.

Lincoln High School’s Ninth Grade Connect Academy

The Ninth Grade Academy (NGA) starts with a week-long transition program designed to support incoming 9th grade students with their transition to high school. This feeds into the year-long Connect Academy concept that focuses on building connections between teachers and students and providing a level of comfort and understanding for students as to how to be successful at ALHS and raise awareness of the opportunities for them at the school.

CHSS Partnership

CHSS partners with Lincoln High to advance their ninth-grade success goals by providing training, coaching, data, analysis, resources and peer networking opportunities. CHSS Coach, Gina Yacovetta, works directly with Connect Academy Team Specialist, Cassandra Tafoya, to support ninth grade success teams and track progress in raising ninth grade course performance.

CHSS Directors reflect on their experience

“It is clear that Lincoln High School values the 9th grade experience for its students and they have created systems and supports that validate the importance of the students’ 9th grade year.” Henterson Carlisle, Washington Director, Center for High School Success

“There is no better way to understand the positive impact of this work than to fully immerse yourself into a school community for a day and see it in action!” – Tara DeBois, Oregon Director, Center for High School Success

“Visiting Lincoln High School gave me energy and excitement moving forward with our work in Arizona.” -Keith Smith, Arizona Director, Center for High School Success

Special thanks to Abraham Lincoln High School for hosting a visit to their Connect Academy! Shoutout to Principal Esquibel, Assistant Principal Noel Nieves and Cass Tafoya for your hospitality and sharing your school and amazing students with the CHSS group.

Capitol Week in Review

Capitol Week in Review | 04/22/2022

Stand for Children

Welcome to this week’s edition of Capitol Week in Review, a weekly update on education policy at the Capitol!

Legislative Update

HB22-1010 Early Childhood Educator Income Tax Credit, which gives educators a tax break for dollars they spend in their classrooms, passed out of the House and is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Finance Committee on April 27.

HB22-1220 Removing Barriers to Educator Preparation, which will remove barriers in educator preparation to support educator candidates entering the workforce, passed out of the House. It now moves to be heard in the Senate.

HB22-1260 Access To Medically Necessary Services For Students, which ensures that physically, cognitively, or emotionally impaired students will be able to access services in their schools with local providers, unanimously passed out of the House Education Committee.

HB22-1295 Department Early Childhood And Universal Preschool Program, which establishes the Department of Early Childhood to elevate early childhood education and ensures that early childhood care is easy to navigate for all Colorado families, will be signed into law by the Governor on April 25.

HB22-1376 Supportive Learning Environments for K-12 Students passed out of the House Education Committee on a 6-3 vote. This bill updates Colorado’s policies and practices to improve school climate for students.

SB22-004 Evidence-based Training In Science Of Reading, which ensures that principals and building level administrators are trained in current best practices regarding teaching the science of reading, passed unanimously out of the House Education Committee. It was referred to Appropriations.

SB22-099 Sealing Criminal Records passed out of the Senate and will now be heard in the House. This bill will automatically seal the criminal records of individuals who are convicted of a non-violent offense if the person has completed their sentence, completed a waiting period of several years, and has not committed another criminal offense

SB22-197 Innovation School Zones With Alternative Governance, passed out of the Senate Education Committee and was referred to the Committee of the Whole. This bill allows innovation schools to set up their own form of governance, provided they also provide student success data to the state, and sets up a dispute resolution process.

Our Take

We are incredibly pleased that HB22-1376 passed out of the House Education Committee and we are energized by those who testified in support of the bill.

This bill makes several updates to Colorado’s policies and practices to improve school climate for students including increasing funding for the successful Expelled and At-Risk Student Services Grant, updating restraint and seclusion policies and ending practices that have been shown to harm students, requiring better data collection on disciplinary incidents and indicators of school climate and promoting best practices and proper training for school security staff.

Parent, community leader, and Stand Advocacy Fellow, Pamela, joined us to testify sharing her experience with her son to demonstrate her support. She shared, “the school [my son] attended showed little interest in offering any support for my son’s communication or behavioral needs, much less his social and emotional wellbeing. He was repeatedly sent home from school, moved from one class to another and was often in the principal’s office. As it turns out, the school had not been documenting when he was sent home and why. If that documentation had been provided for us, it would have painted a very grim picture of what the school’s discipline policy looked like and have helped my son get the support he needed earlier.”

Read Pamela’s full testimony here and learn more in Chalkbeat’s recent reporting here.

Take Action

THANK LAWMAKERS FOR REMOVING BARRIERS TO HOUSING AND EMPLOYMENT!

SB22-099 Sealing Criminal Records, passed out of the Senate with bipartisan support! It now moves to be heard in the House. SB22-099 automatically seals the criminal records of individuals who are convicted of a non-violent offense if the person has completed their sentence, completed a waiting period of several years, and has not committed another criminal offense. Removing these barriers to housing and employment equips everyone with the opportunity to provide for their families and become more engaged citizens.

Will you take a minute to send a thank you note to your Senator for supporting pathways for safe and supportive families and communities?

More Information

Colorado bill to improve school climate, limit seclusion and restraint advances, Chalkbeat

Colorado Education Bill Tracker 2022, Chalkbeat

We Need a Holistic Approach to Education

In Their Own Words | 04/22/2022

Pamela Kaspar Stand Advocacy Fellow

Pamela and her son Tristan in the Colorado state Capitol.

On April 21, the House Education Committee passed HB22-1376 Supportive Learning Environments for K-12 Students on a 6-3 vote. This bill makes several updates to Colorado’s policies and practices to improve school climate for students including increasing funding for the successful Expelled and At-Risk Student Services Grant, updating restraint and seclusion policies and ending practices that have been shown to harm students, requiring better data collection on disciplinary incidents and indicators of school climate and promoting best practices and proper training for school security staff. Parent, community leader, and Stand Advocacy Fellow, Pamela, delivered her testimony in support of the bill.

My name is Pamela Kaspar, I am a District 1 resident, a social work scholar, and a parent. I’m speaking in favor of House Bill 1376.

With me today is my brilliant and talented son, Tristan, who is 11. Tristan had a rough start in his journey in public schools. We had just moved back to Colorado from Virginia, and in order for me to continue my education and save money, we were living with my parents. These types of life transitions can be challenging even for adults, but are especially more so for young children.

Tristan lagged in his verbal communication skills; as you can imagine, it was incredibly frustrating for him as he tried to communicate with the world around him. The school he attended showed little interest in offering any support for my son’s communication or behavioral needs, much less his social and emotional wellbeing. As his mother, I knew that he was acting out because he was feeling scared, but his school saw an angry, problem child. He was repeatedly sent home from school, moved from one class to another and often in the principal’s office. I had to advocate on behalf of my son to have him see a counselor, it was never offered by the school. We qualified for assistance with a child therapist through the University of Denver, and my son began seeing them. This was all research and work that we had to do on our own with really no great idea of where to begin.

The decision to change schools finally came when Tristan was once again sent home after crying while in class. I was at work that day, so my mother offered to pick him up. She insisted that his suspension and all prior suspensions be documented for her. As it turns out, the school had not been documenting when he was sent home and why. If that documentation had been provided for us, it would have painted a very grim picture of what the school’s discipline policy looked like, and perhaps have helped my son get the support he needed earlier.

I’m sharing this experience with you all to illustrate the need for legislation like this. There is a need for a holistic approach to education, where the wellbeing and growth of teachers, caregivers, support staff and scholars are just as important as standardized test scores. Caregivers need resources to assist with addressing problematic behaviors, and as numerous studies have shown, the emotional quotient is as imperative as an intelligence quotient.

Let’s support our kids like Tristian. Please vote yes on House Bill 1376.

House Bill 22-1376: Supportive Learning Environments

Safe and Supportive Schools and Communities | 04/15/2022

Krista Spurgin Executive Director

We are thrilled to announce that bipartisan legislation we have been working on to ensure safe and supportive schools for all students has been introduced: HB22-1376 Supportive Learning Environments For K-12 Students.

We all agree that schools should be positive, safe, and inclusive places for students to learn. A broad coalition of partners engaged key stakeholders to identify updates to Colorado’s policies and practices to improve school climate for students. Those updates include:

Increasing funding for an evidence-based program (the successful Expelled and At-Risk Student Services Grant) that supports students, teachers, and administrators.
Updating restraint and seclusion policies and ending practices that have been shown to harm students.
Requiring better data collection on disciplinary incidents and indicators of school climate.
Promoting best practices and proper training for school security staff.

Will you email House Education Committee members to let them know you support HB22-1376?

EMAIL LAWMAKERS WITH ONE CLICK!

These changes will help ensure we have information about the gaps that need to be filled right now to ensure safe and supportive environments for every student.

To learn more about the specifics of the legislation you can see the bill here and read Chalkbeat’s reporting here.

Capitol Week in Review

Capitol Week in Review | 04/8/2022

Stand for Children

Welcome to this week’s edition of Capitol Week in Review, a weekly update on education policy at the Capitol!

Legislative Update

HB22-1064 Prohibit Flavored Tobacco, which would prohibit flavored tobacco, passed in the House Finance Committee and was referred to Appropriations.

HB22-1220 Removing Barriers to Educator Preparation, which will remove barriers in educator preparation to support educator candidates entering the workforce, was referred back to House Education Committee for technical amendments and passed 6 – 3.

HB22-1260 Access To Medically Necessary Services For Students, which will allow students to access medically-necessary services in the school setting, was laid over in the House Education Committee.

SB22-004 Evidence Based Training in the Science of Reading, which will ensure principals and administrators who oversee K-3 teachers will be trained in the science of reading passed out of the Senate and will now be heard by the House Education Committee.

SB22-008 Higher Education Support For Foster Youth, which will give children in foster care who were placed out of Colorado the undergraduate tuition rate, was rescheduled to be heard in the House Education Committee on April 14.

SB22-127 Special Education Funding, which would increase funds for each child who receives special education funding to $1,750 (rather than the current $1250) and require the amount to increase by the rate of inflation each budget year beginning with the 2024-25 school year, is scheduled to be heard in the House Education Committee on April 13.

SB22-171 Privacy Protections For Educators, which will prevent teachers from being doxed, scheduled to be heard in the Senate Education Committee on April 14.

Our Take

We are incredibly pleased to see broad, bipartisan support for Senate Bill 22-004. Like teachers, principals and administrators should also be trained with research-based knowledge of how students learn to read so that they can support teachers in effectively utilizing the science of reading and now we are one step closer to that reality.

We cannot say it any better than special education teacher, Laura Haller said in her testimony,

“Imagine a world where every single adult in the building knew how to teach scholars how to read using the science of reading. It would mean that principals and assistant principals could coach early elementary teachers to use evidence-based instructional practices. It would mean fulfilling the promise we’ve made to parents that schools would teach their scholars how to read.”

Take Action

Senate Bill 22-004 will now be heard in the House and lawmakers need to hear from you!

Will you take a minute to ask members of the House Education Committee to support SB22-004?

With your help, we can be one step closer to ensuring principals and administrators are equipped with the training needed to support educators in teaching students how to read!

TELL LAWMAKERS TO SUPPORT SB22-004!

More Information

Colorado Education Bill Tracker 2022, Chalkbeat

SB22-004 Moves to the House

Legislation | 04/7/2022

Kate Dando Doran Director of Communications

Senate Bill 22-004, which ensures principals and administrators are trained with the most up-to-date, research-based knowledge of how students learn to read, passed out of the Senate! It now moves to the House and lawmakers need to hear from you!

Will you take a minute to ask members of the House Education Committee to support SB22-004?

Colorado educator, Molly Veliz shares why this bill is so important saying,

“We have the opportunity to change the course for so many more students in Colorado to become successful, fluent readers. And when students can read, we know the world opens up to them.”

With your help, we can be one step closer to ensuring principals and administrators are equipped with the training needed to support educators in teaching students how to read!

TELL LAWMAKERS TO SUPPORT SB22-004!

“I Personally Know How Important Preschool Is”

In Their Own Words | 04/7/2022

Stand for Children

On March 31, the Senate Education Committee passed HB22-1295 Department Early Childhood And Universal Preschool Program on a 5-2 vote. This bill takes several steps to address the existing challenges faced by families and providers, including strengthening Colorado’s early childhood infrastructure, developing a single application for families to access all publicly funded early education services, and better supporting our early childhood workforce. Parent, community leader, and Stand Advocacy Fellow, Jesse, delivered her testimony in support of the bill.

My name is Jesse Rula and I am a DPS employee for the Career and College Success Department. I am also the mother to 3 sons who were all fortunate enough to attend preschool for free. I know personally how important preschool is for children and their early childhood development. My middle child has a significant learning disability and struggles socially and emotionally.

We were concerned about how he would adjust when entering school but were able to get him into the Head Start Program. We were fortunate enough to have him attend 2 yrs in a row and I am so grateful for that experience. My son was able to learn all the things he needed to enter kindergarten and be successful. Despite being very shy and struggling in social settings the staff took such a patient and caring approach to getting him used to the classroom and socializing with his peers.

While I appreciate all the other academic things he learned such as his colors, numbers, and letters it was so much more than that. He learned how to navigate his classroom, how to advocate for himself, and how to socialize with his peers. It made the transition into kindergarten so much easier. So many families are in need of this kind of exposure and education for their children. So many could benefit from being able to access pre-k and start their child off on the right path.

Being able to have a streamlined approach to accessing quality preschools that are affordable, is so crucial for all families with young children. This is especially true for families that are struggling just to put food on the table. Families who can’t afford to put their child in an expensive preschool and don’t have the time to try to navigate a complicated and confusing system to access preschool.

All children have the right to start off life with the best chance possible. Research has shown how important preschool is for giving children a strong foundation in school and setting them up for future success. It had such a positive effect on my son and I want all families to experience that. Not only does it benefit these families but it benefits society as a whole. Getting children set up for success early on is one of the best ways to ensure future success, which benefits us all.  I respectfully ask for your ‘yes’ vote on House Bill 22-1295.

Ensure Academic Options for Parents

In Their Own Words | 04/6/2022

Yaeel Duarte Stand Advocacy Fellow

On March 31, the Senate Education Committee passed HB22-1295 Department Early Childhood And Universal Preschool Program on a 5-2 vote. This bill takes several steps to address the existing challenges faced by families and providers, including strengthening Colorado’s early childhood infrastructure, developing a single application for families to access all publicly funded early education services, and better supporting our early childhood workforce. Parent, community leader, and Stand Advocacy Fellow, Yaeel, delivered her testimony in support of the bill.

English below

Mi nombre es Yaeel Duarte y soy Fellow de la organización de Stand for Children hace ya dos años. Estoy aqui para dar tetstimonio a favor de el projecto de ley HB 22 – 1295.

La razón por la que estoy dando testimonio   a favor  de esta propuesta, es  porque quiero asegurarme que la comunidad a la que sirvo tenga la informacion necesaria para facilitar la educación temprana de sus hijos.

 Considero que las leyes actuales  No han beneficiado al máximo a la comunidad de habla espanol por varios factores por supuesto el primero es el factor socioeconómico el cual impide en la mayoría de los casos el que los padres se involucren en la educación de sus hijos,  otro factor igual de importante es el del conocimiento, aunque existen ciertas estrategias para pasar el mensaje de inscripción en este caso No siempre son las más efectivas algo que erra el sistema escolar es deducir que el nivel de aprendizaje de los padres es el mismo en todas las culturas y No es así.

Muchos de estos padres se rinden al momento de buscar opciones para sus hijos en etapa preescolar No solo por el idioma si no también por No tener suficiente apoyo tanto con informacion como con el proceso en general de dicha inscripción, que para variar el personal de las escuelas lo hacen más complicado de varias formas, y es  por eso es que existe ”La Sra que me cuida a mi hijo” porque prefirió pagar menos y prefirió ir con alguien  que le entiende y No le pide tooodos los requisitos que le pide el sistema actual.

Las consecuencias de esto Son niños analfabetos bajos en vocabulario y por ende bajos en Lectura y Escritura, lo que conlleva a esta famosa brecha académica en los niños.

El pasar esta Ley le ofrece  herramientas a los padres de hacer hijos independientes y les dará la seguridad de tener éxito académico en el futuro.

My name is Yaeel Duarte and I am a returning Fellow of the Stand for Children. I am here today to give testimony in favor of House Bill 1295, universal pre-school. I am testifying in favor of this bill in part because I want to ensure the Spanish-speaking community weighs in on this proposed public policy, they deserve to have the information they need to facilitate their children’s early education. I believe that the current practices regarding pre-school have led to opportunity disparities for Spanish-speaking families for several reasons. The most obvious factor is affordability, which disproportionately punishes single income/low-income families, particularly Latinas as statistically they are more likely to stay at home and save the money than almost any other demographic. In most cases, these same low socio-economic families are also less likely to get involved in the education of their children. In addition to the obvious language barrier, there is also a lack of access and policy knowledge, although there are certain strategies to pass the registration message in this case. They are not always the most effective. Sometimes we also forget to see how parents have quite different education levels and can help their kids differently at home. They rely on pre-k to give those supports.

Many of these parents give up when looking for options for their children in the preschool stage, not only because of the language, but also because they do not have enough support both with information and with the registration process. The consequences of this lack of academic access are children with low vocabulary and therefore struggle in Reading and Writing, leading to one of the most notable academic achievement gaps in Colorado schools.

Passing this Law would help ensure early success for children and more academic options for parents, please vote yes on HB-1295.

This Month at the DPS Board

This Month at the DPS Board | 04/4/2022

Stand for Children

Welcome to the April edition of “This Month at the DPS Board”, a monthly newsletter sharing information about the Denver Public Schools (DPS) Board of Education.

Our goal is simple: to share what is happening at school board meetings so you can engage with the board and the district even if you cannot attend hours of meetings every month.

Work Session – April 7 2022

Sustainability Student Group

Denver Public Schools high school students from the Sustainability Student group presented their work on climate action, that consequently moved the DPS board to put forth an ENDS statement around environmental sustainability within the district. The goal is to allow DPS become a “national leader in establishing an organizational culture anchored in sustainability, climate action, and environmental justice in both the conservation of natural resources and in minimizing the carbon footprint of DPS’ practices.”

Declining Enrollment Updates

Superintendent Marrero shared an update on declining enrollment in the district. He shared that the Declining Enrollment Committee is in the halfway point of their timeline. Superintendent Marrero mentioned that the rationale behind creating this committee is to make sure community engagement is in the forefront during this process when discussing how fewer students enrolling in DPS schools and projections indicating that there will be a continual decline will impact schools financially and how students are being served equitably.

Superintendent Marrero addressed some concerns around about the process:

No schools have been identified, and there is no current list of schools that is being considered. The committee will create the criteria that will identify schools.
A significant reorganization is currently underway at the central office to address the reduction in funding available and continue to maximize the funding provided to schools.

He then mentioned that the committee meetings are not open to the public because they are considered “work sessions” intended to be for committee members only. Meeting recaps are posted in all consent decree languages on the webpage. Opportunities for public feedback will be shared after the committee drafts the guiding principles and criteria through surveys.

The following timeline for the process was shared:

By Spring 2022, the Declining Enrollment Advisory Committee creates criteria.

By Fall-Winter 2022-2023, criteria will be applied to schools and schools will be identified for closure or consolidation.
In the school year of 2023-2024, schools identified will begin to plan to close or consolidate, plans will be created to support staff and families impacted.
By the end of the school year 23-24, closure and/or consolidations will move forward. For certain schools, there may be an accelerated timeline where closures and/or consolidations will move forward by the end of 2022-2023 school year.

Discussion of Board Community Engagement

The Board plans to distribute a survey to the community to gain input on what community engagement means so that the Board’s definition aligns with community under a policy.

Discussion of Proposed GP15

The Board discussed possible changes and/or reinforcements for public comment and board meetings. The draft with the policy they were revising can be found here. These changes will be discussed in the June School Board meeting.

Discussion of the Vacancy Process

The board then discussed the potential timeline to fill in the District 5 representative vacancy. To recap this topic, check out our newsletter on last month’s work session here. The board went through possible timelines according to the amount of applicants. “Board members and the Superintendent shall not have any discussions, meetings, or electronic communication with applicants, potential applicants, or supporters of an applicant to uphold the integrity of the process.” The Board of Education will choose the candidate by a majority vote in a public meeting, not by an informal consensus process. The board discussed the background check process the appointee will have to go through.

Finance and Audit Committee Meeting – April 11, 2022

2020 Bond Update

Staff provided an update on the 2020 bond passed by voters. Funds totaling $420 million were wired for the Capital Projects Fund to DPS fulfilling the 2020 Bond Authorization.

IntegraReport Hotline Update

A report was provided by auditors on the IntegraReport Hotline – an anonymous hotline for district employees and the public to report suspected fraud, waste or abuse of district assets, or fiscal misconduct. Reports are either investigated by internal audit or human resources. In fiscal year 2020-2021 there were 114 cases reported, 62 cases were valid and addressed, 25 were unsubstantiated, and 11 are still in process.

Information Items for Board Meeting Consent Agenda:

The following items were presented and approved to go on the consent agenda for the School Board meeting:

Grants Report

Staff shared information about grants that were received in February and March over $50,000.

Purchasing Report

Information related to contracts and projects that cost less than $1 million were shared with the committee.

Focus on Achievement – April 18, 2022

Executive Limitations

The board first reviewed some language changes in the executive limitations currently adopted from the “superintendent should” to the “superintendent will not fail to”. Some of the Executive imitations that were pointed out were (EL 2) which talks about succession planning for the superintendent and making sure the decision is still up to the board, (El 3) engage community in the development of policy when appropriate and at his discretion, (EL 4) the board is responsible for their own compliance, (EL 10) Discipline and safety procedure to be revisited at board retreat.

You can read all here.

Reasonable Interpretations – Transition Priorities

Superintendent Marrero shared his reasonable interpretations as linked to his transition priorities. There are five and discussed the first three. The first priority is around equity where they centered the conversation around BIPOC teacher retention. The second priority is around teaching and learning where they focused the conversation on learning disruptions because of COVID-19 and how to ensure the district takes steps to set students back on track. They also had a conversation about accountability and whether to use state assessments for this end. Superintendent Marrero closed saying it is needed to create some sort of baseline and understand where students are at now. The third transition priority is around students and staff well-being.

District Five Vacancy Interviews

The Board set the dates for interviews when it comes to the District Five vacancy to June 2nd between 1-4 pm. They should be open to the public and will be listening to special public comment later that day.

School Board Meeting – April 21, 2022

Recognition of DPS Athletic Accomplishments

Staff highlighted athletic achievements in DPS this school year. 7000 high school athletes participated in DPS athletics this year, which is more than have ever participated.

Northfield Men’s Soccer was recognized for winning a 4A State Championship and East Men’s Ice Hockey was recognized for winning the 5A State Championship. Staff also highlighted women’s basketball and wrestling.

Denver Scholarship Foundation Report

Staff from the Denver Scholarship Foundation (DSF) shared a presentation about their work. The Denver Scholarship Foundation “inspires and empowers Denver Public Schools’ students to enroll in and graduate from postsecondary institutions of higher education, by providing the tools, knowledge, and financial resources essential for success.”

Annually, DSF serves about 7,500 students. This year, DSF has awarded 1,869 scholarships and operates 14 Future Centers in high school campuses across the district where DSF staff supports high school students in creating post-graduation plans. Additionally, DSF partners with 30 higher education institutions to support scholarship recipients. Demographics of scholarship recipients include 66% female, 60% Hispanic/Latinx, and 16.5% Black students. 82% of scholarship recipients are persisting or have graduated higher education and since DSF’s inception, college enrollment has increased over 100%.

Welton Street Café Proclamation

Welton Street Café was recognized with a proclamation acknowledging the impact that Welton Street Cafe has had in the DPS community. Currently, Welton Street Café is raising funds to open a new location after closing its original location of 22 years. Anyone who is interested in supporting can find more information and donate here.

Superintendent’s Report

Superintendent Marrero gave a presentation related to District Central Office reorganization plans. Superintendent Marrero cited declining enrollment and feedback from staff and community as rationale for reorganizing the Central Office.

Intended outcomes of Central Office reorganization include strengthening and tightening central support to ensure resources align to highest priorities and central staff functions are more tightly linked to Board of Education goals and policies.

Superintendent Marrero previewed an approach to collaborative school structure by highlighting planned collaboration of four DPS schools, called “Collaborative Quads” to engage in shared learning and best practices around facilitating dual-language programs in DPS. The stated goal of the Collaborative Quads is “building communities of learning to drive improvement across our family of schools.”

Staff outlined 2022-2023 district priorities as follows:

Equity and Excellence
Student Experience & Achievement
Operational Effectiveness

Finally, staff outlined a plan for central office reorganization structure which will include shifts in senior leadership and departments.

You can view the presentation here.

Climate Action

Students presented a climate action statement, sharing their passion for expanding sustainability and climate-conscious policies and efforts in DPS. The board voted unanimously in support of the proposed revisions to their ENDS statements related to climate action. You can learn more here.

Consent Agenda

The board unanimously voted to approve the consent agenda.

Public Comment

Educators, parents, and other members of the DPS community delivered public comments about a variety of topics including feedback surrounding Executive Limitation 11 & 12, declining enrollment, and concerns around academic performance.

Board Retreat April 21, 2022

Completion of Reasonable Interpretations

Before embarking on reasonably interpreting several policies, Superintendent Marrero mentioned that he would like to include partnering with the City of Denver to dismantle and revise persistent and enduring systems of oppression outside of our school system to a transition priority which is a policy anchored in equity. He briefly mentioned that this partnership will include the creation of community hubs that will provide services like social-emotional support, GED, citizenship, early literacy, and computer classes, academic tutoring, and basic needs assistance. The Board revisited interpretations for policies transition priorities (TP): Student and Staff Well-Being, Health and Safety, and post-graduation and global citizenship. The Boad then shared the monitoring report cadence to vote on END statements for each monthly board meeting.

Community Engagement Planning

Some board directors shared they have been working on a community engagement governance policy that aims “to ensure the DPS Board of Directors has a sustainable connection to the community” they serve “in alignment with district board policies.” The desired outcome for this specific policy is to have it be community led, proactive, and ensure all seven board members work together to find the best path for community engagement. This board policy is meant to be more focused on the long-term vision of the end statements by leveraging the expertise of the Family and Community Engagement (FACE) team and still preserving the ability to gather information on the ENDS statements as a Board.

Their proposed timeline to get this policy established is:

May 2022- informal presentation
June 2022- formal presentation with public comment and first read
August 2022- second read and vote

12-Month Agenda Planning

The board talked through their upcoming meeting calendar, important dates that will fall within this year and about the timelines around the new executive limitations and their implementation (Els). As they think about community engagement as a part of the reviewal process of Els and TPs they are also thinking what those timelines look like in the calendar. They are hoping to vote on the reasonable interpretations presented by the superintendents during the May 5th work session.

Removing Insurmountable Barriers

Legislation | 03/10/2022

Dr. Theresa Newsom Gifted and Talented Educator

High School Students With Teacher In Class Using Laptops Smiling

On March 2, 2022, the House Education Committee heard House Bill 22-1220, which will remove barriers to support teacher candidates entering the workforce. The bill passed on a 8-1 vote and now will be heard in the Appropriations Committee. During the hearing educators shared their passion removing educator barriers to increase teacher diversity. We are excited to share their testimony in support of increased teacher diversity and House Bill 22-1220.

Thank you, Madam Chair and Madam Vice Chair and members of the committee.

I am Dr. Theresa Newsom, and I have been an educator 41 years including 26 years in Colorado. I am testifying in support of House Bill 22-1220.

As the spouse of an Enlisted Air Force Veteran, I received my first teaching credential from Fresno State in California before we were transferred to South Carolina where I needed to obtain another license to meet their requirements. From there my husband and I were sent to England where I taught for the Department of Defense Dependent Schools at Feltwell AFB in East Anglia for 7 years. Yes, another license was needed. Then we were transferred back to CA where I had to become licensed again. I taught in the Vandenburg AFB community 7 years before coming to Colorado where I was licensed again due to different requirements from the previous locations and no reciprocity between states.

In order for me to obtain new licenses I needed to pay fees and complete assessment competencies which included traveling to test sites. There were times I felt these barriers were insurmountable due to taking course work and simultaneously raising three children, two who are adopted.

I completed my Master’s degree in Curriculum and instruction, became a school administrator (another CO license needed) and of course I still renew both licenses every 5 years to remain eligible to work in this state. In addition, I completed my competences to become a licensed Gifted and Talented Resource Teacher. I currently work in the field of gifted education today as the only Black GT teacher in Southern CO.

House Bill 22-1220 will remove financial and access barriers to ensure a more diverse teacher workforce in Colorado. I respectfully ask for your ‘yes’ today on House Bill 22-1220. Thank you.