Welcome to the August edition of \u201cThis Month at the DPS Board\u201d, a monthly newsletter sharing information about the Denver Public Schools (DPS) Board of Education. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our goal is simple:<\/strong> 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. You will find a brief overview of the topics discussed during each meeting and then expanded articles on those items below. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Work Session \u2013 August 11, 2022<\/strong><\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Meeting Summary:<\/strong> Students and leaders representing the Student Voice and Leadership program introduced their goals and plans for the 22-23 school year. The Denver Special Education Advisory Council (DSEAC) proposed a district-wide policy to facilitate targeted community education around the disability experience. The DPS Board engaged in a team building discussion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Student Voice and Leadership<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The first DPS Board Work Session began with Student Voice and Leadership<\/a> (SVL) presentations<\/a>. SVL programs are for DPS students that are interested in building youth leadership, civic engagement, dismantling systemic issues in DPS. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Denver Special Education Advisory Council<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Denver Special Education Advisory Council<\/a> (DSEAC) presented. The DSEAC is a district-level committee that provides recommendations to the Director of Special Education, the Superintendent and the Board of Education. They reported that students with disabilities express feeling misunderstood and undervalued as a part of their classrooms and school communities. The Council proposed a \u201cdistrict-wide policy to facilitate targeted community education and empowerment around the disability experience<\/a>\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Finance and Audit Committee \u2013 August 15, 2022<\/strong><\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Meeting Summary:<\/strong> DPS staff reported on changes to local property taxes and in the state legislature and how changes will impact the Mill Levy finances. The committee discussed a possible opportunity to refinance obligation bonds. The Denver Scholarship Foundation requested approval for their annual contract along with a 3% cost of living increase. Schools and institutions presented proposals for projects for the Board to analyze and potentially approve under consent agenda items. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Denver Property Taxes and Denver Public Schools<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Finance and Audit Committee meeting began reporting on recent changes to local property taxes which will impact the mill levy certification by the Board of Education in December. <\/p>\n\n\n\n During the past 4 months, there were some actions that will lead DPS to change its process in Mill Levy revenue. There was an error found in the Net Assessed Value (AV) for all property in Denver. AV is used by the Board of Education to set taxes for property owners in Denver through the Mill Levy Certification. The AV was overstated by $500 million due to double counting of properties by the Assessor’s Office in the City and County of Denver, which will result in $29.5M less in revenue collection from the Denver Loval Property Taxpayers in schools year 2021-22. DPS plans to recover by requesting the state legislature to supply the state funding from the School Finance Act and generate revenue through the abatement process for Mill Levy Overrides and Bond program in the next year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The taxes that make up the Mill Levy Certification are the School Finance Act, Mill Levy Overrides, Special Revenue Mill Levy Override, and Bond Redemption. DPS Staff discussed changes<\/a> that occurred in the last 6 months on each of the different components. <\/p>\n\n\n\n DPS Staff also explained how the property taxes in Denver are calculated and how they impact the Mill Levy funding for DPS. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Bond Redemption Fund Update & Refinancing Opportunity <\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n DPS has an opportunity to refinance the 2012B issuance of bonds that will save taxpayers because DPS\u2019 General Obligation Bonds will cost less. The Bonds are the general obligations of the district and are secured by the district\u2019s full faith and credit. All taxable property within the boundaries of the district is subject to proportionate property taxation without limitation as to rate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Denver Scholarship Foundation Contract<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Denver Scholarship Foundation is requesting approval of the annual Denver Scholarship Foundation contract including a 3% cost of living increase. The Denver Scholarship Foundation is a partner with DPS that supports students to receive the opportunities to attend post-secondary education and career. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Other Proposals for the Consent Agenda<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n There were multiple other proposals presented to the committee such as Denison Montessori School to initiate their cooling project, Stedman Elementary School to initiate their cooling and elevator project, and more<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Public Comment and Progress Monitoring Session \u2013 August 22, 2022<\/strong><\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Meeting Summary: <\/strong>DPS staff discussed the continued guidance for Covid-19, several celebrations for the 2022-23 school year kick-off, and how the new strategic roadmap – DPS Thrives, will guide the school year. This progress monitoring session focused on the data derived from on-track monitoring and graduation requirements in the class of 2022. Community expressed their opinions on variety of topics through public testimony. You can sign up here<\/a> for public comment and speak directly to the board about what matters to you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Return to School Presentation<\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n DPS staff discussed the continued guidance for COVID-19, several celebrations for the 2022-2023 school year kick-off, and how the new strategic roadmap – DPS Thrives,<\/a> will guide the school year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n DPS is aiming to sustain in-person learning by continuing regular meetings with local health officials and hosting two cost-free PCR testing sites. They also announced that they will no longer maintain a COVID-19 dashboard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n DPS staff briefly spoke about the new strategic roadmap and the main areas of focus for improvement included in the plan. The work is divided into three focus areas; adult, student, and system experience. The actions outlined in the plan are grounded in the following priorities: equity, accelerating learning, and transformative social emotional and academic learning. Overall, they are focused on two key factors which are student experience and student and adult experience. Under the student experience focus the roadmap prioritizes strong and consistent teaching and learning cycle and under the student and adult experience the plan prioritizes a safe and welcoming district that will provide an equitable and humanizing experience for all DPS community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Focus on Class of 2022<\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n DPS staff discussed the context of graduation requirements and competency opportunities such as standardized testing as well as course options such as concurrent enrollment. The following are some of the data highlights<\/a> shared: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Over 1,500 students earned the Seal of Biliteracy and DPS held a higher completion rate for FAFSA than the state overall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Board Meeting \u2013 August 25, 2022<\/strong><\/a><\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Meeting Summary: <\/strong>DPS staff presented an overview of what the consent decree entails and why DPS adopted it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Modified Consent Decree Presentation<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n DPS staff presented an overview of what the Consent Decree entails. DPS serves the largest number of multilingual learners in Colorado. Spanish is the most spoken language with one out of three students speaking Spanish at home. The Consent Decree was established to fight oppressive systems that do not allow for linguistic equity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n They shared information about the events that led to the creation of the Consent Decree. It started with the West High School walkouts and led to the US District Court finding that DPS violated the 1974 Equal Educational Opportunities Act in 1984. DPS went back to court in 1999 for contempt for failure to implement the 1984 court order. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In summary, the Consent Decree ensures that <\/p>\n\n\n\n DPS staff further explained the 10 chapters the consent decree<\/a> requires DPS to fulfill. <\/p>\n\n\n\n ENGAGE WITH THE BOARD<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Do you want to let the board know your thoughts on any of these topics? You can sign up for public comment and speak directly to the board about what matters to you. You can sign up\u00a0here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Bienvenidos a la edici\u00f3n de agosto de “Este mes en la Junta de DPS”, un bolet\u00edn mensual que comparte informaci\u00f3n sobre la Junta de Educaci\u00f3n de las Escuelas P\u00fablicas de Denver (DPS). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Nuestro objetivo es simple:<\/strong> compartir lo que est\u00e1 sucediendo en las reuniones de la junta escolar para que pueda participar con la junta y el distrito, incluso si no puede asistir a horas de reuniones cada mes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sesi\u00f3n de trabajo – 11 de agosto de 2022<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n La voz y el liderazgo de los estudiantes <\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n La primera sesi\u00f3n de trabajo de la Junta de DPS comenz\u00f3 con presentaciones de Voz y Liderazgo Estudiantil<\/a> (SVL). Los programas SVL son para los estudiantes de DPS que est\u00e1n interesados en construir el liderazgo de los j\u00f3venes, el compromiso c\u00edvico, el desmantelamiento de los problemas sist\u00e9micos en DPS. <\/p>\n\n\n\n El Consejo Asesor de Educaci\u00f3n Especial de Denver <\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n El Consejo Asesor de Educaci\u00f3n Especial de Denver<\/a> (DSEAC) present\u00f3. El DSEAC es un comit\u00e9 del distrito que proporciona recomendaciones al Director de Educaci\u00f3n Especial, al Superintendente y a la Junta de Educaci\u00f3n. Reportaron que los estudiantes con discapacidades expresan sentirse incomprendidos e infravalorados en sus aulas y comunidades escolares. El Consejo propuso una “pol\u00edtica de todo el distrito para facilitar la educaci\u00f3n de la comunidad dirigida y el empoderamiento sobre la experiencia de la discapacidad<\/a>“. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Comit\u00e9 de Finanzas y Auditor\u00eda – 15 de agosto de 2022<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Impuestos sobre la propiedad de Denver y escuelas p\u00fablicas de Denver <\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n La reuni\u00f3n del Comit\u00e9 de Finanzas y Auditor\u00eda comenz\u00f3 informando sobre los recientes cambios en los impuestos locales sobre la propiedad que tendr\u00e1n un impacto en la certificaci\u00f3n de la recaudaci\u00f3n de impuestos por parte del Consejo de Educaci\u00f3n en diciembre. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Durante los \u00faltimos 4 meses, hubo algunas acciones que llevar\u00e1n a DPS a cambiar su proceso en los ingresos de Mill Levy. Se encontr\u00f3 un error en el Valor Neto Evaluado (AV) para todas las propiedades en Denver. El AV es utilizado por la Junta de Educaci\u00f3n para fijar los impuestos de los propietarios en Denver a trav\u00e9s de la Certificaci\u00f3n Mill Levy. El AV fue sobrestimado en $500 millones debido al doble conteo de las propiedades por parte de la Oficina del Asesor en la Ciudad y el Condado de Denver, lo que resultar\u00e1 en $29.5M menos en la recaudaci\u00f3n de ingresos de los contribuyentes de propiedades de Denver Loval en el a\u00f1o escolar 2021-22. DPS planea recuperarse solicitando a la legislatura estatal que suministre los fondos estatales de la Ley de Financiamiento Escolar y genere ingresos a trav\u00e9s del proceso de reducci\u00f3n de Mill Levy Overrides y el programa de Bonos en el pr\u00f3ximo a\u00f1o. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Los impuestos que componen la certificaci\u00f3n del Mill Levy son la Ley de Financiamiento Escolar, Mill Levy Overrides, Special Revenue Mill Levy Override y Bond Redemption. El personal de DPS discutio los cambios<\/a> que ocurrieron en los ultimos 6 meses en cada uno de los diferentes componentes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n El personal de DPS tambien explico como se calculan los impuestos a la propiedad en Denver y como impactan el financiamiento del Mill Levy para DPS. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Actualizaci\u00f3n del Fondo de Redenci\u00f3n de Bonos y Oportunidad de Refinanciamiento <\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n DPS tiene una oportunidad de refinanciar la emisi\u00f3n de bonos 2012B que ahorrar\u00e1 a los contribuyentes porque los Bonos de Obligaci\u00f3n General de DPS costar\u00e1n menos. Los bonos son las obligaciones generales del distrito y est\u00e1n garantizados por la plena fe y cr\u00e9dito del distrito. Toda la propiedad imponible dentro de los l\u00edmites del distrito est\u00e1 sujeta a la imposici\u00f3n proporcional de la propiedad sin limitaci\u00f3n en cuanto a la tasa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Contrato de la Denver Scholarship Foundation <\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n La Fundaci\u00f3n de Becas de Denver solicita la aprobaci\u00f3n del contrato anual de la Fundaci\u00f3n de Becas de Denver, que incluye un aumento del 3% por el coste de la vida. La Denver Scholarship Foundation es un socio de DPS que apoya a los estudiantes para que reciban las oportunidades de asistir a la educaci\u00f3n post-secundaria y a la carrera. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Otras propuestas para la Agenda de Consentimiento <\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Hubo muchas otras propuestas presentadas al comit\u00e9, como la de la escuela Denison Montessori para iniciar su proyecto de refrigeraci\u00f3n, la de la escuela primaria Stedman para iniciar su proyecto de refrigeraci\u00f3n y ascensor, y m\u00e1s<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sesi\u00f3n de Comentarios P\u00fablicos y Seguimiento del Progreso – 22 de agosto de 2022<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Presentaci\u00f3n de Regreso a la Escuela <\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n El personal de DPS discuti\u00f3 la orientaci\u00f3n continua para COVID-19, varias celebraciones para el inicio del a\u00f1o escolar 2022-2023, y c\u00f3mo la nueva hoja de ruta estrat\u00e9gica – DPS Prospera<\/a>, guiar\u00e1 el a\u00f1o escolar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n DPS tiene como objetivo mantener el aprendizaje en persona mediante la continuaci\u00f3n de las reuniones peri\u00f3dicas con los funcionarios de salud locales y la organizaci\u00f3n de dos sitios de pruebas de PCR gratuitas. Tambi\u00e9n anunciaron que ya no mantendr\u00e1n un tablero de COVID-19. <\/p>\n\n\n\n El personal del DPS habl\u00f3 brevemente de la nueva ruta estrat\u00e9gica y de las principales \u00e1reas de mejora incluidas en el plan. El trabajo se divide en tres \u00e1reas de enfoque: adultos, estudiantes y experiencia del sistema. Las acciones descritas en el plan se basan en las siguientes prioridades: la equidad, la aceleraci\u00f3n del aprendizaje y el aprendizaje social, emocional y acad\u00e9mico transformador. En general, se centran en dos factores clave que son la experiencia del estudiante y la experiencia del estudiante y del adulto. Bajo el enfoque de la experiencia del estudiante, la hoja de ruta prioriza un ciclo de ense\u00f1anza y aprendizaje fuerte y consistente y bajo la experiencia del estudiante y del adulto, el plan prioriza un distrito seguro y acogedor que proporcionar\u00e1 una experiencia equitativa y humanizadora para toda la comunidad de DPS. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Enfoque en la Clase de 2022 <\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n El personal de DPS discuti\u00f3 el contexto de los requisitos de graduaci\u00f3n y las oportunidades de competencia, como las pruebas estandarizadas, as\u00ed como las opciones de cursos como la inscripci\u00f3n concurrente. Los siguientes son algunos de los datos m\u00e1s destacados<\/a> compartidos: <\/p>\n\n\n\n M\u00e1s de 1,500 estudiantes obtuvieron el Sello de Bialfabetismo y DPS tuvo una tasa de finalizaci\u00f3n de FAFSA m\u00e1s alta que el estado en general. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Reuni\u00f3n de la Junta – 25 de agosto de 2022<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Presentaci\u00f3n del Decreto de Consentimiento Modificado <\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n El personal de DPS present\u00f3 una visi\u00f3n general de lo que implica el Decreto de Consentimiento. DPS sirve el mayor n\u00famero de estudiantes multiling\u00fces en Colorado. El espa\u00f1ol es el idioma m\u00e1s hablado con uno de cada tres estudiantes que hablan espa\u00f1ol en casa. El Decreto de Consentimiento se estableci\u00f3 para luchar contra los sistemas opresivos que no permiten la equidad ling\u00fc\u00edstica. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Compartieron informaci\u00f3n sobre los eventos que llevaron a la creaci\u00f3n del Decreto de Consentimiento. Comenz\u00f3 con los paros de la preparatoria West y llev\u00f3 a que la Corte de Distrito de los Estados Unidos encontrara que DPS viol\u00f3 la Ley de Igualdad de Oportunidades Educativas de 1974 en 1984. DPS volvi\u00f3 a los tribunales en 1999 por desacato al no aplicar la orden judicial de 1984. <\/p>\n\n\n\n En resumen, el Decreto de Consentimiento garantiza que <\/p>\n\n\n\n El personal de DPS explic\u00f3 adem\u00e1s los 10 cap\u00edtulos que el decreto de consentimiento<\/a> requiere que DPS cumpla. <\/p>\n\n\n\n