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Black Education Advisory Council (BEAC)

Denver Classroom Teacher Association (DCTA)
Northeast Community Congress for Education (NCCE)
Democrats for Excellent Neighborhood Schools (DeFENSE)
Turnaround Successes
are Rare & Risky
h ³Turnaround" is a concept from the corporate world
h Results are rarely positive. Only 1/4 of businesses were
successful, & even those did not show significant gains
h Replacing school staff had little effect on student performance;
students were often shuffled to worse schools
h 2001 Manual divided into 3 schools; 2006 Manual closed
h 2004 Cole closed; 2007 KIPP-Cole Charter closed
h 2007-08 DPS phased out/closed the following:(results?)
Del Pueblo, Fallis, Hallett, Mitchell, Remington, Smedley, Whiteman, Wyman, Rischel,
Kunsmiller, Place, Horace Mann, Gilpin K-8

h 2008-10: Opened three new K-8 schools (results?)

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Cole Arts & Science, Place Bridge, Trevista-Horace Mann, Kunsmiller Arts
Tu  u





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Federal rules define 4 turnaround strategies

h "Tu  u" replacing at least 50% of the staff
h Green Valley and McGlone
h "ð " turning school into charter/small schools
h Noel (100 per grade) and Montbello (150-200 per grade)

h "! u" (Replacement) shutting down the school

and transferring the students
h Ford (DCIS) and Oakland (SOAR)

h "T   
" provide professional
development/coaching & changing curriculum 3

h    

 T   
Th  T
 
h!
ðu
h Do teachers need to be fired, or can teachers learn to teach better? If
every child is going to have a good teacher, there needs to be some
effective and dignified way to help teachers improve.
h Case Study: Chattanooga, Tennessee: Benwood Foundation
h Found they couldn¶t fire their way to good teachers
h Fired most teachers; but rehired 2/3rds of them
h Most teachers were satisfactory or good & wanted to get better
h Every school had at least 1 outstanding teacher which other
teachers could learn from; promoted collaboration
h Even outstanding teachers got daily support & coaching
h Knowing a subject not enough; coached to effectively teach it
h Used a massive student data base & comprehensive teacher
assessments and evaluations (more than test scores)
h Built a complete system of professional development for every
teacher into their work on a daily basis 4
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 !!u
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h # 
u
    h
|

u 
 We need a process that includes all voices, all
proposals, & all facts
h Stakeholders must include parents, community members, DPS
teachers, staff and administrators, property owners, business owners,
non-profits and those who will be impacted directly or indirectly by the
plan
h Stakeholders must be part of the design and implementation of any
proposed plan
h Stakeholders must have adequate time to review, understand &
discuss any plan
h Stakeholder must be given multiple opportunities and avenues to be
part of a planning and implementation process
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h Stakeholders should not be pitted against each other by the District
 !!u
    
h FNE DPS plan should be divided into 6 individual
proposals
h Allow the existing staff (with Community Involvement) to
present a plan for each of the 6 schools to explain:
h The major components of the plan
h How it will be implemented & evaluated
h How they will ensure a high level of parent involvement
h How they will be accountable with identified timelines
h How they will identify, develop and utilize Master Teachers
h How they will attract, screen, train, support & retain highly
effective teachers
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 !!u
 | 
h Whether five-year federal transformation money can be used by the District for
turnaround.
h Other DPS turnaround schools, including the results, challenges, successes and
lessons learned (Manual, Cole, North, Lake).
h Other schools that have transformed out of red (Marrana, Beach Court, Howell).
h Critiques of charter schools that are being used as models nationally .
h Examples of transformation schools that are working nationally.
h Analysis of why each FNE school is failing:
h what may be a reason in one school may not be a reason in another
h The demographics of the teachers targeted for firings
h NE/FNE have a higher # of African American teachers than areas
h How jobs will be impacted, & the plan for employees not re-hired.
h How & when this turnaround process actually started even prior to A+ cmte, and
why community members had to apply & were rejected.
h History of other DPS ³experiments´ and where the money was spent..
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 !!$
h%
 u 

h ! 
   &h  
h 

h
 h
h 
h 
   
  
h &h 
h Oversight committee would monitor plans, evaluate the leaders/administrators,
& provide input on teacher retention.
h Would help fine-tune and implement an authentic student/parent feedback
system.
h Regional Oversight Committee would look at how individual school plans can fit
into a Regional Plan.

h     h
    u 


h &h  

'

 

h Holds everyone accountable from the teachers to central administration.
h Evaluates teaching, plans, programs, implementation, & administration.
h Includes key milestones, implementation oversight, metrics & measures of
success (including multiple ±measure rubric).
h Answers the question: ³What part of the money is going to the classroom?´
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!!!T


h That Gives Neighborhood Schools A Chance
h School Site Oversight Committees will be formed by December 2010,
Board Meeting
h Each targeted school will be given until the January 2011, Board
Meeting to present Transformation Plan.
h The plans will include Community Input and will be reviewed by
Stakeholder Oversight Committee before presentation to Board.
h That Builds on Successful Change Efforts
h Regional Oversight Committee will be formed by March 2011, Board
Meeting.
h Assessment Tool and Evaluation System will be designed by April, 2011,
Board meeting
h District will provide Oversight Committees with the information
necessary to review progress of the plans for recommendations to the
November, 2011, School Board Meeting,
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