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Wednesday, March 15, 2017
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DPS Board to Announce Goal to Reduce Suspensions, End Expulsions for Youngest Students; Teacher Feedback Sought
For more than a decade, DPS has been at the forefront of discipline reform for all of our students, with a particular focus on reducing the disproportionate impact that traditional discipline practices have on our kids of color and other vulnerable students. Through the hard work of our teachers and school leaders, and with the support of our families and community partners, we have decreased our out-of-school suspension rate by two-thirds in recent years and received national attention for our use of restorative practices.
We also heard clearly from you, our teachers, a sense of urgency around increasing whole child supports, specifically social and emotional supports, in our schools. This $15 million investment was the single biggest ask in the 2016 mill levy approved by Denver voters.
Today, our Board of Education members are expected to continue moving forward with this work by announcing their goal of dramatically reducing the use of out-of-school suspensions and eliminating the use of expulsions in grades ECE-3, beginning in fall 2017.
Board members are expected to introduce a resolution at Thursday night's board meeting, making official their intention to modify the district's current discipline policy and announcing a 60-day period for feedback before voting on a policy change. We encourage you to share your input in upcoming focus groups and community meetings, as well as emailing thoughts about the change to [email protected].
State lawmakers have proposed a similar law to reduce the use of out-of-school suspensions for students in grades ECE-2. Superintendent Tom Boasberg testified Monday in support of the bill, noting such disciplinary practices disproportionately impact students of color statewide.
With this effort, DPS is focused on ensuring its youngest students stay in school and receive the academic and social-emotional supports they need. We are equally committed to providing supports to educators so they can meet students' ongoing social and emotional growth. The new policy will include direction for staff response when a student in grades ECE-3 exhibits behavior that represents an imminent risk of harm to the physical, emotional or mental health and safety of self, other students or staff. To support, the district's Whole Child team has compiled a robust set of resources including coaching and professional learning for teachers, developmentally appropriate restorative practice training, counseling for students, mental health supports for families, bullying prevention programs and culturally sensitive de-escalation training.
To learn more about the board's announcement today, visit www.dpsk12.org this afternoon. And stay tuned for additional information about this effort.
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Nominate an Amazing Team or Teammate for a Night of Honor Award!
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2015 Leadership Lamp Award winner Bob Archuleta.
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If you work with a person or team who inspires you, please take this opportunity to recognize them by submitting a nomination for one of the following Night of Honor awards:
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Leadership Lamp: The most distinguished award a teammate can receive. This extraordinary honor is reserved for four individuals each year who are making a difference and actively living all of our Shared Core Values. A person in any role can be honored -- so, if you know someone living the values and setting a great example at your school,
nominate them today.
- Excellence in Teams: Whether it's a first-grade team, a custodial staff or a school-support department, we know there are amazing teams making a difference around DPS. If you've seen a team going above and beyond, take the time to nominate them today.
Nominations are due Friday, March 24. If you have questions, please call 720-423-3173 or email [email protected].
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Negotiations Update: Retention Incentives for Teachers at Amesse, Gilpin and Greenlee
We greatly value the retention of our teachers, especially when serving in some of our most challenging circumstances. So we are excited to share the good news that DCTA agreed on Friday to our offering retention incentives to teachers at Amesse, Gilpin and Greenlee elementary schools. Under the agreement, teachers at Amesse and Greenlee will receive $1,500 for staying at those schools through June 1, 2018. This will be paid in two installments: Half of the amount, or $750, will be paid in October and the other half in June 2018.
Our goal with this bonus has always been to support and reward the choice to remain at Amesse and Greenlee, both schools undergoing restart or replacement, through the 2017-18 school year. We want to reward continued hard work and focus on students in this time of transition. In addition, teachers at Gilpin, which is closing after the current school year, will receive $1,000 for their continued service to the Gilpin community for the remainder of this school year.
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Faculty Meeting Q&A
A feature focused on sharing your top questions from recent faculty meetings
Throughout the school year, Superintendent Tom Boasberg and Deputy Superintendent Susana Cordova are visiting every school to meet with educators to hear what's going on in their schools and to answer questions. Last week, they met with teachers from Bryant-Webster, Columbian, DCIS Montbello, P.U.S.H. Academy, Noel Community Arts, Vista Academy, Collegiate Prep Academy, Kunsmiller and Summit Academy schools.
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I have a question about the process for hiring interpreters for events -- we have 10 languages and it is arduous and expensive to get interpreters for evening events. How do we get interpreters to call families to let them know they are going to be there? We are still not reaching our languages that are beyond Spanish and Nepalese. The interpreters we get are great; however, what other options are there for getting interpretation support?
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At the beginning of the school year, each school was provided a binder with information about how to access phone interpretation. Included in that binder is also a unique code for your school. The phone interpretation service allows you to access any of the 210 languages offered and then place a three-way call with a student's family. After connecting with the parent by phone, you can notify the parent about an upcoming meeting and let them know there will be interpretation services available at an event.
You may be aware that the Department of Justice Consent Decree requires district- and school-level essential parent information be translated or interpreted in Spanish, Vietnamese, Arabic, Somali, Nepali, Amharic, Burmese, Russian and French when the languages are present in the school. If one of these languages is not used by a parent in the school, the school may omit that language. If a language other than those listed languages is needed, the additional language may be requested and the Multicultural Services office will cover the cost for the first two hours of the meeting for each language -- if more than two hours are needed, the cost is to be covered by the school. For more information and to access services, please refer to the following:
If you are unable to locate the phone interpretation binder and code that was provided at the beginning of the school year, please contact Joaquina Fuentes De Munoz.
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Have a question we can help answer? Email us at [email protected].
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Teacher Leadership & Collaboration
Are You Eligible to be a Teacher Leader?
If you are ready to lead without leaving the classroom, check out the new and vacant Teacher Leadership & Collaboration roles being posted by schools every day. Here's how to get started:
- Review the role descriptions to determine what teacher leader role is the best fit for you.
- Check your eligibility, or apply to have your eligibility assessed.
- Apply to school-posted roles on the DPS Job Board using search code TLC.
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Spring READ Act Assessment Will Open April 3
Schools will be able to test students during the spring READ Act testing window, which now begins April 3 (instead of April 7) to align with the Colorado Department of Education's READ Act data collection window. Schools may test students between April 3-May 16. Schools are not required to begin testing prior to April 3, but have that option, if preferred. Please note that schools with a designated blue/green day on April 3 can begin assessing their students on April 4. For READ Act questions, please contact Melissa Pace.
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READ Act Third Grade Advancement/Retention
The list of third-grade students requiring an advancement/retention meeting is available in the School Folders section on the
Assessment Applications website. DPS will not retain any student based solely on the student's Significantly Below Grade Level identification in reading, and recommends retention be used only in extreme cases when all other interventions or strategies have been exhausted. All meetings should be completed no later than May 26. Detailed information regarding the READ Act
retention requirements and procedures was sent to all elementary READ Act Site Assessment Leaders last week. For READ Act questions, please contact Melissa Pace.
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