Wednesday, April 19, 2017
Music teacher Erik Singer at Holm Elementary School plays trumpet with a student.
Negotiations Update: DPS and DCTA Discuss Teacher Compensation

DPS and the Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA) met again on Monday night for negotiations. This week's topic was teacher compensation and the DPS financial team came to talk about the DPS budget forecast for the upcoming year. Their entire presentation can be reviewed on our bargaining website. Here are a few highlights:
  • Total teacher compensation is currently the largest slice of the DPS budget pie -- over $400 million per year. This total compensation includes salaries, all ProComp incentives, contributions to retirement benefits (PERA), medical benefits (including recent increases to subsidies), stipends for taking on leadership and coaching roles, the highest priority incentives for teachers serving our most impacted schools and extra-duty pay. DPS and DCTA are united in our mutual belief that we need to increase teacher compensation in order to pay our teachers as professionals and to keep them from being priced out of living in Denver. How we do that, however, is complicated when we are faced with the realities of Colorado's failure to adequately fund its schools.
     
  • Have you heard of the "negative factor"? This is the mechanism that the Colorado legislature uses to reduce funding to schools in the face of competing budget priorities. As a result of the negative factor, funding for DPS has failed to come close to keeping up with inflation; next year our funding will be more than $80 million (or roughly $1,000 per student) less than what we would receive had funding over the last seven years just kept up with inflation. 
     
     
  • Why is the Colorado economy booming and yet our schools are not being adequately funded? This is what you may have heard called the "Colorado paradox." The presentation shares the crippling impact of TABOR and the Gallagher amendment. Colorado funding for schools has gone from being at the national average in the 1980s to approximately $2,500 per student less than the national average today.
     
  • Within that context, DPS continues its efforts to push more money to schools and increase flexibility at the school level to meet the individual needs of each schoolThanks to the 2016 mill levy, more than $30 million additional dollars will be allocated to schools next year for resources such as expanded whole child supports and increased funding for our highest-need students. As a result, the amount of total budget spent on central administration will decrease from 5% to 4% in 2017-18.
     
  • Negotiations on compensation for 2017-18 will continue after we receive the final budget from the state legislature in May. DPS did share that implementing the current DCTA proposal to increase all teacher salaries by 25% (including a starting salary of $50,000) would require an investment of more than $100 million dollars. A result of this DCTA proposal would be the loss of more than 1,000 teacher jobs and a dramatic increase in class sizes, which we would not support.

We look forward to continuing to work with DCTA to simplify and improve ProComp. We hope to reach an agreement that: increases compensation for teachers in high-poverty schools (including an increase in the number of schools eligible for this incentive), provides more dollars in base salary over a teacher's career and a more predictable increase in base salary, and recognizes teachers' performance and the additional responsibilities they take on.
Feedback Requested: Discipline Reform Focus Groups
DPS is currently hosting a series of focus groups for school leaders and teachers to share their voices about the Board of Education's resolution to dramatically reduce the use of suspensions and eliminate expulsions for our youngest students, including the supports teachers need for this policy to be effective. For more information on the focus groups and how to register for them, please click here.

There are three remaining focus groups scheduled:
  • 4:30-6 p.m., Wednesday, April 19 at Oakland Elementary, 4580 Dearborn St.
  • 4:30-6 p.m., Tuesday, April 25 at Park Hill Elementary, 5050 E 19th Ave.
  • 4:30-6 p.m., Wednesday, April 26 at Ellis Elementary, 1651 S Dahlia St.
If you are unable to attend a focus group, we encourage you take the online survey to provide feedback. Click here to take the survey now. 

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 will be visiting every school to meet with teachers and leaders to hear what's going on in their schools and to answer questions. Last week, they met with teachers from Kepner Beacon, Kepner Legacy, Sabin, Doull and the Denver School of Innovation and Sustainable Design.

Q: 
Some of our students are using marijuana. Are there any district-level initiatives to help with preventative work and treatment?
A: The Denver Health STEP (Substance Abuse Treatment Education & Prevention) Program offers personalized substance abuse and mental health treatment through School Based Health Centers located at South High School, North High School, Bruce Randolph, Lake International School, MLK Jr. Early College and Thomas Jefferson Campus. For more information, please call the School-Based Health Center closest to you.

The DPS Substance Use Prevention Program helps secondary schools design, implement and evaluate support systems for substance use prevention and early intervention. Grant funding is available to train staff to implement prevention and intervention programs; curriculum for an evidence-based counseling model for students who are using substances; and curriculum for a universal substance use prevention program. Schools must provide a:
  • Commitment to implement the program for a minimum of two years.
  • Designated staff person(s) to be trained as a part of their job.
  • Commitment to track data and outcomes for one year.
Please contact Michel Holien or 720-423-2433 for more information.
Have a question we can help answer? Email us at newsletters@dpsk12.org.
FREE Engineering Program with CU-Boulder
The Office of College and Career Readiness has partnered with the University of Colorado-Boulder to offer a free engineering program for DPS seniors this summer!  EngiNearMe is an all-expense paid STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) program June 5-9, where students will explore how to make a difference through engineering. Students who attend the program learn in a college environment and are eligible to receive a $2,500 scholarship to CU's engineering program (if accepted). Transportation to CU's campus is included.

Please encourage your STEM students to apply! The application deadline is Sunday, April 30. Learn more about EngiNearMe. Students can complete an online application.
Teacher Leadership & Collaboration

Teacher Leader Checklists Now Available to Help Prepare for Your Role in the 2017-18 School Year
Spring and Summer Professional Learning Checklists are now available for new-to-role and returning-to-role teacher leaders. Differentiated by role and experience level, these checklists are designed to ensure that you have access to resources to help you register and complete required professional learning sessions. The checklists include steps to take this spring to ensure you are fully prepared to engage in summer professional learning. Click here to access your role-specific checklist and  register here   for your required summer professional learning.

Apply to Join Curriculum Review Committee
Are you a passionate educator interested in providing feedback regarding curriculum selection? Apply to participate in one of the upcoming curriculum review committees. Preferred applicants will have experience working with a variety of student populations, including struggling readers, students with special needs and English language learners. English Language Acquisition-Spanish (ELA-S) educators with experience working with struggling readers in Spanish are especially encouraged to apply. Participating educators must be able to commit to all of the meetings and will be paid at the applicable extra duty rate. Substitute coverage will be provided for mid-week, full-day meetings. Learn more about the curriculum review committees and apply below:
Applications are due by 5 p.m., May 19. If you have questions, please contact 
Provide Muslim Families with Helpful FAQ
This year, several DPS departments met with members of the Muslim community to discuss their questions and concerns. Through these conversations, recurring questions were captured and answered in an FAQ for Muslim families. This FAQ is available in several languages ( Amharic, Arabic, Burmese, Dari, English, French, Pashto, Somali and Swahili). Please make this resource available to families.
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