DPS Board of Education Update for Jan. 17, 2019 
for Senior, School Leaders

Please share with your teams and communities as appropriate -- DPS Communications
Board Holds Accountability and Support Conversations 
Schools With Sudden Drop in SPF Rating Present Improvement Plans

DPS' top Denver Plan goal is to have at least 80% of DPS students attending a high-performing school by 2020. To make this goal a reality, DPS is committed to strengthening our existing schools.  When schools do not meet expectations for academic growth and achievement on the  School Performance Framework (SPF),  DPS provides  intensive support  to help them get back on track. 

The School Performance Compact (SPC) is the Board of Education's policy for identifying the district's most persistently low-performing schools. This year, schools (both charter and district-run) rated red on the 2018 SPF are required to present to the board regarding their improvement strategies and needed supports. 

Board Member Angela Cobian said, " One of the key objectives in revising the School Performance Compact this year was to be able to hone in on school improvement across governance types. We want to better understand how charter school home offices and the district central office support schools, so that we can better identify and streamline school improvements."

Schools that had multiple consecutive red and orange SPF ratings over the past several years presented to the board in December.  Schools that experienced a sudden drop in their SPF ratings -- from either yellow or green in 2017 to red in 2018 -- received more time to prepare improvement plans. Of those seven schools, four presented to the board at tonight's meeting. 
The board also reviewed the body of evidence and  staff recommendations  for each school.

Collegiate Preparatory Academy,  Girls Athletic Leadership High School and  John F. Kennedy High School will present to the board Jan. 22. 

The board is scheduled to vote Jan. 24 on a set of performance monitoring options to dramatically improve the learning environment in these schools:
  • Two-year performance review cycle
  • Two-year performance review cycle with one-year monitoring
  • One-year performance review cycle 
Learn more about the SPC  here.