Commission Recommends CDM Teams Focus More On Student Learning

The district’s Collaborative Decision Making (CDM) Commission, created by the Board of Education and the Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA), recommended changes on Thursday to the district’s approach to site-based management.

The commission – four teachers, four parents, two principals, one Board member and one central office administrator – spent six months reviewing the governance, structure, roles and accountability measures of the decade-long CDM program.

“The commission recommends focusing the energy of a school’s CDM on student learning – on working singularly toward implementing the school improvement plan rather than the day-to-day operations of the school,” said John Leslie, Assistant Superintendent for Student Services. “For example, if a school’s focus is literacy, the CDM would work to support literacy instruction in school and at home.”

The recommendations also include a possible name change from Collaborative Decision Making committees to Collaborative School Enhancement committees as a way to signal the change and the true focus of the committees.

“The commission didn’t reach consensus on the name change and is seeking Board input on this suggestion,” said Leslie.

Among the charges to the commission was to recommend whether the CDM process should remain part of the negotiated agreement between the district and the DCTA.

The commission recommended that all language referencing CDMs be removed from the agreement and that the issues that are no longer under the purview of the CDM be referred to the DPS/DCTA negotiating team.

To protect the function of CDMs, the commission recommended that the following be added to the statement of beliefs in the agreement: “The district and DCTA agree that there shall be a Collaborative School Enhancement committee in each school which will focus on improving student achievement.” The proposal also suggested that the Personnel Subcommittee be renamed the School Personnel Committee and that all references to this committee be retained in the agreement and removed from CDM.

The commission recommended that the Board adopt a policy designating that the purpose of CDMs is to enhance student achievement and school climate by engaging the school community in collaborative efforts supporting the school and district’s goals.

The commission proposed that CDMs would:

Work collaboratively with the school community that includes the building principal, teachers, staff, students, parents, civic and business leaders, service and neighborhood representatives, and other community members
Focus on the SIP as its primary responsibility at the school
Provide guidance, evaluation and approval for the SIP and the annual school budget to ensure its alignment with the SIP and the school’s program design
Act as the School Improvement and Accountability Council (SIAC) for the building
Provide guidance, evaluation, and approval for the use of the staffing allocations provided by the district as it relates to the SIP, school budget, and school program design, including consultation regarding adjustments that may be made due to pupil-count issues
Participate in the principal-selection process by interviewing candidates and recommending candidates to the superintendent

On the other hand, the commission proposed that CDMs will not:

Be involved in issues relating to individuals (staff, students, or parents) within the school
Be involved in personnel issues

The Board will hold a public hearing on the recommendations at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 3 and is scheduled to take action on Thursday, April 24.

ECE Funding Discussions Continue

Meeting at Grant Ranch School, the Board of Education was greeted at the monthly public hearing by a large group of parents who were interested in one thing – the plan to start charging tuition for some students in the Early Childhood Education (ECE) program.

Parents traveled from all corners of the city to far southwest Denver; many pushed hard for the Board to not tap ECE parents for additional district income.

Before the public hearing portion of the Board meeting began, district staff presented an amended version of the plan first delivered Feb. 20. The new proposal would:

Continue to offer free ECE programs with federal (Title 1), Colorado Preschool Project and Head Start dollars in the vast majority of elementary schools.
Reduce tuition from $305 to $185 for ECE – 2.5 hours per day, five days a week – for those 17 schools where the program would start.
Remove four schools – Bradley, Holm, Samuels and Palmer elementary schools – from the list of schools that would start a tuition-based ECE program. Those schools could start such a program if demand exists.
Establish a fund to provide scholarships in those schools, prioritizing students who are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.
Raise class sizes in tuition-based ECE programs from 16 in the original proposal to 20 students.

Wayne Eckerling, Assistant Superintendent for Research, Planning and Special Projects, said any school could add a tuition-based ECE program if it has space and wants to meet customer demand.

The scholarships aren’t unlimited, said Eckerling, but should meet demand (if demand is about what it’s been over the last two years).

The district has been using $1.3 million in general fund money to support ECE programs – it was the first district in the state to use money for K-12 education on four-year-olds. The new proposal would generate a savings of $1 million for the general fund.

Superintendent Jerry Wartgow said the issue was the first test of budget priorities since the Board just struggled with budget trims for the current year (see related story) and faces an estimated $29 million deficit for the 2003-2004 spending plan.

Under the new proposal, 17 schools would convert to offering tuition-based ECE. Those 17 schools would be Asbury, Carson, Cory, Grant Ranch, Green Valley, Kaiser, Lowry, Marrama, McKinley-Thatcher, Park Hill, Sabin, Slavens, Southmoor, Steck, Steele, Traylor, and University Park.

The Board may formally consider the new proposal at its next Regular Meeting on March 20.

Please click here to read updates on this story.

Board Shaves Two Percent From Budget

The Board approved a two percent cut – $11.7 million – to balance this year’s $535.6 million budget due to lower-than-expected student enrollment and recent revenue losses.

“These cuts will impact education in Denver Public Schools,” said Superintendent Jerry Wartgow. “This wasn’t easy, and we tried to make these cuts in the spirit of preserving our classrooms.”

Tapping into money not yet spent eight months into the year, the majority of the cuts include postponing maintenance projects and delaying technology upgrades. In addition, the district will save $2 million by restructuring the summer school program.

Summer school at elementary schools for third, fourth and sixth graders will be replaced with supplemental services during the 2003-2004 school year.

Summer school for freshmen and sophomores will not be offered but programs for juniors and seniors who have failed one or more of the classes required for graduation will continue to be offered, as will the traditional summer school program at Abraham Lincoln High School. In addition, some high schools will offer online courses, and the Community College of Denver will offer classes as well.

The district will continue to provide summer school with Title I (federal) money for 1,700 students at 34 schools. Also, Summer Scholars will continue to offer reading programs at 16 schools for about 900 students. Summer Scholars is independently funded but uses DPS facilities. Emily Griffith Opportunity School will continue to offer a summer program.

Among the reasons for the cuts are: a $5.5 million revenue shortfall from this year’s student enrollment; a $3.9 million loss in property tax revenue from the United Airlines bankruptcy; and a $1.4 million state funding rescission for textbooks under Amendment 23.

A Look Ahead

“As difficult as this was, we’re now in the process of developing our budget for 2003-04,” said Wartgow. “There are so many variables, not only for Denver Public Schools but for every school district in the state.”

Wartgow called for cooperation among the entire “public education family” to work together to present a balanced budget for next year.

“I believe that DPS staff has approached budget cuts this year and will approach next year’s cuts by being as respectful of teachers and principals as possible,” said Board President Elaine Gantz Berman.

By law, the Board must adopt a balanced 2003-04 budget by June 30, 2003.

Paraprofessional Requirements Established

A new federal law under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requires all instructional paraprofessionals who work in public Title I schools to meet standard qualifications. DPS is applying the requirements to all instructional paraprofessionals since many transfer from school to school, and Title I schools change from year to year.

Effective March 10, 2003, instructional paraprofessionals hired by the district must meet one of the following federal requirements:

Completed at least a two-year college degree; or
Completed at least 60 semester hours (with a grade of “C” or better) at an accredited college or university; or
Passed an assessment that meets the requirements of NCLB, which includes demonstrating academic skills equivalent to two years of college.

Federal law specifies that all currently employed instructional paraprofessionals have until Jan. 8, 2006, to meet one of the requirements.

Paraprofessionals may take the assessment more than once. For current paraprofessionals, the district will pay the cost of the assessment the first time they take it. The Denver Federation for Paraprofessionals will offer study groups to help paraprofessionals prepare for the assessment.

We missed it!

Board approves Stapleton development agreement

The previous issue of Board News inadvertently omitted an innovative agreement to build five new schools at no cost to the district. The development agreement was approved by the Board at the Feb. 20 meeting.

The district and the Denver Urban Renewal Agency (DURA) have worked with Forest City Development, the developer of the former Stapleton Airport, to provide five K-5 or K-8 sites.

The first elementary site is under construction and will open this fall, housing both a DPS neighborhood school and Odyssey Charter School. Effective in 2006, DURA will begin refunding $1 million per year up to $12.5 million to refund the cost of the elementary school.

In addition, DURA will issue bonds and provide funds to design, construct and furnish the remaining four schools in the agreement.

“This is like a mini-general obligation bond that does not need to be voted on in a general election,” said Mike Langley, Executive Director of Facility Management. “This agreement will provide more than $90 million worth of new schools, excluding land costs, which would be additional millions.”

Denver Public School
Board of Education

Elaine Gantz Berman, President
Lucia Guzman, Vice President
Sue Edwards, Secretary
Kevin Patterson, Treasurer
Michelle Moss, Board Member
James Mejia, Board Member at Large
Les Woodward, Board Member at Large

BoardNews is published after each Board Meeting. For a free subscription contact the DPS Public Information Office 900 Grant St., Room 402, Denver, CO 80203

Phone: 720-423-3414 • TTY/TTD: 720-423-3741 • Fax: 720-423-3413