"Parent Compacts" is the first of eight Action Steps being pursued by Superintendent Jerry Wartgow to improve student achievement.

As stated, the Action Step calls for district staff to: "Develop compacts with parents to support the achievement of their children based on each student's needs."

On April 29, 30 and May 1 the DPS Department of Community Relations will host a series of three evening meetings designed to solicit feedback about the concept from parents.

The April 29 meeting will be held at Maria Mitchell Elementary School (1350 E. 33rd Ave.), April 30 at Cheltenham Elementary School (1580 Julian St.), and May 1 at Valverde Elementary School (2030 W. Alameda Ave.). All meetings will begin at 6:30 p.m. and run until 8:00 p.m. Refreshments will be served.

"We want to see what kind of changes would be helpful to empower parents so they feel part of the educational process, so they understand what their child is trying to achieve and know their role in that process," said Aaron Gray, Director of Community Relations.

Gray said the meeting time would be used to share some ideas of how the compact might work and what changes might also result in how teacher-parent conferences and Back To School Nights might function in that new relationship.

All parents and community members are invited to any of the three sessions.
In all, the eight action steps are:

1. Develop compacts with parents to support the achievement of their children based on each student's needs.
   
2. Extend the school day and school year to provide additional instructional time for students and professional development opportunities for staff members.
   
3. Assign instructional coaches to each school, beginning with schools that are rated unsatisfactory, in order to improve the effectiveness of classroom instruction.
   
4. Implement new programs and strengthen current efforts to increase the number of students who participate and are successful in high level, accelerated, and post-secondary classes.
   
5. Design and implement a more effective recruiting program for teachers and principals based on strategies proven to be effective in a competitive environment.
   
6. Increase consistency in all of the district's classrooms through daily use of approved resources.
   
7. Integrate the English Language Acquisition Program into all district systems.
   
8. Communicate fully with all stakeholders progress on the 7 action steps listed above.

For more information about the three community meetings, please call Karen Fulghum Sear in Community Relations at 720-423-3306.