The Commission on Secondary School Reform will hold its second meeting on Friday, June 18 at the offices of the Education Commission of the States, 700 Broadway, Suite 1200. The meeting is scheduled from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

The meeting will include a presentation of DPS high school initiatives by Chief Academic Officer Sally Mentor Hay and Assistant Superintendent Wayne Eckerling; a discussion of various readings on high schools, students and related policies; and a report from the conference on Colorado Association of School Executives. The meeting will finish with a discussion of the commission’s work plan and next steps.

The Board of Education has charged the commission with exploring policy and programmatic changes to improve the district’s graduation rate, lower the district’s dropout rate, and ensure that all students are prepared for college, work and civic engagement.

In November 2003 voters approved a mill levy initiative which earmarked $2 million for secondary school reform. The commission’s work is the first step in informing the Board of Education in the use of these funds.

The commission is chaired by Lucia Guzman, Board of Education vice-president, and Dorothy Horrell, president of the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation.

Future meetings are set for July 9, Sept. 10, Oct. 8, Nov. 12, Dec. 10 and Jan. 14. All future meetings will be held from 9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Locations will be announced.

For more information, please e-mail Elizabeth Aybar at Elizabeth_Aybar @dpsk12.org.