News Release
October 5, 2004
Commission On Secondary School Reform Meeting Friday, Oct. 8
The Denver Public Schools Commission on Secondary School Reform will hold its next meeting on Friday, Oct. 8 at the Adam's Mark Hotel, 1550 Court Place. The meeting will run from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
The Commission's agenda for the meeting includes a debriefing of the Commissioners' Student Shadowing experiences, a discussion about what Commissioners learned from the Oct. 7 Colloquium on High School Reform Models and meetings of the Commission's Action Groups.
The Commission began its work on May 21, 2004. At that meeting and subsequent meetings on June 18 and July 9, the Commission analyzed information about the current state of Denver's high schools, reviewed research about high schools, and discussed how the Commission will do its work. At the meeting on Sept. 10, commissioners approved a draft Vision Statement and divided into Action Groups that will guide the Commission's recommendations. Minutes from these meetings are posted on the Commission's website http://dcssr.dpsk12.org along with a list of future meeting dates and details on the 27 members of the Commission.
The Commission's charge is to make recommendations to the DPS Board that will significantly improve the success of all students, increase graduation rates and lower dropout rates. The Commission will identify priorities for the Board of Education and Denver Public Schools administrators for the use of the funds from the mill levy that voters approved in November 2003. The mill levy initiatives included $2 million earmarked for secondary school reform. The Commission will also suggest how existing resources can be maximized to make positive changes in high school education.
The Commission has 27 members, including students, postsecondary educators, representatives of foundations, think-tanks, businesses and community organizations.
The Commission is co-chaired by Lucia Guzman, vice president of the Denver Public Schools Board of Education, and Dorothy Horrell, president of the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation. Patricia McNeil serves as the executive director of the Commission and Elizabeth Aybar as the assistant director.
The Commission formed three Action Groups to help them develop their recommendations. The Action Groups are Teaching and Learning, Culture and Organization, and Accountability. The Action Groups have all had their first meeting, will have their second meeting on Friday, and will have a third meeting before the Commission's Retreat on Nov. 11 and 12.
The Commission's recommendations are due to the Board of Education in January 2005.
For more information about the Commission, please visit the Commission's website at http://dcssr.dpsk12.org or contact Liz Aybar via phone at 303-594-1509 or via e-mail at Elizabeth_Aybar@dpsk12.org.