News Release
Jan. 28, 2005
Secondary Reform Commission Postpones Presentation To Denver Board Of Education
The co-chairs of the Commission on Secondary School Reform announced today that a presentation of the commission's findings, originally scheduled for Monday, Jan. 31, is being postponed.
"We simply need more time working together to complete our work," said commission co-chair Dorothy Horrell. "Any time you draft a report that is designed to reflect the analysis and thoughts of a 27-member commission, particularly on such an important and complex issue, it's imperative that we take the time to make sure the report language accurately reflects our best thinking and recommendations."
The work should be completed within a few weeks, added Horrell. She predicted a new presentation to the Board of Education will be scheduled "sometime in February."
The commission will meet Monday, Jan. 31 at 3 p.m. at a location to be announced.
The commission began its work on May 21 and has spent the past eight months analyzing information about the current state of Denver's high schools, reviewing research about high schools, and hosting activities to learn more about what will be best for Denver's high school students. These activities include discussing their ideas and findings at monthly meetings; shadowing students in Denver's high schools in September; hosting a colloquium on high school reform models that brought in nine national models to discuss their ideas, successes and challenges in October, and holding a student and teacher forum in November and a community forum in December. Commissioners and commission staff have also talked with teachers, principals, DPS personnel, and people in the education community and the general public.
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 also will suggest how existing resources can be maximized to make positive changes in high school education.
The commission has 27 members, including students, postsecondary educators, and representatives of foundations, businesses and community organizations.
The commission is co-chaired by Lucia Guzman, vice president of the Denver 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.
Minutes from the commission's meetings are posted online at dcssr.dpsk12.org along with details on the 27 members of the Commission.
For more information, contact the DPS Communications Office at 720-423-3414.