Press Release
October 2, 2007
Bennet Announces District's Reform Plan
Unveils School Closures, Creation of New School Programs, New RFP Process, and Expansion of Early Childhood Education
Denver Public Schools (DPS) Superintendent Michael Bennet unveiled today six major reform proposals to dramatically improve opportunities for our students and secure the future of DPS. The recommendations today are directed at significantly improving the district's ability to deliver the educational promises of the Denver Plan. The Board of Education will vote on the first of these proposals on November 19, 2007.
"We believe these proposals are a difficult, but an absolutely necessary step towards making DPS the best it can be," said Superintendent Bennet. "We are very excited about the new opportunities that we are creating and believe that our students will benefit greatly from these opportunities. At the same time, we deeply understand how painful school closures will be for the students and families at these schools, and we will work closely with them during the transition."
After years of underperformance on state and federal measures of academic performance and turbulent finances, DPS turned to A+ Denver to review the district's finances and study every aspect of its budget. The A+ Denver is a citizens group of about 100 people who live and work in Denver and whose mission is to make student achievement and public school reform the top priority in Denver. A+ Denver's Finance and Facilities Subcommittee spent months reviewing the school district's circumstances, studying every aspect of its budget, examining student achievement trends and evaluating the portfolio of programs and services offered to Denver families. A+ Denver made specific recommendations to improve the district's ability to meet its fiscal challenges and provided criteria for the district to use in making recommendations for school closures.
In its examination of the key structural problems facing the district, the A+ Denver's Finance and Facilities Subcommittee looked at the number of empty seats in the district and the financial burden of all that empty space. With the capacity to serve 100,000 students and a current student population of 68,000, the subcommittee concluded that school closures were one of many necessary steps to restore financial health to DPS. The subcommittee stressed that any student affected by a school closure should have the opportunity to attend a new school with a better academic program. DPS carefully reviewed the A+ Denver criteria and applied those criteria and recommendations in developing the six principal reform proposals it is announcing today:
- Continue to pursue the instructional reforms of the Denver Plan;
- Create innovative and high performing schools, especially secondary schools, by conducting a Request for Proposal (RFP) process to solicit new schools for the 2009 school year and beyond;
- Expand high quality Early Childhood Education (ECE) /kindergarten programs to improve student achievement, close the learning gap and increase enrollment;
- Stabilize the District's budget by financing its pension liabilities, fully funding its pension and selling surplus real estate;
- Close eight buildings and create five new schools in existing buildings; and
- Ensure that all students affected by school closures have a better educational opportunity and that additional resources go to drive improved academic performance in targeted underperforming schools.
Bennet stressed, "Our proposals go beyond addressing bricks and mortar, they focus on new and critical educational enhancements we so desperately need for 2008-09 and beyond. Thanks to A+ Denver, it is about offering better academic options based on the application of perhaps the most rigorous – and most thoughtful – criteria ever employed by any school district in the country."
Faithfully Implement the Denver Plan’s Instructional Reforms
The first proposal calls for DPS to ensure that all students, including struggling learners, English language learners, and advanced students have access to the support they need to thrive in school, such as intervention teachers, after school programs, summer school, and extension and enrichment activities.
Create High Performing Schools
The second central proposal calls for the creation of new schools that better meet the needs and expectations of the community and students, particularly at the secondary level. The district will initiate a Request for Proposal (RFP) process that solicits new schools that complement the Denver Plan.
The first RFP is scheduled to be released in spring 2008, soliciting programs that will open in the 2009 school year. It will create a single, coherent process to encourage and facilitate the development of new district schools and educational programs in a strategic, coordinated fashion. The process will encourage participation from both current DPS educators and other outside providers and will provide training and support for educators to undertake new school development activities. The first year of the RFP will focus primarily on middle years and alternative schools.
"Through the RFP process, we'll better align the district's capacity to create new schools. This is an important part of our effort to drive improved student outcomes in our secondary schools," said Bennet.
Significantly Increase Early Childhood Education Opportunities
Full-day Early Childhood Education (ECE) and kindergarten is vital to the long-term educational performance of students at DPS and it will also generate enrollment for the district in future years and help increase the use of our facilities. The district plans to expand DPS' capacity to offer at least 4,000 full-day preschool seats by fall 2008, up from the 4,000 half-day slots currently provided.
The district will aggressively use funds from multiple sources, including the Denver Preschool Fund, to offset any DPS budget impact due to the expansion. Other district cost savings and outside funds will be used to increase the number of full-day kindergarten classes offered.
Stabilize the District's Finances
The district is currently exploring options to finance its pension obligations. The district's goals are to fully fund the pension (instead of the current 88% it currently funds), and save at least $15 million in annual pension expenses so we can put that money into the classroom.
In addition, DPS will consider putting on the market selected surplus real estate, including vacant land and other properties. Schools closed through this year's recommendations will not be considered for sale at this time. The district will create a formal process to involve stakeholders in recommendations for the disposition of other properties and assets.
"A successful financing of the pension in which we fund the pension at 100% would be very good news for our employees and retirees. In addition, we look forward to utilizing the savings from the refinance of our pension which will go directly into the classroom in the form of lower class sizes, summer school, intervention teachers for struggling students, and other initiatives consistent with the district's overall strategic plan," said Bennet.
Closing Schools and Creating New Schools in Existing Buildings
Today's proposal recommends eight (8) school closures, opens five (5) new school programs in existing buildings, and assigns nine (9) new schools to receive students in areas where schools have been closed. In addition, the nine (9) schools of reassignment and the ten (10) schools with the lowest School Accountability Ratings (SAR) will receive additional support.
The chart below illustrates the schools recommended for closure and the new school reassignments.
| SCHOOL | ACTION | SCHOOL(S) OF REASSIGNMENT |
| Remington ES | Closure | ECE-8 at Horace Mann |
| Smedley ES | Closure | ECE-8 at Horace Mann |
| Del Pueblo ES | Closure | Greenlee ECE-8 |
| Whiteman ES | Closure | Place ECE-8 Bridge School |
| Fallis ES | Closure | Place ECE-8 Bridge School |
| Mitchell ES | Closure | Cole ECE-8 |
| Wyman ES | Closure | Cole ECE-8 |
| Hallet ES | Closure | Smith ES & Stedman ES |
The chart below illustrates the five (5) new schools that will change their academic programs. Current students at these schools can choose to stay at the new school or program.
| SCHOOL | ACTION | DESCRIPTION |
| Horace Mann MS | Close Existing Middle School Program & Open New ECE-8 At Horace Mann | The existing school program will be closed and will reopen as a new ECE-8 at Horace Mann, with looping model grade configuration. The school will serve 750 students in the Horace Mann area. The ECE-8 at Horace Mann will be the school of reassignment for Smedley and Remington. |
| Place MS | Close Existing Middle School Program & Open New Place Ece-8 Bridge School | The existing middle school program will be closed and will reopen as a new Place ECE-8 Bridge School, a new magnet school with a focus on English Language Learners. The new Place ECE-8 Bridge School will be the school of reassignment for Whiteman and Fallis. |
| Gilpin K-8 | Change The Academic Program To Montesorri Beginning In Fall 2008 | The existing program will phase-out and a new Gilpin Montessori ECE-8 will phase-in. Enrollment priority will be for students in the Gilpin area, then near northeast Denver. |
| Kunsmiller MS | Close Existing Middle School Program & Open Kunsmiller Arts Academy | The existing academic program will continue until current students complete the 8th grade. A new Kunsmiller Arts Academy will be created. |
| Cole ECE-8 | Open New Cole ECE-8 | Reopen as new Cole ECE-8. It will be the school of reassignment for Mitchell and Wyman. |
Ensure Savings Follow Affected Students and Improved Student Learning
In order to offer better opportunities for the students affected by the closures, the proposals call for savings from the school closures to be used to support students in their new schools and improve student learning. Once the board votes to implement the proposals, 3,300 seats will be eliminated from the district. The realignment would achieve projected operating savings of $3.5 million that can be used to improve the education for the approximately 3,000 students that will be affected by the school closures, deliver additional resources to underperforming schools and create funding opportunities for new schools and new programs.
In addition to the standard per pupil revenue that will follow students to their new schools, the district will also reinvest $2 million or 60% of the total savings into the schools of reassignment. Another 20% of the overall savings plus $300,000 more from Mill Levy funds (for a total of $1 million), will be used to support under-performing schools to improve student learning. The last 20% of the savings, and another additional $300,000 more from Mill Levy funds (for a total of $1 million), will be used to fund the development of new, high performing schools and programs through the creating of the RFP process. The central office will receive none of the revenue from the school closings.
"We are targeting the majority of the $3.5 million we will save from the school closings to the schools where students affected by the closings will be assigned. In addition, half the remainder of the savings will go directly into the classrooms of ten other targeted underperforming schools and the other half into innovative new schools and new programs," said Bennet.
How the District Applied the A+ Denver Criteria
The districts recommendations are grounded in the A+ Denver criteria. Each of the recommendations was made within a regional context and no school closure was recommended if a better academic option and space was not available.
The district decided not to consider closure of schools with growing school-aged populations, upward trends in academic performance, other evidence that the school was outperforming other schools in the area, recent district commitments to transform due to federal, state or DPS accountability initiatives, or strong academic programs.
Meetings for Parents of Schools Affected by Closure
Each school recommended for closure will host a meeting for parents on either Wednesday, October 3rd, or Thursday, October 4th.
| SCHOOL | ACTION | DATE | TIME | ADDRESS | Remington ES | Closure | Wednesday, Oct. 3 | 5:30-7:30 p.m. | 4735 Pecos St. |
| Smedley ES | Closure | Wednesday, Oct. 3 | 6:30-8:30 p.m. | 4250 Shoshone St. |
| Whiteman ES | Closure | Wednesday, Oct. 3 | 5:30-7:30 p.m. | 451 Newport St. |
| Fallis ES | Closure | Wednesday, Oct. 3 | 6:30-8:30 p.m. | 6700 E. Virginia Ave. |
| Kunsmiller MS | CLose Existing Middle School Program & Open Arts Academy | Thursday, Oct. 4 | 5:30-7:30 p.m. | 2250 S. Quitman Way |
| Wyman ES | Closure | Wednesday, Oct. 3 | 5:30-7:30 p.m. | 1690 Williams St. |
| Place MS | Closure & Open New ECE-8 Bridge School | Thursday, Oct. 4 | 5:30-7:30 p.m. | 7125 Cherry Creek Drive North |
| Horace Mann ES | Close & Open New ECE-8 | Thursday, Oct. 4 | 5:30-7:30 p.m. | 4130 Navajo St. |
| Gilpin K-8 | Change Academic Program To Montesorri | Thursday, Oct. 4 | 5:30-7:30 p.m. | 2949 California St. |
| Hallet ES | Closure | Thursday, Oct. 4 | 5:30-7:30 p.m. | 2950 Jasmine St. |
| Mitchell ES | Closure | Thursday, Oct. 4 | 5:30-7:30 p.m. | 1350 E. 33rd Ave. |
The new assignment schools will also host meetings for parents.
| RECEIVING SCHOOL | DATE | TIME | ADDRESS |
| ECE-8 at Place | Tuesday, Oct. 9 | 5:30 p.m. | 7125 Cherry Creek Drive North |
| ECE-8 at Horace Mann | Wedndesday, Oct. 10 | 5:30 p.m. | 4130 Navaho St. |
| Smith ECE-8 | Thursday, Oct. 11 | 5:30 p.m. | 3590 Jasmine St. |
| Stedman ES | Wednesday, Oct. 17 | 5:30 p.m. | 2940 Dexter St. |
Next Steps
The A+ Denver Committee will review whether the district's recommendations met the criteria of the Finance & Facilities Subcommittee. The district will hold public hearings to discuss the recommendations. The Board of Education is scheduled to vote on the recommended closures on Monday, November 19th.
Public Participation in the Process
The Board of Education has two public hearings scheduled for Thursday, October 18th from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and Thursday, November 15th from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. All public hearings will take place in the First Floor Board Room at 900 Grant St.
Anyone wishing to speak at the public hearings must register with the Board of Education by calling 720-423-3210 by 5:00 p.m. the day before the public hearing. Each speaker will have three minutes to speak, but groups of four or more people speaking on the same topic will have 10 minutes collectively.
The public can also get more information about the six central proposals by visiting the Denver Public Schools website at www.dpsk12.org, calling the automated information line starting at noon on October 2nd (720) 423-2300, or visiting the Welcome Center at 900 Grant St.