It has been our discovery here at ScoopToo.com that we are not alone – that YOU are not alone.  The dark little secrets that we harbor about what-to-do-about-finding-the-right-school-for Johnny or Susie are, more often than not, running through the heads of the majority of parents of 4 year olds out there. Quite possibly the ambitious parents of 2 and 3 year olds as well.  These are people like us, who don’t have a stellar default school option just waiting with open doors to welcome your 5 year old.

Jennifer Holladay, the former Senior Adviser for Strategic Affairs at the Southern Poverty Law Center, and former director Teaching Tolerance tells us about her family’s Journey to Kindergarten.  Enjoy the read.  There is hope!

Be sure to come see the highly anticipated film documentary, The Lottery (see media kit here: LOTTERYPressPacket_021710 ), next Tuesday, June 8th at Harkins Northfield Theater. The documentary features four families from the Bronx and Harlem who are hoping to win “the lottery,” obtaining a spot for their child in the Harlem Success Academy (a charter school), one of New York’s most successful schools. The film focuses on the education reform movement and why public education can be transformed to help every child succeed, no matter race or socioeconomic standing. If you are interested in the topic of education, charter schools or school reform, this film would be very beneficial to watch.

A panel discussion will take place after the movie. Panelists include  Lt. Gov. Barbara O’Brien, Speaker of the House Terrance Carroll, Denver School Board President Nate Easley, and Denver School of Science and Technology CEO Bill Kurtz. The panel will be moderated by Education Reform Now’s Van Schoales.

Colorado lost out on the first round of the federal education grant competition “Race to the Top,” (see article here) but they are still in the running to receive $175 million dollars if they reapply for the second round and win. However, Governor Bill Ritter is frustrated with the initial results from the competition and is debating on whether or not Colorado should reapply. Although it would take time and resources to do so, shouldn’t Colorado take the next step in receiving millions of dollars for education reform?

Read the NY Times article below to learn further about this topic.

States Skeptical About ‘Race to Top’ School Aid Contest by Sam Dillon

A dozen governors, led by Bill Ritter Jr. of Colorado, sat with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in a hotel ballroom in Washington a few weeks back, praising his vision and gushing with enthusiasm over a $4 billion grant competition they hoped could land their states a jackpot of hundreds of millions of dollars.

continue reading full article here

Did you know that when it comes to finding the right school for your child, you do have a choice? How do you find information about the choices that are available to you? How do you evaluate the quality of a school? How will you know if a certain school will meet the needs of your child? What are your rights as a parent? How do you apply to schools of choice? Come get the answers to these questions and more!

On January 20, 9News and Get Smart Schools will co-host a parent information evening from 6:00 to 8:00pm at Manual High School, 1700 East 28th Avenue. Speakers will answer all of your questions about public school choice in Colorado.

Food and child care will be provided and we will have representatives from many schools available before and after the event to tell you about the programs they offer. The event is free to attend and open to the first 200 respondents. RSVP today by emailing smartpeople@getsmartschools.org or calling us at 303-825-6246 x337 (Sari)

About the event

Nelson Garcia, 9News’ Education Reporter, will be moderating a lively panel discussion. Nelson came to 9News for WCCO-TV in Minneapolis where he spent five years. He worked the last three as their Education Reporter. Prior to his time in the “Great White North,” Nelson worked at WIS-TV in Columbia, South Carolina. Nelson also worked in Terre Haute, Indiana and at KOMU-TV in another Columbia — this time in Missouri. Originally from the suburbs of Chicago, Nelson attended CU for two years before getting his degree in

journalism at the University of Missouri.

Panelists will include:

Colorado State Senator Mike Johnston

After graduating from college, Johnston taught at a rural high school in Greenville, Mississippi for two years as part of the Teach for America program; he wrote the book In the Deep Heart’ s Core about his experiences. He then earned a master’s degree in education policy from Harvard University. While at Harvard, Johnston worked with Al Goreeducation advisor John Schnur; with Schnur and others, he helped found New Leaders for New Schools, an organization dedicated to training and recruiting leaders for urban schools. After graduating from Harvard, Johnston went on to earn a law degree from Yale, and began advising political candidates on education policy. After founding and leading the Mapleton Expeditionary School of the Arts, Johnston joined the campaign of U.S. Senator Barack Obama as an advisory on education issues. In 2009, Johnston won a seat in the Colorado State Legislature. Johnston, his wife, Courtney, and their two children live in the Stapleton neighborhood of Denver.

Denver School Board President Nate Easley

Easley, Ph.D., is a 1983 graduate of Montbello High School. After graduating from Montbello, Dr. Easley obtained his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Colorado State University in history and student affairs, respectively, and his doctorate from American University in education. His graduate research focuses on issues related to college access and retention of disadvantaged, ethnically diverse students. Dr. Easley began his professional career working directly with at-risk high school students—including a group at Montbello— and has gone on to work at state, national and international levels to strengthen educational opportunities for low-income and first-generation students.

Manual High School Principal Rob Stein

graduate of Middlebury College, Stanford University, and Harvard University, Stein has taught in the US and in Columbia, and has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Denver and the University of Colorado. Stein is the former Head of School at Graland Country Day School, and was Executive Director of the Rocky Mountain School for Expeditionary Learning from 1996 to 2001. Stein founded the Boettcher Teachers Program and is actively involved in the community. A Denver native, Stein now lives here with his wife Mariah Dickson and two children.

Piton Foundation Program Officer Van Schoales

Van Schoales is the education program officer at the Piton Foundation where he oversees a portfolio of investments on state policy, district reform and new school development. He has previously been a high school science teacher, principal and school non-profit leader working as an education reform advocate. Van has launched or help start a number of non-profits including the Odyssey Charter School, Bay Area Coalition of Equitable (formerly Essential) Schools, Denver School of Science and Technology, A + Denver,

EdNewsColorado and Get Smart Schools.

Address: Piton Foundation | 370 17th St. | Suite 5300 | Denver, CO 80202 smartpeople@getsmartschools.org | 303.825.6246 x 312 www.getsmartschools.org

The Board of Education has recommended changes for 6 schools within the Denver Public School system. The recommendations include transforming six low-performing DPS schools into successful schools, proposals for the overcrowding issues at the Stapleton schools, and proposed locations for new schools that would open for the 2010 school year. The board is expected to make their decisions at the end of this month.

Read the entire press release below:

DPS Announces Recommendations for 6 Low-Performing Schools

Denver, CO—The leadership of the Denver Public Schools today made a series of recommendations to the Board of Education for turning around low-performing schools and for locations of new schools that are scheduled to open in the fall of 2010.

“These are critically important decisions that are the result of long conversations, difficult discussions, and careful consideration,” DPS Superintendent Tom Boasberg said. “Our absolute focus is on the decisions that will create the very best opportunities and the very best schools for the children and families of Denver.”

Boasberg also pointed to the Obama Administration’s investment in a broad range of turnaround strategies as another factor in the district’s recommendations. In announcing the contribution of billions of dollars of federal support for school-turnaround efforts, President Obama last week emphasized the importance of focusing on struggling schools. The federal government will be looking at “whether a state is focused on transforming not just its high-performing schools, not just the middle-of-the-pack schools, but the lowest-performing schools,” according to the president. “There’s always excuses for why these schools can’t perform. But part of what we want is an environment in which everybody agrees—from the governor to the school superintendent, teachers, principals, and most importantly parents and students—that there’s no excuse for mediocrity. And we will take drastic steps when schools aren’t working.”

There are now unprecedented resources available, through the multibillion-dollar “Race to the Top” program, to invest in struggling schools—approximately $13 million for DPS over the next three years, if the district meets the federal school turnaround criteria.

“This is some of the toughest and most important work we do—making very difficult decisions about dramatic school changes,” Boasberg said. “I understand the sensitivity of these decisions; they have great impact on our students and families, our teachers and our school leaders. In every school in the district we have wonderfully committed and talented teachers and school leaders working to improve opportunities for our students. We must recognize that commitment and talent and at the same time be willing to recognize some of our schools over the past several years have consistently failed to demonstrate satisfactory progress with their students. To recognize the latter is not to undermine the former. Rather it is to recognize that change is sometimes needed to allow our talented educators to establish and develop the kind of school cultures, atmosphere, and structures to best meet the needs of our students.”

In making the recommendations, the district’s leadership looked at the last four years of student growth data on the School Performance Framework. The six schools—three district-run schools and three charters—evaluated for turnaround strategies have each demonstrated student growth far below district averages over these last four years. The three district-run schools—Philips, Greenlee, and Lake—were the bottom-three performing schools out of the 130 schools on the district’s SPF rankings this year. The three charter schools—Northeast Academy, Skyland, and PS 1—are the three lowest-performing charter schools on the SPF.

Additionally, teams from the Colorado Department of Education performed an intensive diagnostic review on each of the schools. These qualitative diagnostics involve a week-long visit and conversations with school administrators, teachers, staff, students and parents and an evaluation of three areas: Academic Performance, Learning Environment, and Organizational Effectiveness. In each of these six schools, the CDE diagnostics emphasized significant shortcomings in each of these three major areas.

“It is essential that we engage the entire community in a discussion of the issues surrounding these decisions. Our strategies include turning around our lowest-performing schools in order to ensure that all of our students, in every neighborhood of the city, are graduating from our high schools prepared for college or career,” Boasberg added. “We have listened to the parents, students, teachers, and community members, beginning with regional meetings last spring and continuing this fall. We deeply appreciate their input and their commitment to our schools, and we believe these are the actions that will bring about the best outcomes for our students. We will continue to work with parents and the entire community going forward on these recommendations and more broadly on strategies to improve the performance of struggling schools elsewhere in district. ”

The Board of Education will hear public comment on these recommendations and those made last week at its Nov. 16 and Nov. 19 meetings, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. The Board is expected to vote on all of the recommendations at its Nov. 30 meeting.

DPS November 9 Recommendations: A Regional Summary

Far Northeast

Proposed Turnaround of Northeast Academy, Charter School—The district has recommended an intensive school transformation initiative, including a comprehensive reorganization of the school’s academic program, in consultation and partnership with an education-management organization.

Proposed Co-Locations of SOAR, DSST, Multiple-Pathway Center at new Green Valley Ranch E-12 Campus

SOAR (charter school): Grades K-5 (over time); would serve 428 students at capacity; will provide a holistic educational approach with rigorous academic instruction and an extended school day; replication of FLI Academy in Harlem, NY—a proven model that has a school-wide proficiency rate of 85% in English language arts and 84% in math; plans to start with about 230 kindergarten through second-grade students in fall of 2010.

Northeast

Proposed Replacement of Philips Elementary School—The district has recommended that Philips be closed and replaced in fall of 2010 with Odyssey Charter School, which currently resides in Westerly Creek Elementary School. Philips’ neighborhood students in grades K-4, would be offered seats at Stapleton schools (Roberts or Westerly Creek) or Park Hill for the 2010-2011 school year. Students who currently choice-in to Philips would return to their home school or choice to other district schools. The Autistic Special Education Center Programs would be re-located to Stapleton schools. Transportation would be provided according to district transportation policy. Boundary changes would be necessary for all students living in the Philips attendance area.

Proposed Closure of Skyland Charter School—The district has recommended that Skyland be closed and its charter contract be non-renewed. The majority of students live in the attendance areas of Manual, East, George Washington and outside the district. Better-performing options are available for those students in these high schools, as well as in Colorado High School Charter and Community Challenge School.

Proposed Solutions to Stapleton Overcrowding—Rapid growth in student demand requires provision of additional capacity; near and mid-term solutions were developed with strong community input and civic leadership, with a focus on high quality schools that reflect the diversity of the Stapleton ring community; relocation of Odyssey Charter School, construction of third elementary school, temporary ECE center in Westerly Creek facility, and boundary change with Philips would address capacity concerns for near and mid–term.

Proposed location of Denver Language School at former Whiteman—The charter school would serve about 470 K-8 students at full capacity and offer full immersion in Mandarin and Spanish; would open with about 200 K-2 students in fall of 2010.

Southeast

Proposed location of Denver Green School at former Fallis—The Performance School would serve about 550 E-8 students at capacity; will implement a flexible, student-centered, standards-based curriculum that will emphasize hands-on and project-based learning with an emphasis on environmental sustainability; would open in fall of 2010 with about 240 preschool-2 and 6th-grade students.

Northwest

Proposed Turnaround/Restart of Greenlee Elementary School—The district has recommended that Greenlee change from a ECE-8 school to a ECE-5 school and that a comprehensive literacy program be implemented for the 2010-2011 school year. Students currently in ECE through grade four would be able to continue at Greenlee next year without disruption. Students currently in grades five, six and seven would be offered seats at Manny Martinez Charter School, which will become a boundary school, or Dora Moore.

Proposed Turnaround of Lake Middle School and Co-Location with West Denver Prep #3—The district has recommended that:

Lake continue as the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program (IBMYP) at Lake International School;
Students currently in grades six and seven be able to continue at the Lake International School in a combined IBMYP 7th and 8th Grade Academy next year without disruption;
The incoming Lake sixth grade class be part of an IBMYP 6th Grade Academy program; and
The Lake facility become a shared campus with West Denver Prep School #3, which would begin operating with sixth grade students in the 2010-2011 school year.

The Lake facility’s capacity is 1000 students, which provides plenty of space for both schools to thrive and grow. As part of this recommendation, Lake’s boundary for the incoming class of 6th-graders in the 2010-2011 school year would be changed. WDP is a charter school that provides a college-preparatory focus, rigorous middle grades education of high standards, structure, and accountability; it is a replication of a proven school model—the only middle school rated as “Distinguished” on the SPF and the only “Distinguished” school with more than 50% of its enrollment eligible for free/reduced-priced meals. The school will serve about 300 6-8 students at capacity. A new boundary would be phased-in starting in the 2010-11 school year for incoming 6th-grade students who live in the Lake attendance area. The Board of Education in June unanimously approved West Denver Prep #3 and #4 for a 2010 opening, with approval specifying that both schools be located in Northwest Denver.

Proposed Location of West Denver Prep #4 at Emerson Street facility—Another replication of the successful charter school at the building that currently houses the Emerson Street alternative school. If approved, the Emerson and P.R.E.P. alternative-education programs would be consolidated into one facility located at P.R.E.P.; each program would continue to offer the same educational and social services previously offered. WDP would have an attendance boundary and serve about 300 6-8 students at full capacity.

Proposed one-year renewal of PS 1 Charter School and replacement through the new-school RFP process—The district has recommended that because this school serves a significant population of students with special needs who lack a strong array of other educational options, the Board grant PS 1 a one-year renewal and replace the school through the RFP process with a new school that can serve the existing students in the fall of 2011.

Although our blog is focused on elementary education, many of our readers also have children in upper grade levels that should be aware of this information.  Denver Public Schools is holding a School Expo that is taking place November 4, 2009.  It’s for families interested in learning about their options for middle school and high school.  Read the flyer below to learn more about this important event.

DPS School Expo Flyer

We are excited to bring you a new series called “Two Cents.” Every month, we will post a new topic for you to read and “talk” about. The topic may come from an article surrounding the education world, parent banter in the parking lot, or someone sharing a unique and engaging program that happened at their child’s school. Whatever it may be, we want to conjure up some conversation! Remember, the goal of these discussions is to make one think and to have your opinion be heard. We hope that you are willing to speak up and add your “two cents” to get the conversation started.

(if you would like to suggest a topic for this series, please email us at jennandkerri (at) scooptoo (dot) com)

School Lunches

Kerri’s Two Cents:

I admit I am one of those people that cringe at the thought of my children buying a school lunch in the cafeteria. Even when I visit my own children at school for lunch occasionally, I can’t help but wonder what is in that unattractive food that I see lying on the tray.  Sometimes the smell from the cafeteria gets to me. With that being said, the lunch line is always down the hall and around the corner.

Last year, my twin boys would beg me to buy hot lunch. I found myself trying to convince them repeatedly that I, your devoted mother, make the best lunch around! Whether it was a sandwich, salad, or leftovers from the night before, they were always accompanied with veggies, fruit, and some type of dairy. Every once in a while the lunch would be completed with a note from yours truly. Their lunches were healthy, nutritious and made with loving care. What more did they want? The answer was hot lunch. Yes, I caved from time to time, although it was only a handful of times, okay maybe two. One day, I even overheard one of my sons telling his grandmother, “No Nana I never buy hot lunch because it’s gross and not good for my body.” Kids say familiar things, don’t they?

Healthy or not, school lunch has not drastically changed from when I was in elementary school. Therefore, it’s always been up to the parent to make the choice for their child, cafeteria food versus a homemade lunch. I haven’t put much more thought towards this topic until recently. A friend sent me the article A Tale of Two Lunches and I can’t help but wonder a few things now. Shouldn’t we as parents be demanding better for our children when it comes to nutrition? Shouldn’t the standard school lunches be a thing of the past? What if DPS could become a candidate for a pilot program where lunch is catered by Revolution Foods? Their food is not only appealing to the eye but organic, locally grown, and prepared fresh daily. Would I allow my children to buy lunch at school more often? Would parents pay more money for a better, healthier lunch option for their child? Today, child obesity dramatically increases from year to year. While a healthy lifestyle should be taught in the home, why not have it modeled in schools?

Jenn’s Two Cents:

I ate school lunches as a child all the way up through high school, although in my elementary years, I recall having more packed lunches as opposed to a $1.10 in my pocket for a hot lunch.  Friday (pizza day) was the only exception of course.  Mostly I came sporting a PB&J with an apple and some carrots in a brown bag. It’s probably not much different than kids today with the exception of a fancy initialed lunch box.

To have organic and healthful meal options in public schools (or any school) sounds idyllic if it were not for one fact; they’re expensive.  My son’s school offers an organic daily lunch service and frankly they’re not incredibly appealing to him.  I’d rather him eat healthy foods that I know he likes than spend the money on healthy food he doesn’t like.  Now if I could pay $5.00 and have those lunches delivered to me each day, I would!

I can’t imagine it will be easy to have Revolution Foods, or any other service, partner with an entire public school system.  The enormous amount of red tape that The Odyssey School went through to get the program going will only be compounded by the lack of funding and bureaucracy surrounding Denver Public Schools.  Additionally, it seems like there are more important things for DPS to focus on like…graduation rates and enrichment programs, rather than whether students are getting organic burrito wraps and caesar salads versus chicken nuggets and french fries at school.

We want to hear from you. What are your thoughts on school lunch and this article A Tale of Two Lunches?

Choice application-check….favorite glass of wine-check…advil for the headache-check…the headache is not from the wine but from trying to make sense of this whole process!

You are choicing into a school only if you have chosen not to send your child to your neighborhood school or chose private school instead. The choice in process can be a bit overwhelming but hopefully, we can make it a little easier for you to understand. I think the most difficult part of the process is the waiting! I remember becoming quite stressed and trying to remain patient until I heard the news. Will they get their first choice? What about second choice? What happens if they get wait listed? In the end, hopefully it’ll all work out for the best.

Here’s how the process works:

1. You can pick up a school choice form at any DPS school (usually in early January) or you can download it on-line. After completion, it can be returned to any DPS. Be sure to make a copy of it (for your records) after the application is stamped and dated.

2. First Round happens in January…this is when you choose your top two schools! Complete the application. By early March, you should get some answers….if you get into your first choice school-congrats! If you did not, there’s still your  second choice school. DPS tries very hard to accommodate this if the slots are available at the designated school.

3. Again, if you did not get into your second choice school, you will now take part in the Second Round. This usually takes place in March. Here you are able to choose an unlimited amount of schools so you’ll have more options. Again, forms for this round may be picked up at any DPS school.

4. If you get wait listed at one of your schools of choice, you may still want to participate in the second round just to be safe!

5. Remember, if you are choicing into a school, you are responsible for providing transportation for your child to and from school.

6. For more information contact the School of Choice Office at http://soco.dpsk12.org.

• Note: If your child is entering Kindergarten and you want him/her to attend a full-day Kindergarten program, you must complete a separate application for this. You can pick up this form at any DPS. This is a Tuition Based program. The annual tuition was $2,430 for 2008-2009.
• Note: Charter Schools and Magnet Schools have their own applications. Be sure to contact each individual school to inquire about applications and deadlines.
• Note: Advanced Kindergarten applications & Highly Gifted Magnet Programs 1^st-8^th grade applications, are due earlier than choice forms. Be sure to contact the individual schools in regards to this or the Gifted and Talented Education Department at 720-423-8272.

Today, the choicing in process is getting that much more competitive. Since so many public schools are making positive changes and improving their standards, more and more people are choosing their neighborhood schools. And as more schools grow in popularity, it makes it that much harder to choice in. The problem is, only so many slots are left open after the number of spots for neighborhood children are filled. An example of this is in the Stapleton community. They are no longer allowing  “choice in’s” at their schools and instead, allowing Stapleton residents only to enroll. In the future, it looks like some schools may have to do this and take neighborhood children only. I recently spoke to someone at DPS who said that School Choice has been in place for about nine years and it will continue because of its success. However, many of these schools that are becoming more popular are seeing their wait lists grow and choicing in, may not be an option for them in the future. How can you be guaranteed the school of your choice? Good question! I guess the answer is to move to that neighborhood like some people do, so your child is guaranteed a spot! You just have to ask yourself, is it worth it?

“Private Schools-EXPENSIVE….Moving to a new home to be closer to a school you love and a guaranteed spot for your child-VERY EXPENSIVE….Getting into your choice school-PRICELESS!!!”

Age Eligibility

• Your child must be 4 years old on or before Oct. 1st for ECE.
• Your child must be 5 years old on or before Oct. 1st for Kindergarten.
• Your child must be 6 years old on or before Oct. 1st for First Grade.