Our blog’s purpose is to help parents navigate the Kindergarten and elementary school phase of their children’s education. In Colorado, we are given the opportunity of “choice” in our search. This program gives parents many options when it comes to choosing a school for their child outside of their neighborhood school. The process can become overwhelming with the myriad of choices including faith-based schools, private schools, charter schools, and magnet schools – each with varying programs and curriculum.  The entire process can be very mind-boggling.

We created ScoopToo.com as a result of this daunting search and discovery process endured not long ago while researching the right school for our children. After charts, graphs, phone calls, tours, interviews, testing, researching, seeking advice from friends,  it became a huge commitment and sacrifice of time. We felt strongly about helping other parents in this arena and that a collective resource for information on related topics would help abundantly.  So, therein lies the inspiration for ScoopToo.com.

Our blog consists of school profiles, parent interviews, national and local education related articles, a Two Cents series, events, posts on educational topics we’ve researched, etc.  Please grab a cup of coffee or glass of wine, kick back, and start reading.

It is our belief that the more educated you are with this process, the more empowered you will feel about making informed decisions about your child’s education. We’d love for you to spread the word about ScoopToo.com to your family, friends, and colleagues and wish you the best of luck in your journey.

Take action today to ensure Colorado children have great teachers and principals!

Due to a technical issue, some of you may not have receieved the correct petition link in our previous email. We apologize for that error. Please click through to the petition at www.greatteachersandstudents.org.

Dear friend,

This month we have a historic opportunity: to improve public schools in Colorado for your children and all Colorado children. A child’s teacher is the number one in-school factor that determines student success and the principal is number two.

Take a Stand Today

Tell Governor Ritter and your legislators to support the teacher and leader effectiveness bill to ensure every Colorado student has a great teacher and principal!

State Senators Michael Johnston (D-Denver) and Nancy Spence (R-Centennial) and State Representatives Christine Scanlan (D-Summit County) and Carole Murray (R-Douglas County) will introduce bi-partisan legislation next week that would provide more support for teachers and principals and ensure that the teachers and principals whom we rely on to educate our children are effective.

The need for this legislation couldn’t be more urgent. Almost 50% of Denver area high school students don’t graduate on time. Statewide, it’s approximately one in four.

Crucial votes in the Colorado legislature will happen very soon, and adult-focused interests are working hard to defeat it. Children don’t have the power to pass this critically important legislation, but, together, we do. If each of us – concerned parents, educators, and Coloradans – does our small part, we can achieve long overdue change for Colorado children.

Ready to do your part? Click here.

Thank you for acting today.

Standing with you for Colorado children,

Lindsay Neil
Colorado Executive Director

P.S. – Fired up and ready to do a little more? Forward this e-mail to five friends and encourage them to support the bill too. Thanks again for doing your part to ensure our children have the great teachers and principals they need and deserve.

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

It looks like the answer to that is an overwhelming YES! There were over 10,000 choice applicants for the 2009-2010 school year and 38,000 children on wait lists for charter schools statewide. Read Jeremy Meyer’s article below to get the scoop!

Demand in charter schools forces lotteries, long waiting lists

Alma Meraz’s eyes welled when her daughter’s name was pulled from a cookie jar during an enrollment lottery for the high-performing West Denver Prep charter school.

“I’m so happy,” said Meraz, who cleans houses for a living. “I need her to go to this school for better opportunities. For a better life.”

West Denver Prep — which some parents have come to view as a first step toward college and possibly a lifeline out of poverty — is rated the second-best school in Denver.

The school’s college-preparatory curriculum and swift interventions for struggling students have been touted for helping at- risk kids beat the academic odds. West Denver Prep now posts some of the best academic growth in the state.

The middle school also draws nearly double the number of applicants it can seat, meaning waiting lists are long and disappointments high during the annual school- choice enrollment period.

It’s a scenario played out across the state each winter, as parents battle to get their kids into popular, high-performing schools during the choice period.

The Colorado Department of Education estimates about 38,000 children are waiting to get into Colorado charter schools. One such school, Classical Academy in Colorado Springs, has 7,800 students on its wait list.

School choice, enacted in Colorado in the early 1990s, remains controversial. The system was designed to encourage districts to improve all of their schools and build programs tailored to student desires.

It also created winners and losers.

Winning schools, with high academic growth and test scores, tend to draw a flood of applicants, leading to lotteries and waiting lists.

Schools on the other end of the performance spectrum face declining enrollments and often calls for closure.

The federal government is spearheading a movement to close the lowest-performing charter schools and implement turnaround strategies for district-run schools.

At a recent meeting in Jefferson County, residents demanded that the district eliminate choice and focus on improving neighborhood schools. But choice is a state law and is supported by the federal government.

And if the number of kids on waiting lists is any proof, parents want the freedom to choose.

About 220 families applied for 120 spaces in West Denver Prep’s fall sixth-grade classes on the South Federal Boulevard campus. About 200 families applied for 120 spots at West Denver Prep’s Harvey Park campus.

Valerie Espinoza, a 10-year-old who is in fifth grade at Castro Elementary, cried after seven of her classmates were chosen during the enrollment lottery last week. Her name was No. 207 — impossibly far down the wait list, said Chris Gibbons, head of the school.

Last year, the school had at least 50 students on a waiting list.

“We’d love to be able to have more families in,” Gibbons said. “That’s why we are opening more schools.”

Two more West Denver Prep campuses will open in the fall in northwest Denver. Both already have received as many applications as spaces.

Denver Public Schools this year has 1,812 students on waiting lists for all but three of its charter schools.

It’s not just charters that are turning away students. Denver’s high-performing traditional schools, such as Bromwell, Denver School of the Arts and Academia Ana Marie Sandoval, are in high demand.

For the 2009-10 school year, DPS received 10,539 choice applications. Of those, 8,013 students got into their first-choice school.

The remaining 24 percent either went to neighborhood schools; attended their second-, third- or fourth- choice schools; enrolled in charter schools; or left the district altogether.

“It makes clear how deeply parents care about having good choices for their students,” said Superintendent Tom Boasberg, who has led an effort to bring more options to the district.

Soon, DPS will put out a call for proposals for new schools, seeking more charters or performance schools that will draw students and lift achievement. Last year, the school board approved 11 new schools.

Denver School of Science & Technology — which will be opening four new schools — is currently the district’s top school, according to DPS’s annual scorecard. Last month, the high school received about 700 applications for 140 slots for next fall’s ninth-grade classes.

“They are coming from all over the city, all incomes,” said Bill Kurtz, head of school.

Nevertheless, the demand for some schools and the neglect of others reveals a chasm in public education, said Katie Holz-Russell, principal of West Denver Prep’s Federal campus.

“I feel it should be a given that a kid can wake up on his fifth-grade graduation day and know that he is going to go to a great school next year,” she said. “The great injustice is that simply is not the case. I’m reminded of that when we stand here in a lottery.”

Jeremy P. Meyer: 303-954-1367 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com

Numbers

10,539Students who applied for choice schools in Denver Public Schools for the 2009-10 year

8,013Students who got their first choice

38,000Students on waiting lists for charter schools statewide, including 7,800 for Classical Academy in Colorado Springs and 1,812 in DPS

Next Wednesday, January 20th, 9News along with Get Smart Schools will co-host a free event for parents interested in learning more about public school choice in Colorado (K-12). The event will take place at Manual High School in Denver from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Please read the invite below, tell your friends, and be sure to RSVP as soon as possible.

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