School Performance Update
My school has received a "red" rating....now what?
Dear families:
Our school has been rated as "red" on the Denver Public School's School Performance Framework (SPF). While this rating on the SPF does not reflect all aspects our school, it is a measure of our overall academic achievement and the discrepancies of achievement between our student demographic groups.
Because of our "red" rating on the SPF, we will be a part of the following School Performance Compact (SPC) process:
- Gather community voices through interviews with school leaders, teachers, and family members;
- Create a school improvement plan in collaboration with a wide range of school stakeholders.
- Present our improvement plan to the Board of Education.
- Approval of our improvement plan, with a requirement to update the Board on our progress in two years.
- Approval of our improvement plan, with a requirement to update the Board on our progress next year.
- Restarting or closing our school.
Although closure or restart is a potential outcome of this process, the Board of Education believes this is an option of last resort. In response to feedback from the larger DPS community, the Board has shifted the goals of the SPC process to prioritize providing support for school improvement instead of closure or restart.
As a family member of this school, you play a very important role in this process. Your role is to collaborate with our school team to identify the root causes for the decline in student achievement and plan improvement strategies for our school moving forward.
Don't hesitate to write or call with any questions,
[SCHOOL PRINCIPAL]
[CONTACT INFORMATION]
School Performance Compact-- Background Information
DPS believes that all schools – regardless of governance type and model – are responsible for serving all of our students with excellence. When schools do not meet expectations for academic growth and achievement on the School Performance Framework, DPS provides intensive support to help them get back on track. If schools are still not able to show improvement after significant support efforts over time, we believe that the students served by these schools deserve a major change in their learning environment.
The School Performance Compact (SPC) is a policy adopted by the Denver Board of Education in December 2015 with the intention of defining a clear process for how DPS identifies and supports the most persistently low-performing schools.
Four key principles form the foundation of the SPC:
- Accountability Across School Models
- Transparency
- Equity
- Engagement with Communities and Families
Although a restart, turnaround or closure is never an ideal outcome, it is sometimes necessary in order to improve student achievement and ensure every student has access to great schools. If the DPS Board of Education decides to close a school or the school itself decides that the best way to improve student achievement is to close, the district and school work closely together to protect the interests of students and families, as well as to ensure public funds are handled appropriately.
School Performance Compact, Portfolio Department, Denver Public Schools
Email: info@dpsk12.org
Website: https://portfolio.dpsk12.org/school-performance-compact/
Location: 1860 Lincoln Street Denver, CO 80203
Phone: 720-423-3200