a strong voice for kids 2nd Congressional District
a strong voice for kids 2nd Congressional District
Affirmed the decision of the Widefield School District to revoke the charter of the Leadership Preparatory Academy Charter School. (Motion was carried unanimously 7:0; Munn recused himself, because a relative works for the Widefield administration.)
BACA: Was in a car accident several weeks ago, so wasn’t as busy this past month. Is helping with the Teacher of the Year interviews. Visited a school in Monument, observing a class in action – it was a wonderful experience. Wishes that her children had that kind of teacher. Every kid was involved. Attended Aurora Public Schools Band Day, where middle school students see the APS high school bands perform. Attended an Internet Safety workshop put on by the Department of Justice. Also is going to the NASBE conference.
DEHOFF: Saw an article about a school incorporating writing in all subjects in the school, including music. The music teacher said it improved music performance. CSAP doesn’t have to edge out all other subjects. Is reading A Musical History of Science. September was a busy time of campaigning; the fun part is going out into the community for candidate forums. Thanks Baca for participating in the Teacher of the Year selection process. It is incredible. We know there are a lot of good teachers out there; it is amazing to see those that are the "cream of the crop." Went to a two-day meeting about the Science CSAP, before CTB/McGraw Hill writes the actual questions for the new Science CSAPs. People have been meeting for a year and a half working on the new assessments. They wrote detailed assessment frameworks (for 5th and 10th grades), a number of questions on each benchmark, and planned the types of questions, giving very specific directions to CTB. After questions are drafted, we will review them. It is a very long, involved process. Truly the classroom teachers are the ones doing this. It was tough to decide what areas of science would be on the 10th grade assessment. At the high school level, the concepts are more important than the facts. Is also going to NASBE, then to Philadephia to conference for Charter School Authorizers, where he will be on 2 panels, one on the Charter School Institute and one on conversions of low-performing schools to charter schools. Also is dealing with daughter’s after-effects from the horseback riding accident. She is in AP classes, and it is somewhat overwhelming for her. She is back doing horseback riding, in Westernnaires, but not trick riding, which is what she was doing when she had the accident. She is participating in Westernnoaires’ performance on October 30-31 at the National Western Stock Show Complex in a wild west show. Has tickets for anyone interested. This is their annual fundraiser. Tickets are $7.00.
HUDAK: I have been working with CSAN (Colorado State Accountability Network) doing training around the state on accountability committees. In the last month I have been driving all over the state. One day I drove from Ouray to Greeley; another day I drove from Lamar to Edwards. I have gained an appreciation for the amount of driving that Pam Suckla has to do to get to our Board meetings. I have also accompanied Jared Polis on his "Listening Tour" when he was in the 2nd CD – I have gone with him to East Grand, Clear Creek, St. Vrain Valley, Boulder Valley, Mapleton, and Westminster school districts. I commended Karen Gerwtiz on her excellent, lively presentation on the School Land Trust at the Colorado PTA Legislative Training. I attended the Reading in the Rockies conference; one of the most noteworthy things I learned there is the importance of teaching kids to read nonfiction, since nearly all the reading people do as adults is nonfiction. I also attended the Reading First Summit, where I learned that "dyslexia" is not what people think; it is "unexpected reading difficulties." I also attended a workshop covering the new rules for CBLA (Colorado Basic Literacy Act); it had quite an impact on me to see how our new rules really affect people "in the field." I was on a panel at the conference of the Colorado Art Educators Association, speaking about the importance of education in the arts. That followed a meeting of the Colorado Campaign for the Civic Mission of schools, where I got quite a "reality check" regarding CSAP. I told them how much the SBE cares about all of the content areas, and one administrator said that the reason principals focus so much on the CSAP subjects is they fear their schools will be converted to independent charter schools like Cole Middle School. I look forward to attending the NASBE conference next week..
LITTLETON: It has been a busy month; has doing more SBE things than job things. Attended the School Choice Symposium in Colorado Springs with Assistant Secretary Hickok from USDOE. Attended the CSAN conference in Colorado Springs. Volunteered in a school for a day. Attended the SBE’s Legislative Day. Worked hard on the Reading First Summit planning and the event itself. Thinks it will change how we deal with reading. Went to the League of Charter Schools conference in Colo Springs. Went to the Reading in the Rockies conference sponsored by the Dyslexic Association, where spoke at lunch about CBLA. It has been an exciting month. Introduced her campaign manager, Lisa Miller, who is attending. Thanked Polis, Hudak, and Gerwitz for attending the Reading First Summit.
MUNN: Apologize for leaving us last month; had a judge requiring him to be elsewhere. Was on a panel for Open Colorado to inform the public on election issues, including Pam Benigno, Krista Kaefer, etc. Working with the Colorado Commission on High School Reform, on a subcommittee on closing the achievement gap. Feels like he is now a member of all CTAG committees. PBS has been running a program on college readiness; had an event locally to screen it, hosted by the Daniels Fund. The issue of transition from high school to college is prevalent. Gully Stanford keeps him up-to-date on the issue and what’s being done with college admission standards. Spoke to a school in Cherry Creek, where his sister’s kids attend, about CSAP and standards. Attended meetings with people from the online community, to see what students see in their cyber education. Spending a lot of time at Cole Middle School, looking at the potential applicants. Don’t believe everything we read in the newspapers about that. The Cole community is incredibly involved in the process. Is confident that the SBE’s work with all the committees will result in a good outcome. Attending NASBE meeting next week, and passing on the seat as New Member Representative on the NASBE board to someone else. Wife will be doing a workshop on belly dancing there.
ORR: Two weeks ago attended a meeting of the Steering Committee for the School Land Trust Coalition. Was the best so far. An administrator from the State Land Board was there, as were the Deputy Treasurer, someone from the JBC, Rep. Weddig, and Scott Groginsky. The focused on maximizing the school land properties to create money for school kids. The mood of meeting was unified in that purpose. Finally, it seems that legislators’ ears are perked up about this issue. Attended a meeting with Polis and Hudak at St. Vrain Valley School Board, where we found out that they didn’t know about the school trust lands. SVVSD has been through tough times, but they have shown how to turn things around. Other districts are looking to SVV for guidance. They are going for a mill levy. To top off the last month, since Weld County was the "hot bed" for CSAP opposition, he invited CSAP From the Source to make a presentation. Their presentation is phenomenal. There has been reluctance by parents for their kids to participate in CSAP. There were over 100 people there. Knows that everyone got a lot out of the day. Highly recommends it. Wishes we had taken the initiative sooner to get this kind of information out into the field to relieve fears.
POLIS: Would like to join fellow Board members thanking Gerwitz for her efforts in raising the funds and coordinating the writing and publication of our 2nd edition of Colorado Public Schools. One million copies were printed. Wants to focus on what our Board has done. Is proud of the things that we have done, such as Littleton’s efforts on the Reading First Summit, Hudak’s with CSAN, our proactive legislative agenda, and how much our workload has increased. Proud of how we have stepped up to take on challenges and the extra things we have taken on. We have made better use in how we use our time together. Leadership meetings of DeHoff, Moloney, Gerwitz, and himself are very effective. There are big challenges for the next two months. As he has been visiting with the various school districts, hears many different things, but there are common themes. It is fun to see the innovations that districts have implemented. Some districts have solved some problems, but not any have solved them all. We need to find out how to help them share their solutions with one another.
SUCKLA: Thanked Hudak for arranging the CSAN conferences. The CSAN group is doing a great job. Attended the one in Ridgway. Had complained about not having it where everyone in the southwest could attend, so CSAN arranged for one in Cortez next month. Attended a meeting of the Southwest Superintendents and had Jo O’Brien come in and speak about the Math standards. Attended the first meeting of the Charter School Institute. Attended the CASB Board meeting. They look forward to continuing a good relationship with us. Their continuing concern is charter schools and the SBE’s role in that area – it is a conflict for them. Tracy Rainey showed some new information about school finance, and Suckla recommends that we have that presentation. Attended a meeting of the Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs, where they read a letter about a Ute Mountain tribe, which would like the SBE to come to Ignacio and meet with them. They are doing amazing things with their casino profits, including buildings and scholarships for Indian children. They are doing many things that other tribes are not. They have impressive technology connected to their oil wells. Is thrilled with what is going on there. Will be busy gathering cows in the next few weeks. Headed to Orlando for NASBE next week.
COMMISSIONER MOLONEY: Pondering the subject of freedom. Principals and schools are trying to figure out how to get teachers to do what they want, and teachers are trying to figure out how to get students to do what they want. Sometimes we pay a price for freedom. The most admired element of education in the U.S. around the world is our work in science. The rules for CBLA are very much based on science. People used to believe that reading is more art than science. Much of the change has to do with research, which was showcased at the Reading First Summit. The keynote speakers were doctors who crossed over between science and reading, through brain research. We know that speaking is innate. Reading is not innate. We have learned so much about that. The work of this Board has been responsible for the exercise of authority and its defense – CSAP would not have been voted in. Traditionally we say "Reading is good; here is money for it." But now, with our competitive Reading First grants, we are saying that certain actions must be taken to get the money; they must listen to the research. It was encouraging to see the positive response to the research and science by the leaders in the field of reading in Colorado. Anyone who has seen the anguish of children who can’t read would be pleased with the work of this Board to stay the course on the issue of reading.
(1) FROM BOULDER VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT AND BCSIS
Approve requests submitted by the Boulder Valley School District for the Boulder Community School of Integrated Studies for a 2-year period beginning August 1, 2004, relative to 22-9-106 (4)(a) and 22-32-126 (4). [The waivers are from the requirements for the evaluation of licensed personnel to be performed only by those holding a principal or administrator license and for the assignment of a principal. These are requested because BCSIS employs a Lead Teacher model rather than a principal.]
(2) FROM DENVER PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Approved charter school waiver requests from October 14, 2004, to October 2005 for Escuela Tlatelolco in Denver Public Schools. [The waivers are from the duties of the school board for the evaluation of licensed personnel, termination of personnel, employment of teachers’ aides, employment of principals, and teacher employment, compensation, and dismissal.]
Appointed J.D. Miller from Grand Junction to fill a vacancy on CoLAB (Colorado Library Advisory Board), as a citizen representative from the 3rd Congressional District.
(1) EMERGENCY EDUCATOR AUTHORIZATIONS
Approved emergency Type III educator authorizations for 71 initially and 29 renewals.
[Local districts may request Type III Emergency Authorization to employ non-licensed teachers, principals, administrators, or special services providers if they agree to provide an induction program. The SBE’s approval is based on consideration of whether the district has demonstrated a shortage of licensed personnel and the employment of non-licensed personnel is essential to preserving the instructional program and to the well-being of the children enrolled.]
(2) DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS
(These remain confidential until action is taken by the Board.)
Instructed the department staff and the attorney general’s office to prepare the documents requesting a formal hearing to revoke the license of one licensed teacher and one principal.
Issued a notice of denial and appeal rights to an applicant for substitute authorization and one applicant for an alternative teacher license.
Dismissed the charges and approved the issuance of licenses for 3 teachers.
(3) TEACHER INDUCTION PROGRAMS
Approved the following Teacher Induction Programs:
[The Educator Licensing Act requires school districts wishing to hire provisionally licensed educators to have induction programs approved by the SBE. Private schools may also implement a state-approved induction program approved by the SBE. Employees who hold out-of-state licenses or emergency licenses must complete the PLACE or Praxis test or meet the requirements for a provisional license before being admitted into the induction program. Induction programs include mentors for new teachers and ongoing professional development.]
(4) DESIGNATED AGENCIES FOR ALTERNATIVE LICENSURE
Approved Eagle Rock School and Professional Developmental Center as a Designated Agency for the preparation of teachers through Alternative Teacher Programs. [Newly adopted SBE rules provide that the SBE approve designated agencies for alternative teacher preparation programs. Current Designated Agencies are also required to resubmit proposals to be in compliance with the new rules. The proposals submitted for reapproval were reviewed by a committee that included representatives of higher education and educators who are experts in the field of Alternative Licensure. The agencies received constructive comments on their proposals, and the proposals were resubmitted to the committee for a final review. It was a rigorous review process, and only the proposals that have met the new requirements are being submitted for approval.]
(5) EDUCATOR PREPARATION PROGRAM
Re-approved the content of the overall licensure/endorsement preparation program at Metropolitan State College at Denver, and forwarded approval to the Colorado Commission on Higher Education. [CDE and CCHE have been working together on, and have mutually agreed to, the process by which the re-approvals of License/Endorsement programs will be conducted. A site visit to Metropolitan State College at Denver was conducted in April 2004. In the meantime, the process for re-approval was changed, and that resulted in the need for this re-approval.]
(6) LICENSURE PREPARATION PROGRAM
Approved the proposed licensure preparation program content of Metropolitan State College in Denver for Chicano Studies in the Elementary Education program. [ Metropolitan State College at Denver has an approved teacher education program and has requested the addition of Chicano Studies, as a major qualifying for candidates for licensure in Elementary Education.]
Approved charter school waiver requests from October 14, 2004, to November 11, 2004, for Compass Montessori Secondary Charter School in Jefferson County.
Approved charter school waiver requests from October 14, 2004, to June 30, 2007, for Community Leadership Academy Charter School in Adams County School District #14 and Aspen Community Charter School in Aspen School District.
Approved charter school waiver requests from October 14, 2004, to June 30, 2014, for Dolores Huerta Preparatory High Charter School in Pueblo School District 60.
Approved the following school districts for exclusive chartering authority:
(1) For districts with fewer than 3,000 students, the 25 districts on the submitted list.
(2) According to 22-30.5-504(9)(a) - Academy 20, Cheyenne Mountain 12, Adams 12 (Five Star), Greeley, and Lewis-Palmer.
(3) According to 22-30.5-504(5)(b) - Denver, Durango, Montezuma-Cortez, Montrose County, and Pueblo 60.
(4) According to 22-30.5-504(6) - Fountain, Garfield, Mapleton, and Thompson. [These have no discernible history of treating charter schools unfavorably.]
(5) According to 22-30.5-504 - Adams County 14, Canon City, Cherry Creek, Douglas County, Littleton, Pueblo 70, and Widefield.
[HB 1362, which created the Charter School Institute, allows districts with fewer than 3,000 students to have their board of education pass a resolution to have exclusive authority for chartering schools within their geographic boundaries; the SBE must then approve them. The law also allows the SBE to grant exclusive authority for districts that meet certain other criteria: 22-30.5-504(9)(a) for districts with students enrolled in their charter schools in a percentage that exceeds the statewide charter school enrollment by 3 percentage points (7.15%); 22-30.5-504(5)(b) for districts with students eligible for free/reduced lunch enrolled in their charter schools in a percentage that is 1 percentage point below the district’s overall percentage of students eligible for free/reduced lunch; and 22-30.5-504(6) for districts with no history of authorizing charter schools, which have not had a moratorium regarding charter schools and have complied with SBE orders. Also, 22-30.5-504 gives the SBE the discretion to grant exclusive chartering authority to districts that meet the mandatory requirements and at least 2 of the 6 discretionary factors. The mandatory factors are compliance with good accounting practices for administrative costs, with allowing the purchase of district services, and with orders of the State Board, and the absence of a school district moratorium or enrollment limit on charter schools.]
Scheduled a hearing for the December 9, 2004, Board meeting to consider the proposed minor rule revisions for the Administration of the School District Capital Construction Assistance Program. [Legislative Legal Council has reviewed the rules that were approved by the Board at the August 12, 2004, Board meeting and requested some minor changes. They want the section on Back-Up Projects removed, as well as all references to back-up projects. In addition, they have added a paragraph under Application Requirements, under Procedures for Loans.]
Conducted a hearing on amended emergency rules for the Administration of Accountability for Alternative Campuses. [SB 04-83 created an additional category of "Alternative Education Campuses" and required the SBE to adopt rules by July 1 specifying the criteria and application process for schools meeting the new criteria to be designated as such. Because of the short timeline, the SBE adopted the emergency rules at the July meeting and scheduled this meeting for the hearing on the permanent rules. The alternative education campuses are secondary schools that "are designed for and typically serve students who have failed in or dropped out of traditional schools, have been expelled from traditional schools, have become involved in the juvenile justice system, were victims of child abuse or neglect, use drugs or alcohol, belong to street gangs, or are otherwise at risk of academic failure, continuing high-risk behaviors, and post-graduation joblessness." The student population of these schools must have more than 95% of the students meet the definition of high-risk.]
DAVIDSON: These alternative schools will receive SARs, but no ratings. Therefore, they won’t be eligible to be converted to independent charter schools. These are the same as the Emergency Rules we passed in July. Based on the Emergency Rules, schools for this year have already been exempted. The permanent rules must be passed now to comply with the law.
Motion passed unanimously to suspend the rules (which would have required approval at next month’s meeting, since this was just supposed to be a hearing) so that the rules could be approved at this meeting. Motion to approve the rules passed unanimously.
Approved charter school waiver requests from October 14, 2004, to November 11, 2004, for University Charter Schools in the Greeley School District. Suckla moved to deny the request to waive 22-32-109.8 and 22-32-109.9, both related to fingerprinting, because she believes that it is illegal for us to waive these. Bill Windler from CDE explained that the charter school laws (22-30.5-104) allow such waivers, since charter schools are responsible for "contracting for services." Also, 22-2-117 shows which waivers the SBE may and may not grant. Denise Mund said that districts might prefer not to do the paperwork. I moved to deny the request for 109(1)(a)(k)(l)(m)(q)(r), relating to reporting of financial matters, reporting to the SBE, etc. Both of these motions passed unanimously.
Approved charter school waiver requests from October 14, 2004, to June 30, 2014, for Cesar Chavez Academy Charter School in Pueblo School District 60. Suckla moved to deny the request for 22-32-109.8 and 22-32-109.9, same as the above. Motion passed unanimously.
Approved 7:0 the charter school waiver requests from October 14, 2004, to June 30, 2007, for the New America Charter School in Adams County School District #14 (Polis recused himself on this vote because he and his foundation were instrumental in founding the school.)
Conducted a Board-only discussion on the revised rules for the Administration of the Colorado Online Programs. [A hearing was conducted at the September Board meeting to consider the rules for the Administration of Colorado Cyberschools. Emergency rules were adopted on August 15, 2003, and permanent rules were adopted on May 13, 2004, to provide a basis for cyberschool operation before the 2004-2005 school year on the understanding that the Board might wish to revisit and re-open the rules for substantive changes in the fall.]
STROUP: Reviewed the changes we made last month. The first was to change the definition of "earning a semester grade" to "received a grade," not "received a passing grade," so that kids who complete the course are eligible, regardless of how well they did, since one of the reasons they fail is because they don’t do well in a regular classroom environment. There were a few other small changes, the most significant is the change of deadline for application from August 15 to September 15.
Polis moved to change the wording in the funding portion of the rules to allow eligibility for students who were not enrolled in a public school during "a preceding school year," rather than "the preceding school year." He said that any reason parents have had to move their children at any time would be viable, and also, he believes that the Constitution allows students to enroll in a public school at any time, which "trumps state law." Stroup pointed out that "the" is word for word from the statute. Furthermore, the way that the rules have been changed would eliminate most of the need for this proposed wording (referring to exemptions allowed for extraordinary circumstances). Munn said that our legislative agenda will address the statutory change. DeHoff said that it is not up to us to decide what is Constitutional, and if we blatantly ignore a law, we will not do much to build our trust for asking the Legislature to allow us the flexibility of implementation that we are requesting. Polis withdrew his proposed amendment.
Munn suggested that we add "or the next regular business day" after the deadline of September 15.
Motion passed 7:1 to direct revisions and schedule for approval at next month’s meeting (Orr dissented, because he wanted to approve them at this meeting) .
After a unanimous vote to suspend the rules, so that we could consider the resolution at this meeting, the resolution stating the SBE’s 2005 Legislative Priorities passed unanimously. [See below for the text of the resolution.]
The Board will be asked to approve the Douglas County School District’s proposal for the preparation of teachers through the Teacher in Residence Program.
The Board will consider a resolution resolving that "the State Board of Education support the work of the Colorado School Readiness Indicators Task Force and its final report, Colorado School Readiness Indicators: Making Progress for Young Children, as a tool to close the achievement gap and help prepare the children of Colorado for success in school and in life.
SAM DRURY: From Littleton School District. Is concerned about the process of granting exclusive chartering authority. Has had experiences with the Littleton School Board not to request exclusive authority. Does not feel the treatment of the Littleton district to its two charter schools has been fair and equitable. They get only 2% of the mill levy, whereas they represent 6% of the district’s enrollment. Felt that the district was coerced into requesting exclusive chartering authority, but feels that CDE’s process of evaluating the law was good. Thinks that it is a bad law. Is not going to appeal our decision, but thinks that it is too easy to qualify for exclusive authority. Has suggestions submitted to us in writing.
NINA LOPEZ: From the League of Charter Schools. Has been an observer of the Charter School Institute; they will meet on Monday. They will be approving rules by December and opening schools in 2005. In regard to the 8 districts that we have not decided on for exclusive chartering authority, points out that our decision will impact the CSI considerably, since the 8 are very large districts. We should be mindful of the timing of our decisions, because we might not decide until December or January. The total grant of $187,500 from the Walton Foundation went to the League of Charter Schools, so that it could occur during the Foundation’s granting cycle. The Foundation empowered the League to ensure that the CSI meets certain conditions for the money before the money is transferred.
DONALD ALBERTS: From Colorado Springs but here on behalf of Pinnacle Charter School in Adams 12. Wants to let us know that the charter school will be appealing our decision to grant Adams 12 exclusive chartering authority. Wants to know what our process will be for the challenge process. Feels that there are contradictory aspects between HB 1362 and the Charter School Act in regard to appealing the decision. Thinks that our action in approval is a pre-judging of the appeal. The charter school doesn’t believe that the district met the mandatory requirements.
ANDY MCKEAN: The law passed to require a civics course in every high school also requires a community meeting to discuss what should be included in that course. Invited us to Cherry Creek School District’s meeting on Wednesday, November 3, at Laredo Middle School to get the community’s input. They are trying to make this a model for the state of Colorado. Would like us to recognize the school district for doing this. Asked us to encourage all school districts to do this. Has asked broadcasters to communicate to the public this component of the law.
ACCOUNTABILITY
Longitudinal Growth/SAR - Propose clean-up legislation to ensure the reliability and meaningfulness of the longitudinal growth rating on SARs.
SARs and Unsatisfactory Schools - Propose increased flexibility and State Board discretion in directing multiple remedies for Unsatisfactory schools beyond what is currently in statute.
FINANCE
At-Risk Funding for Non-English Speakers - Encourage the Legislature to restore the $4 million in the at-risk funding factor for the School Finance Act for English Language Learners.
Full-Day Kindergarten/Colorado Preschool Program - Back the proposal of the Office of State Planning and Budgeting (OSPB) to restore funding in 2005-2006 of the Colorado Preschool Program to the original 11,050 slots and encourage full-day kindergarten as an effective intervention for at-risk populations.
Online Education Funding - Ensure accessibility for all Colorado students.
School Trust Lands - Encourage the Legislature to follow the state Constitution’s requirement that school trust land funds are to be used to supplement, not supplant, the School Finance Act.
Restoration of Library Funding - Reiterate the Board’s current budget request of $60,500 for libraries.
SCHOOL CHOICE
Resolution on Principles of School Choice - Reaffirm the Board’s resolution on school choice and encourage the Legislature to follow the guidelines in it when considering any bill related to school choice.
Bonding for Institute Charter Schools - If the Charter School Institute Board is interested in securing bonding access through the Culture Facilities District, the State Board will support their efforts.
GENERAL
State Board Authority - One overall principle favored by the Board is to have legislation givbe the Board more flexibility to put specifics of implementation in rule.
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