Updated – Denver Public Schools Superintendent Tom Boasberg this morning announced an $800,000 grant that will place assistant principals from traditional DPS schools in selected charter schools for a year of training.
The grant from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation will be used to pilot what the district describes as a groundbreaking program to fuel increased cooperation and shared learning between leaders of charters and district-run schools.
The pilot program, launching in August, will see assistant principals at district-run schools spend a one-year training residency at Denver School of Science and Technology (DSST), SOAR and West Denver Prep charter schools. They will then return to lead a district-run school.
The grant also provides funding for the development of a comprehensive training and support program for principals implementing innovation school plans to assist in utilizing school resources in new ways.
“This is a nationally groundbreaking program to share best practices between successful district-run and charter schools,” Boasberg said in a prepared statement. “We have much to learn from each other. These schools are some of the best schools in the state with proven leadership development programs for aspiring principals.”
The pilot program is expected to fund residencies for six principals. They will be selected through a competitive application process this spring.
What’s churning:
State Board of Education Chair Bob Schaffer will help kick off National School Choice Week tonight in Castle Rock, one of 400 events organized in 50 states this week. Tonight’s event will include Schaffer, a former U.S. congressman, along with political commentators Dick Morris and Hugh Hewitt. It’s backed by Americans for Prosperity Foundation-Colorado and 710 KNUS.
“It’s time to put children first in the education policy debate, not the adults and not the unions,” Jeff Crank, AFP Foundation-Colorado State Director, said in a news release.
The event kicks off at 7 p.m. tonight at the Douglas County Events Center. The program will be carried online at this link. You can read more about tonight’s event here and more about the national campaign here.
Denver Public Schools is preparing an announcement at 9:30 a.m. today about a that will enable the district to partner with several DPS charter schools in a pilot principal residency program. Strengthening the principal pipeline has been a priority for the district, which last year was awarded a $12 million Wallace Foundation grant for work toward that same goal. Watch EdNews for full details concerning today’s announcement.
Grant recipients: Fourteen public schools and two public charter management organizations from the Denver metro area are splitting $500,000 from the Foundations for Great Schools for their work in “encouraging success” among schools serving high proportions of low-income students. The foundation cited common success factors among the 2012 winners, including principals with exceptional leadership skills and school cultures with high expectations. See news release.
The winners are Montview and Tollgate elementaries in Aurora; South Elementary in Brighton; Community Leadership Academy (middle school level) and Ricardo Flores Magón Academy in the Charter School Institute; West Denver Prep charter management organization, Beach Court Elementary, Bryant Webster Dual Language K-8 (Middle School division), Denver School of Science and Technology charter management organization, Girls Athletic Leadership School, Greenwood ECE-8 (middle school division) and KIPP Sunshine Peak Academy in Denver Public Schools; Deane and Stein elementaries in Jeffco; East Elementary in Littleton; and Valley View K-8 (elementary level) from Mapleton Public Schools.
Metropolitan State College of Denver’s Hospitality, Tourism and Events Department has announced it is the recipient of a $1 million commitment from The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation to support the College’s new Hotel and Hospitality Learning Center. The Marriott Foundation instantly becomes the largest donor to the center to date. More info.
In case you missed it:
Colorado Attorney General John Suthers Monday filed the formal notice of the state’s appeal of the Lobato decision with the Colorado Supreme Court.
Suthers listed 14 possible issues that may be raised on appeal. They include whether Denver District Judge Sheila Rappaport erred in “declaring the state public school finance system unconstitutional” and erred in excluding some of the state’s proposed defenses, including consideration of multiple constitutional provisions, not just the “thorough and uniform” education clause.
Other possible issues listed including the standing of plaintiffs to sue, whether school funding is an appropriate area for court rulings and whether Rappaport erred in excluding the testimony of former legislator and school finance expert Norma Anderson.
The plaintiffs were predictably critical of the filing. Kathleen Gebhardt, lead attorney in the case, said, “‘All of the state’s bases for appeal are technical arguments that do not speak to whether students are getting a constitutionally adequate education. In addition, the state’s appeal does not seek guidance on how to solve the revenue implications of the district court’s decision, which was its stated justification for the costly and time consuming appeal.”
Much of the appeal notice is legal boilerplate. The state’s full appeal brief isn’t due until June 4, and Suthers recently told legislators he expects the appeals process to take a year (see story).
Read the appeal notice, and get background in the EdNews Lobato archive.
What’s on tap:
The Aurora Public Schools Board of Education meets at 6 p.m. today at the Educational Services Center, 1085 Peoria St. Watch the agenda page for details when they are posted.
The Boulder Valley School District Board of Education meets at 6 p.m. today at district headquarters, 6500 Arapahoe St. Agenda
Good reads from elsewhere:
The conservative Thomas B. Fordham Institute is out with a study showing that the per-pupil cost of educating a student through “virtual education” is significantly less, on average, than the national average for brick-and-mortar schools. Here is the story about the study in North Carolina’s News & Observer and the full study published by the institute.
The Aspen School District is considering a new program that would teach students to fly airplanes as part of its math and science curriculum, the Aspen Daily News reports.
Reserves will be raided in in Thompson School District to backfill an estimated $7.25 million deficit. The Loveland Reporter-Herald reports that not all personnel reductions will be avoided, however.
The idea of a state ban on trans fats in school cafeterias, vending machines and snacks doesn’t phase the Poudre School District, the Fort Collins Coloradoan reports, because the district already meets the standards of the proposed legislation.
The EdNews’ Churn is a daily roundup of briefs, notes and meetings in the world of Colorado education. To submit an item for consideration in this listing, please email us at EdNews@EdNewsColorado.org.