Press Release - March 22, 2024
Contact: Nan Baumbusch
EDUCATE Denver Staff Director
info@educatedenver.org | 303-501-7287
EDUCATE Denver releases board of education progress report to evaluate governance of Denver Public Schools
New accountability tool highlights successes and gaps in board effort to support a high-quality public school experience for Denver’s students
DENVER – EDUCATE Denver, a civic coalition for DPS students, published a DPS Board of Education Progress Report today to focus district leaders on key data and desired activities that support high-quality public education in Denver Public Schools. Developed by the coalition, the report includes multiple objectives for the 2023-24 school year that align with four focus areas of the EDUCATE Denver Platform. Members released the platform last fall to identify priorities in their quest for meaningful change in Denver’s schools. EDUCATE Denver designed the progress report as a related accountability tool that will provide the community with more transparency around Board of Education work.
The progress report includes 26 measures tied to the focus areas below:
Deliver high-quality education to all students
Maximize school safety
Enable parents to direct their child’s education
Demonstrate a standard of excellence in leadership
The objectives represent milestones for improvement that EDUCATE Denver believes are reasonable and attainable for the 2023-24 school calendar year. For each objective, the report details the current status, a target, and evidence of progress, which highlights whether board meetings, conversations, policy-making, or other activity constitute progress toward achievement of each objective. Evidence includes both quantitative and qualitative data.
“Denver Public Schools has experienced persistent race- and income-based academic achievement gaps, and has failed to return a majority of students to pre-pandemic performance levels,” said Theresa Peña, co-chair of EDUCATE Denver. “In that context, it is important that we, as community members, monitor board activity to evaluate the time and effort spent working toward high-quality supports and dramatically improved academic outcomes for all of our students.”
The progress reporting tool emphasizes disaggregated student data, which is tied to a majority of the objectives. These measures track proficiency levels and student growth for several sub-groups of students. The progress report also reflects movement toward best-practice discipline policies; data transparency regarding school performance and programs; a consistent framework for evaluating school quality; and board approval of a goal-oriented strategic plan.
“A strong focus on student success will always be our number one priority,” said Rosemary Rodriguez, co-chair of EDUCATE Denver. “Foundational to that outcome, however, are safe learning environments; datasets for parents that encourage them toward high-quality programs; and a thoughtful strategic plan that has Board buy-in. We included these components in the progress report in order to set a proper stage.”
The March 2024 DPS Board of Education Progress Report is the first of four that will be published this school year in conjunction with Board of Education meetings that occur through June. It is available on the EDUCATE Denver website at https://educatedenver.org and will be distributed on social media. The coalition plans to update the report monthly following each formal board meeting and to revise objectives as needed for each new school year.
About EDUCATE Denver
EDUCATE Denver is a coalition of civic leaders who are elevating ECE-12 education as the city’s No. 1 priority. The coalition is made of over 35 business, philanthropy, public policy, faith-based and community leaders who understand that high-quality education and a thriving city go hand in hand. Learn more and see the full list of participants at educatedenver.org.