Hittin' home runs for DPS kids!

We had a great school board meeting last night, and there was much fruit to be borne from the tree of collaboration.  Ok, ok, that was waxing a bit rhapsodic, but I’m proud of the leadership that was shown by my two colleagues, Arturo Jimenez (NW Denver) and Mary Seawell (At Large).  The two knuckled down and worked hard to craft resolutions that were passed unanimously so that we do right by the kids and families.  They forged a path of leadership that, in my opinion, changes how this game has heretofore been played.

Resolution for Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (declaration of intent and provisions)

(1) That, through adopting this resolution, we recognize the need to continue and expand efforts to ensure that all young people have access to science-based, comprehensive, medically-accurate, culturally relevant, and age-appropriate sexuality education, information and resources to make informed decisions about their health and relationships; and

(2) That Denver Public Schools and eligible organizations shall pursue funding and other federal support to implement programs pursuant with the goals outlined in this resolution; and

(3) That we recognize that the provision of sexual and reproductive health education that incorporates comprehensive, science-based, and age-appropriate standards can result in youth delaying sexual activity until they are ready, avoiding unwanted consequences of sexual behavior, learning medically accurate information about their health, and promoting positive messages concerning growth, development, body image, gender roles, and all aspects related to healthy relationships and sexual behavior; and

(4) That we respect and affirm the right of parents to make health decisions for their children; and

(5) That broad-based community partnerships are essential when developing policies and implementing programs that affect the sexual and reproductive health of Denver’s youth.

As I said last night, Southwest Denver has the highest incidences of teen pregnancies of the entire Denver Public Schools, and we have to be committed to eliminating high-school dropouts wherever we can.  The scary part is that the age of young women getting pregnant is dropping lower and lower, per the testimony that we heard from Dr. Eliza Buyers, OB-GYN.  Her statistics included:

• In Colorado, 50 to 100 girls ages 12 to 14 give birth every year.
• In Denver, nearly 1,100 school-aged girls gave birth in 2009 – more than the number of students enrolled at North High School.
• In DPS, more than 1 in 4 ninth-graders report they have engaged in sexual intercourse and more than 60 percent of 11th-graders say they have done so.

Therefore, I’m proud of the stand we made with our young women.  We need them to stay in school, and having the right reproductive information helps them do that.

I need to mention for the record that this was a trail that was blazed by my predecessor, Michelle Moss.  During 2008 and 2009, she fought hard to have this very type of curriculum made standard in DPS, but due to political pressure at the time, she did not prevail.  Nevertheless, she should be recognized for her courage when it was not popular.

The next big win was with the resolution for an abeyance of new school seats in NW Denver and the formation of a community-led organization to map out the right strategies for feeder patterns.  In short, this resolution compels the district to participate in an open and transparent process to evaluate with community stakeholders and determine the best ways to reinforce the programs in NW Denver.  There is considerable clamor being raised for honors-track courses at North High School, as well as a need for attractive and proven programs like at Wheat Ridge and Jeffco high schools, and in order to do that, we have to map out how middle and elementary schools play into that plan.  Community overall has felt that there wasn’t a strategic plan for schools, and this resolution puts things on the right track.  Score!

The third big win was that the Board minority managed to put on the budget on hold, pending further information.  As I write this post, the Colorado PERA board is meeting on the results of their comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR), which will tell us whether we’ve been funding our pensions adequately.  Of course, my Board minority colleagues and I believe we have not, though the Superintendent vehemently believes the opposite.  His position is that we’re paying in what the state legislature told us to when our DPS retirement system was merged with the Colorado state employees’ retirement system (PERA).  As I told him last night, the levels that we were mandated to pay in were based on debt the district told the state legislature that we were holding because of the servicing of our pension bonds and the associated interest-rate swaps.  He thinks everything will even out in 30 years, which is the life cycle of the pension bonds.  As I stated last night, we’re taking money out of classrooms today to pay for the swaps, nor are we adequately meeting our pension obligations today.  It will come back to haunt us down the pike when we have to “true up” what we haven’t been paying, and until we can fix TABOR, this is a bad position in which to be.  We should be “socking away” money to meet the true up, and it’s the Board’s decision whether to feel comfortable with waiting for 30 years for everything to come out in the wash.  I don’t believe in kicking the fiscal can down the road.  It’s not fair to today’s kids, nor is fair to tomorrow’s retired teachers and elderly taxpayers that have to pay full property taxes to keep the schoolhouse lights on.

All in all, a good day’s work.

A typical Bear Valley vista in Southwest Denver

I had a fabulous meeting with education advocates in Southwest Denver last week, that work under the mantle of the Southwest Denver Education Coalition (SWDEC).  This is a very diverse group of people from all over District 2, from parents and teachers to principals and business owners…plus concerned community members, whose focus is:

• improved education for all students
• ensuring adequate resources for all SW DPS schools
• enhancing family and community involvement
• improving the public awareness of the success and challenges of SW DPS schools and communities.

These are my kind of folks! They were the group that was so instrumental in advocating for an IB feeder system in deep Southwest, from Sabin Elementary to Henry Middle to Kennedy High.

We discussed several issues of importance to District 2, like:

• Voc-Tech programs at Kennedy. I support the idea of having a “CEC satellite” at Kennedy.  The community raised the idea of bringing down the programs that are bursting at the seams at the NW Denver campus, so as to give some wiggle room.  Principal Peppel at JFK would love to be able to re-open the wood shop.  We all agreed that not all kids are college bound today, but that we should be getting them ready to make that step whenever they become ready.
• Marketing the high-quality, neighborhood-based programs already in existence in Southwest Denver. I reminded the group that the Superintendent has no current plans to spread the word via any marketing campaign, so we talked about ways to get the word out.  I told that group that I was especially proud of the two young Kennedy ladies that are members of the student board of education, who were working on just such a marketing campaign as part of their student board projects.  Principal Peppel, her buttons bursting with pride, is getting me copies of the project.  I spoke to Amy Friedman, DPS Chief of Staff, yesterday, about this project, and she’s requesting a copy too.  We may see some movement on this, and I’ll keep you posted, but we should take the lead of the Lake IB community and get this ball rolling ourselves.
• Linking Lake IB with Kennedy’s IB Diploma programme in a feeder chain. We all agree that the Lake IB 7th and 8th graders will soon need a place to go, and we all think Kennedy is just the place.  Principals Peppel and Lanier from Henry stated that permanent bus service for the entire year would only cost $30,000…or the funds that come with just 10 students.  I did bring this up with Amy Friedman, and she’s looking into the possibility of  doing this as a way to shore up enrollment at Kennedy.

SWDEC has a couple of great events lined up, the Southwest Denver School of Choice Expo and the Celebration of Excellence, both on Wednesday, January 20.  Check the list of events to the right of this post for more information.

To find out more about SWDEC’s mission, visit http://sweducation.org, or email info@sweducation.org.  Get involved with this great group that already has a great track record of getting things done in our community!

Principles of Community Engagement

Before Starting a Community Engagement Effort . . .

Be clear about the purposes or goals of the engagement effort, and the populations and/or communities you want to engage (in other words, if you already made a decision about changing a school, or if the reason for changing it is simply to satisfy previous contractual obligations, just say so up front).

Become knowledgeable about the community in terms of its economic conditions, political structures, norms and values, demographic trends, history, and experience with engagement efforts. Learn about the community’s perceptions of those initiating the engagement activities (in other words, RESPECT the investment community has made in the leaders it has chosen and what common values they have with one another before trying to apply a solution).

For Engagement to Occur, It Is Necessary to . . .

Go into the community, establish relationships, build trust, work with the formal and informal leadership, and seek commitment from community organizations and leaders to create processes for mobilizing the community (and this should happen before any announcement of change is made).

Remember and accept that community self-determination is the responsibility and right of all people who comprise a community. No external entity should assume it can bestow to a community the power to act in its own self-interest (’nuff said).

For Engagement to Succeed . . .

Partnering with the community is necessary to create change and improve health (or in this case, academic achievement).

All aspects of community engagement must recognize and respect community diversity. Awareness of the various cultures of a community and other factors of diversity must be paramount in designing and implementing community engagement approaches (sometimes communities don’t want to be diverse, or embrace it with open arms.  We must be aware of those dynamics).

Community engagement can only be sustained by identifying and mobilizing community assets, and by developing capacities and resources for community health decisions and action (or by identifying the treasure trove of resources you have in community members to keep a school community alive).

An engaging organization or individual change agent must be prepared to release control of actions or interventions to the community, and be flexible enough to meet the changing needs of the community (it’s best if the change agent is impartial and not funded by any organization with a particular agenda).

Community collaboration requires long-term commitment by the engaging organization and its partners (in other words, you cannot hastily schedule a few slide presentations and expect that community will not revolt).

Now, I want to challenge the myth that DPS, in its attempt to quay dissent during the recent slate of “turnarounds,” has done all it could to hear community concerns.  Here is where the issue lies.  If all you are doing is “hearing” community concerns, then this is not true community engagement.

In my opinion, true community engagement happens when you say to a neighborhood, “we are concerned about the academic progress for your school.  It is performing at level x, when we really think it should be at level z.  We think that turnaround might be necessary, so let’s have an honest dialog about what the situation really is…and then let’s craft together a plan to change the trajectory on which the school is headed.  Let’s do it in a way that keeps you engaged.”

Did DPS do this?  Not in any way imaginable.  Know who has tried?  Jeffco.  They have had some painful decisions to make to balance their budget, and they were left with little options than to physically close schools.  Keep in mind that Jeffco has more students than DPS with a very similar demographic makeup to Southwest Denver.  But along every step of the way, before decisions were made, there seems to have been an honest attempt to get community input to affect the outcome of the decision.  DPS has a lot to learn from Jeffco.

CDC Community Engagement: http://www.cdc.gov/phppo/pce/

CDC’s Principles of Community Engagement: http://www.cdc.gov/phppo/pce/part3.htm

Here’s a short video excerpt of a speech by Richard Harwood, founder and president of The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation.  Tell me what you think of the issues this video raises.

I support a delay of the vote on the turnaround strategies proposed by DPS as regards Lake Middle School. I feel there has not been sufficient due diligence performed to ensure that everyone’s rights have been protected, nor has any feasibility study or budget been offered. Basically, the current board is not allowing the incoming board to make the final determination on the situation they will have to oversee…as well as repair the relationship with the community that doesn’t want this change in the first place.

I received an email with this call to action, and I’m reposting here for you.

Call to action–PLEASE FORWARD to family, friends, neighbors, colleagues

Lake Middle School

Lake Middle School

Over the next few days, as you spend time with family and friends, you have an opportunity to make a difference for our northwest Denver schools. We have just learned that on Monday, November 30 at 4:30 pm, the current board of education will vote on the proposed turnaround strategies for Lake and other schools, and will vote to sign contracts before the new board members are seated later that evening.

Right now, the current board is expected to vote for co-location of one West Denver Prep at Lake Middle School, and another West Denver Prep at Emerson Street School, despite overwhelming community opposition.

By voting before the new board is seated, the old board is taking away the power of those who have just been elected to make decisions that they will have to live with for a long time.

The League of Women Voters, ALL OF OUR NORTHWEST DENVER ELECTED OFFICIALS and others have encouraged the old board to delay the vote, but they are not listening.

1. STARTING TODAY AND THROUGH THE WEEKEND, CALL THE PEOPLE LISTED BELOW. ASK FRIENDS & FAMILY WHO ARE WITH YOU TO MAKE CALLS AS WELL.

Current board members to call:
Theresa Pena 303-563-9889
Michelle Moss 303.763.7429
Kevin Patterson 720. 865.7104
Bruce Hoyt 303.339.9099
Jill Conrad 720.289.2886

Superintendent Tom Boasberg 720.423.3300

Call US Senator Michael Bennet 303-455-7600…and let him know that you would like him to weigh in and support delaying the vote.

If you have time, call Jeannie and Arturo and thank them for staying strong and supporting the community.
Jeannie Kaplan 720.560.8651
Arturo Jimenez 303.507.5942

LET ALL KNOW YOU WANT THE VOTE ON TURNAROUND FOR LAKE TO BE DELAYED UNTIL THE FOLLOWING OCCURS:

• The district creates plan for Lake 7th & 8th graders. While DPS is proposing to do “new starts” of the IB program for 6th grade, and also to collocate a West Denver Prep with only a 6th grade for next year, there is NO INFORMATION on how our 7th & 8th graders will be helped.
• The district creates a plan for Lake special education kids. More than 1 in 5 students at Lake are special education students, and special ed advocates have raised concerns about what will happen to these children, and how their programs will be sustained. Their parents should work with the district to develop a well thought out plan before a vote is taken.
• The district, with the assistance of the International Baccalaureate Organization, analyzes the impact of the proposed changes on having a fully-implemented IB program.
• The district reviews the impact on the court order for English Language Learners.

• The district conducts a cost-benefit analysis of locating West Denver Prep at Lake vs. locating it in Del Pueblo. Northwest Denver school board member Arturo Jimenez has endorsed Del Pueblo instead of Lake for West Denver Prep. Alterations on Lake could cost millions, which seems like a waste of money when DPS is in a budget crunch. Board members may tell you that there are not enough kids around Del Pueblo but that is not true. Del Pueblo is closer for many kids who live in the Lake boundary than Del Pueblo is.

Additionally, we want an overall analysis of northwest Denver needs and feeder patterns.

3. ASK CHILDREN AT YOUR HOLIDAY CELEBRATIONS TO MAKE SIGNS THAT SAY THINGS LIKE:

DELAY THE VOTE! Don’t Sign the Contracts! Let the new board vote

4. MOST IMPORTANTLY—COME TO 900 GRANT WITH YOUR SIGNS, FRIENDS AND FAMILY ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30 AT 4 PM. WE WILL BE DEMONSTRATING OUTSIDE AND INSIDE AND INVITING MEDIA TO GET THE MESSAGE ACROSS—WE ARE THE PUBLIC IN DENVER PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND WE EXPECT OUR ELECTED SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS TO LISTEN!

Thank you—let’s show that we are the PUBLIC in Denver Public Schools!

For more information on the situation, contact either Arturo Jimenez (contact info above) or Janine Vanderburg, janine@jvaconsulting.com.