July
19, 2016
YEAR
5 on CLOCK, New SuperiNtEndent, “RIGHT THERE”
I thought it was true for Dr.
Jerry Wartgow in 2001, and then again for Michael Bennet in 2005, in Denver,
when they took the top job in unfamiliar territory—a K-12 urban school
district. I thought it was true for Rico Munn in Aurora in 2013. Dr. Javier Abrego, the newly-appointed
superintendent for the Adams 14, has led school districts before—so one can
hope he has a head start on these other three.
I wish him well, but I fear it will be true again.
When a school
board hires a new leader for the district, it is an opportunity to face some tough
truths. Too often though—we’ve seen this
film before— it says good-bye to the previous superintendent with praise for how
well he has moved the schools forward, “Brownie,
you've done a heckuva job!” - yadayadayada, and
hire a man who will be surprised to discover—really? a shock?—a district in distress.
Thanks to Colorado’s Accountability
Act—and I mean that! Wartgow, Bennet, and Munn were not being told: time is nearly
up!—Dr. Abrego is at least knows that his new district is in trouble. In the hiring process, the Adams school board
asked candidates to respond to three big questions, including:
Considering that the district is in its fifth year of turnaround-or
priority improvement status, how would you increase student achievement for all
students while meeting the needs of student diversity and family poverty? (See Addendum
A for part of Dr. Abrego’s answer, as well as quotes from his application
letter. You might ask: to what extent do
his words there reflect a good understanding of the district he is now asked to
lead? Or of our state? His experience in
Arizona may have led him to believe the state department of education will be
an active partner in turnaround efforts.
Somebody should tell him: in Colorado, not so much.)
Adams 14 – District
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2010
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2011
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2012
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2013
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2014
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Entering Year on PI/TA
YEAR 5
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Turnaround Plan (37.8%)
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Turnaround Plan (37.6%)
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Turnaround Plan (39.5%)
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Priority
Improvement Plan (44%)
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Priority
Improvement Plan (41.9%)
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“What
did the superintendent know and when did he know it?”
So why worry that this new
superintendent will be as stunned as previous leaders who come in and open the
books and find the district is “in the red” in so many ways it’s hard to know
where to begin?
Reason 1: from “Who will
land perhaps one of the toughest superintendent jobs in Colorado?” – Chalkbeat Colorado (7/12/16)
Finding a
superintendent with successful experience improving student learning has been
paramount in the search, said David Rolla, the Adams 14 school board president.
“We want
somebody who has been involved in turnaround before so hopefully we don’t have
to give up any of our schools,” Rolla said. “Many of our schools are right
there. They just need someone to get them over the hump where we need them to
be.”
“Right
there”? “Over the hump”? See overview of Adams 14, next page.
Reason 2: from “Adams
14 chief sole finalist for top job in Bay Area,” Chalkbeat Colorado (4/28/16)
Sanchez’s exit comes at a perilous time for
the Commerce City school district, which enrolls about 7,500 students. Adams 14
is one of a handful of Colorado school districts in jeopardy of losing its
state accreditation for low student performance….
Student
scores on state tests in the mostly Latino school district trail state averages
and have shown little improvement during Sanchez’s tenure.
But
Sanchez, in an interview, said he’s proud his team of administrators and
teachers helped stop a nine-year decline in scores, increase the number of
second-language learners who master English in three years, and
improve relationships with the community.
“I’d like
to say I left it better than I found it,” Sanchez said, adding that much more
needs to be done to improve student achievement.
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“Abrego joins the 7,000-student district at a critical
juncture. Adams 14 has run out of time to improve student learning and
will likely face sanctions from the State Board of Education in early 2017.
The board will recommend actions ranging from school closures to charter
school takeovers to outsourcing some district operations to a third party.”
http://www.chalkbeat.org/posts/co/2016/07/13/commerce-city-school-board-chooses-arizona-educator-to-lead-struggling-district/#.V4egHrgrLIV
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Better?
On what basis? Is that what the board – see reason 1—believes? Is it true? Addendum
B shows a brief uptick, but then….
Better?
Is that what a third-party—the state of Colorado and its School
Performance Framework (SPF)—tells us? See
below.
Adams 14 – 11 schools
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2010
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2011
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2012
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2013
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2014
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Entering Year on PI/TA
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Adams
City High
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Turnaround Plan
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Priority
Improvement Plan
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Priority
Improvement Plan
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Priority
Improvement Plan - 41.7
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Priority
Improvement Plan – 38.6
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Year
5
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Aurora
Central Middle
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Improvement Plan
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Priority Improvement
Plan
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Priority
Improvement Plan
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Performance Plan
64.6
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Improvement Plan
50.7
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Alsup
Elementary
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Turnaround Plan
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Performance Plan
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Improvement Plan
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Improvement Plan
50.5
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Priority
Improvement Plan – 41.9
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Year
1
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Central
Elementary
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Improvement Plan
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Improvement Plan
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Priority
Improvement Plan
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Priority
Improvement Plan – 39.1
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Priority
Improvement Plan – 37.8
|
Year
3
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DuPont
Elementary
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Priority
Improvement Plan
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Priority
Improvement Plan
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Improvement Plan
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Priority
Improvement Plan
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Priority
Improvement Plan
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Year
2
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Hanson
Elementary
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Priority
Improvement Plan
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Turnaround Plan
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Performance Plan
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Priority
Improvement Plan
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Improvement Plan
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Kearney
Elementary
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Performance Plan
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Performance Plan
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Improvement Plan
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Performance Plan – 71.7
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Performance Plan – 60.1
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Kemp
Elementary
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Performance Plan
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Improvement Plan
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Improvement Plan
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Improvement Plan
52.9
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Priority
Improvement Plan – 46.4
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Year
1
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Lester
Arnold High
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Priority
Improvement Plan
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AEC: Turnaround Plan
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AEC: Turnaround Plan
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AEC: Priority
Improvement Plan
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AEC: Improvement Plan
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Monaco
Elementary
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Improvement Plan
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Improvement Plan
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Improvement Plan
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Priority Improvement Plan
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Improvement Plan
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Rose
Hill Elementary
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Turnaround Plan
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Priority
Improvement Plan
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Priority
Improvement Plan
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Turnaround Plan
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Improvement Plan
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Note decline in % points earned in 6 schools, 2013 to 2014
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Reason 3: Many educators believe a thoughtful internal
review can reveal much more than the state’s SPF. I
agree. Tucked away inside Adams 14’s
46-page 2015-16 Unified Improvement Plan, note what it says about itself. Dismiss the critics if you wish … (from the
article above: “Adams chief sole finalist…”)
The
district recently has come under fire from a community organization
calling itself VozCatorce, or Voice14. The organization launched a petition calling for the resignations of Sanchez and
his top deputies. It has fewer than 200 signatures.
Adrian
Schimpf, a former school board member and VozCatorce member, said the
district’s schools haven’t improved fast enough and concerned community members
aren’t being heard.
“The
biggest problem is the culture of fear and harassment,” Schimpf said.
Sanchez
dismissed the organization as a group of disgruntled former employees.
“It’s easy
to throw rocks and be critical,” he said.
Adams 14
school board President David Rolla said he was proud of Sanchez’s track record.
“Pat is a
good man,” Rolla said. “His heart is in the right place. He tries to do what’s
best for kids. Over time, where there is change, you’re going to have
dissatisfied people.”
… but we, like Dr. Abrego, should take to heart what the district sees,
when it looks in the mirror.
Adams 14’s Colorado’s Unified Improvement Plan for
Districts for 2015-16
(All quotes from UIP; all phrases highlighted in
bold by me.)
How are students performing? Where will the
district focus attention? (page 1)
We have yet to meet local or state expectations
in any content in achievement or growth across our district.
We have yet to meet local or state
expectations for English Language Acquisition in achievement or growth
across our district.
We have yet to consistently meet local or
state expectations in postsecondary and workforce readiness and student
engagement.
Why is the education system continuing to
have these challenges?
Standard 1 – Standards and Instructional
Planning: The district has not
consistently implemented a curriculum that is aligned to Colorado Academic
Standards or consistently ensures rigorous, effective instructional planning.
Standard 2 – Best First Instruction:
Instructional staff members do not
consistently provide aligned, integrated, and research-based instruction
that engages students cognitively and ensures that students learn to mastery.
Standard 6 – Culture and Climate: The
district does not consistently function
as an effective learning community and does not fully support a climate
conducive to performance excellence for students and staff.
6 Key Questions are used by the State
Review Panel in determining the level of district effectiveness. The following
responses provide brief responses to each question to assist in their document
review. (Page 10)
1. Is the district’s leadership adequate to
implement change to improve results?
Yes, the district’s
leadership is adequate to implement change to improve results, as evidenced by
the following:
·
Superintendent Sánchez reinstated a biliteracy
program at four elementary schools (ELD Plan).
·
Superintendent Sánchez has established stability
and consistency in and confidence from the Board of Education (candidate
filing).
·
Superintendent Sánchez was named Latino
Superintendent of the Year, awarded by the Association of Latino Administrators
and Superintendents (ALAS).
[See pages 10-11 for similarly (reassuring?) positive responses - “ Yes, …“ - to the other 5 Key Questions.]
Review of
Current Performance (identify challenges and their magnitude): (page 14)
The academic proficiency cut points at the 15%ile range fro reading, math, writing,
and science were not met at any of the grade
spans in 2014. Extensive and comprehensive
work remains to bring
proficiency levels to state expectations at the 50th percentile band.
… The elementary
and high schools did not achieve AGP
[Adequate Growth Percentile] in any content area, except the elementary
level achieved AGP in English language proficiency. Neither level achieved a 55 MGP in any content area which is the
expectation of the state for a meets status when adequate growth is not made.
Using the 1 year
achievement scores, the percent of elementary students scoring proficient/above
was 26 or more percentage points below
the state expectation (50th percentile) in reading, math, and writing. The
middle schools feel [sic] short of state expectations in reading
and writing by 26 percentage points and math by 17 percentage points. The high
school missed in reading by 30 percentage points and in math and writing by 18
percentage points.
… Taken together,
Adams 14 continues to perform
distressingly below the state expectation in all content areas. The
magnitude of our current performance is that more than 60% of Adams 14 students
are NOT meeting state expectations in reading, math, and writing achievement
with differences of 17 to 30 percentage points.
Worksheet #1: Progress Monitoring of Prior Year’s Performance Targets (pages
18-20)
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ACADEMIC GROWTH
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By the end of 2015, the district will meet or exceed a median growth
percentile of 60 for all students on STAR reading.
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The target was not met for
any content or grade level.
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By the end of 2015, the district will meet or exceed a median growth
percentile of 60 for all students on STAR math.
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The target was not met for
any content or grade level.
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By the end of 2015, the district will meet or exceed a median growth
percentile of 55 for all ELL students in English Language Proficiency on
ACCESS
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The target was not met for
any content or grade level.
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ACADEMIC GROWTH GAPS
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By the end of 2015, all subgroups will meet or exceed a median growth
percentile of 55 in STAR reading.
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The target was not met for
any content or grade level.
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By the end of 2015, all subgroups will meet or exceed a median growth
percentile of 55 in STAR math.
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The target was not met for
any content or grade level.
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POSTSECONDARY & WORKFORCE
READINESS
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Reduce the dropout rate to 4 percent or less by 2014-15.
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The target was not met.
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By 2015, Adams 14 average Colorado ACT scores will meet or exceed 20.
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The target was not met (15.6).*
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By 2015, attendance rate and LAHS/ACHS will increase to 90%
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The targets were not met.
ACHS = 85.9%
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STUDENT GRADUATION &
COMPLETION PLAN
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By May 2015, the district graduation rate will meet or exceed 75%
By May 2015, graduation rates for sub-groups will be:
FRL: 75%
Minority: 75%
IEP: 70%
ELL Students: 75%
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The target was not met for
any rate (highest):
ALL: 5-year 69.4%
FRL: 5-year 71.6%
Minority: 5-year 70.8%
IEP: 4-year 57.8%
ELL: 7-year 66.8%
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**
(*Average ACT scores in 2015: state of
Colorado: 20.1%
DPS – 18.3%
Aurora – 15.9%
Adams 14 –
15.6%
Westminster – 15.6%
Sheridan – 15.1%)
The district’s UIP continues for another 25 pages. It includes plans and accomplishments and
much more. I freely admit: the parts I
excerpted from 46 pages do not tell the whole story. Neither do a few excerpts in Addendum C on how the school board
ended the contract with two previous superintendents. But both helpful, I hope, for Dr. Abrego, as
he learns about his new community.
Courage,
imagination, and – maybe above all – honesty
What a challenge for a superintendent: to come in new and try to
fundamentally transform a low-performing school district – of over 70,000
students, as DPS was in 2005 when Bennet came on board, or over 7,000 in Adams 14
today. So many leadership skills are
involved, among them—courage, imagination, honesty. My purpose here is to help Dr. Abrego and
Adams 14 be honest.
This overview presents enough evidence, I hope, to assert: Adams 14, it is not clear you have made real
progress of late, you are not “right there,” and you must face the harsh facts
if you’re ever going to “get there.”
I also believe it is possible. I’m
sure there are dozens of reasons DPS is in a different place today than it was
a decade ago. One reason might be how
then-superintendent Michael Bennet looked at the data and used it to make the
case for change. In a 2006 talk at
Manual High School—an uneasy setting, with more than a few skeptics in the
crowd—he was direct:
“Last year, on the tenth-grade math test, only
thirty-three African-Americans in the entire district passed. Thirty-three—in
the entire city and county of Denver, Colorado. And only sixty-one Latinos.
This is a fight.” (http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/01/15/expectations)
It still is.
Addendum A
From Dr. Abrego’s application for the job of
superintendent in Adams 14
Q - As superintendent, how would you develop and nurture a successful
working relationship with the school board, staff and community members in our
district?
A - I have ten years of
experience working with school boards and I feel that I have grown greatly in
this area. .. My success comes by
forming a partnership with the Department of Education and the School Boards
Association. These two agencies have provided me with knowledge and guidance to
become a successful superintendent.
Q - What strategies would you use to build and maintain a positive
school climate and culture that encourages creativity while addressing the
academic needs of all students according to state accreditation requirements?
A - The best way to establish a
positive school climate and encourage creativity, is to allow all stakeholder
input on the creation of the district’s mission, vision, and goals… A positive
climate is attained when the superintendent is honest and respectful with
everyone. I always inform individuals that we are here to serve our students,
staff, and community.
Q - Considering that the district is in its fifth year of turnaround or
priority improvement status, how would you increase student achievement for all
students while meeting the needs of student diversity and family poverty?
A - The first step is to
understand the process of how the district achieved turnaround or priority
improvement status. … To improve, we
form a partnership with the Colorado Department of Education and request the
support that is provided by Senate Bill 09-163. The Colorado Department of
Education, by law must provide chronically low-performing districts and schools
with 1) data and research support; 2) consultative services on best educational
practices; and 3) feedback and resources on the district and school plans.
After all, we both want the same thing which is to improve student achievement
and help all students become productive citizens. The CDE has curriculum
frameworks that have been successful in other districts and they can recommend
some to our district. I have also implemented three curriculum frameworks in
prior district with much success and will seek approval to implement one of
these in Adams County. The Adams Leadership Team must then decide which
framework best fits the district’s needs, and then implement and monitor the
curriculum framework on an ongoing basis.
Steps Needed for Fifth Year of Turnaround
In Adams School District I can elevate the district in two years with
the full support of the governing board. I will need the board’s permission to
implement the Beyond Textbooks Curriculum Framework with fidelity in our
schools.
I have the experience and a
proven record of moving districts to excellence. It is a difficult process that
requires change on the part of the Board and Superintendent, and both must be a
united team to get the job done. I will need the support of the Board when
making difficult decisions. As the new superintendent I will outline the steps
that the district must follow to achieve success. The plan will be very
specific and will be monitored by the superintendent and board on a bi-weekly
basis. Individuals will not have a choice on whether to follow the plan or to
teach in their own manner. A scientific framework will be successful only if
implemented correctly. Therefore, principals will have to monitor their staff
for compliance and make tough decisions on staff that does not follow the
framework. http://files.adams14.org/files/16/SuperintendentSearch/Abrego-Javier.pdf
Addendum B
January 2014 – “Upward
trajectory”
Some positive news from 2013,
when the district was bumped up—from Accredited
with Turnaround Plan in 2012, to Accredited
with Priority Improvement Plan. (Bold mine)
“On an upward trajectory,
Adams 14 reaches out to community to earn back trust”
After years of struggling, Adams 14 officials celebrated pulling itself out of the red zone on state
accountability measures. Sanchez … said he’s excited to
raise awareness of the district’s turnaround process and how it’s turned the tide and create an agreement
with the community.
“At the end of the day, there is an urgency. We need
to end the predictability [of low test scores] that comes with educating
students of color. The education our kids have been getting is horrible.” http://www.chalkbeat.org/posts/co/2014/01/31/on-an-upward-trajectory-adams-14-reaches-out-to-community-to-earn-back-trust/#.V4g6lLgrLIU
April 2014 - “Worst to first”
“Struggling districts share success with state board - Adams 14 leaders question
how
state department will handle data transition as clock runs out”
“Our goal is to improve from ‘priority improvement’
to ‘distinction,'” said Kandy Steel, assistant superintendent for Adams 14,
referencing the state’s accreditation rating. “People are talking about going
from worst to first. Our people are determined.”
… The district’s results from 2013 state
standardized tests were the best anyone had seen since 2007, district officials
said.
But none of the gains would have been possible,
Sanchez said, if the culture of the district, which is northeast of Denver,
hadn’t changed.
“We’ve been embracing the conversation — not just
about high expectations and rigorous expectations — but also equity,” he
said. “The goal is to end the predictability of low income kids
and kids of color.”
Members of the state board applauded the district’s
efforts but wondered if the district, which self-admittedly has much more room
to improve, would beat the clock.
“We’ll be sliding in sideways,” said Sanchez, who
has been a vocal critic of state’s accountability clock.” http://www.chalkbeat.org/posts/co/2014/04/10/struggling-districts-share-success-with-state-board/#.V4g1T7grLIU
November
2014 – Down again
But the so-called “upward
trajectory” appeared short-lived. No celebrations. The district received the Accredited with Priority Improvement Plan
again for 2014, and in percentage points it dropped from 44% to 41.9%. That decline was due largely to its decline
on Academic Achievement:
2013 – Does Not Meet
– 29.2% (4.4 out of 15 points)
2014 – Does Not Meet
– 25.0% (3.8 out of 15 points)
More
detail behind that “Does Not Meet” (3.8 out of 15 points) on Academic
Achievement (from District Performance Framework 2014) https://cedar2.cde.state.co.us/documents/DPF2014/0030%20-%201%20Year.pdf
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Elementary
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Middle
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High
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Reading
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Does Not
Meet
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Does Not
Meet
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Does Not
Meet
|
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Mathematics
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Does Not
Meet
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Does Not
Meet
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Does Not
Meet
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Writing
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Does Not
Meet
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Does Not
Meet
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Does Not
Meet
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Addendum C - For Dr. Abrego
– a brief history
Superintendent departures
in Adams 14
1.
September
2008 -
“School official stunned at firing”
September 12, 2008 at
4:54 pm
Ousted Adams County
School District 14 Superintendent John Lange has received hundreds of calls of
support since his sudden termination last week by the school board.
Lange said he was shocked
by the unexpected sacking and disputed reasons given for his dismissal.
“Progress”
Three elementary schools
and both high schools did not make federally mandated adequate yearly progress
in 2006-07. One middle school was forced into planned restructuring, and the
state said the district needed overall program improvements, Vashaw said.
Nevertheless, Lange
pointed out the district has seen gains in test scores.
State records show a
mixed result for Adams 14 on the Colorado Student Assessment Program. Half of
the students scored proficient or better in reading in 2008, a 7 percent
increase from 2007; and 33 percent of students were proficient in writing, a 4
percent increase from 2007.
Math scores, however,
fell 4 percent to 26 percent overall proficiency.
“I feel that it is a
better place than when I came,” Lange said. “I would have loved to have stayed
and kept the progress going.”
2.
“School board gives Adams 14 Superintendent Chandler
the gate”
COMMERCE CITY — The Adams 14 school
board last week voted not to fund the remainder of Superintendent Susan
Chandler’s employment contract with the district, ending her job June 30.
Chandler was hired as superintendent in 2009 and had two more years on her
contract. But the board on March 13 said it had not set aside “adequate present
cash reserves to fulfill the term of the agreement,” effectively ending her
employment with Adams 14. http://www.denverpost.com/2012/03/19/school-board-gives-adams-14-superintendent-chandler-the-gate/
Reality check: Superintendent sets
target (Dec. 2011) for 2014 – 80% proficient
Chin and Superintendent
Susan Chandler acknowledge Adams 14 faces special challenges. The district has
13 schools, and more than 82 percent of its students are eligible for free and
reduced-price lunches, a federal measure of poverty. Eighty-one percent of
students are Latino, with 57 percent identifying Spanish or another language as
their primary language. There is also a
33 percent mobility rate among students, while nearly half of Adams 14 parents
do not have a high school diploma.
Still,
Chandler is holding tight to a goal of
80 percent of tested students to be at grade-level achievement by 2014. “Adams 14
foundation gives classrooms, teachers a lift,”
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80%? Not
close. Less than 46% in all subjects.
TCAP results for Adams 14 on TCAP, 2014 - %
Proficient/Advanced
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Elementary
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Middle
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High
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Reading
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45.4%
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44.7%
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41.3%
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Mathematics
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44.4%
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32.6%
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13.8%
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Writing
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28.1%
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34.6%
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28.1%
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