Tuesday, October 31, 2017

AV#169 - Recommended for non-partisan class discussions on citizenship: Animal Farm

                                                                                                    
“For George Orwell, politics … started and ended with personal responsibility.”
The Economist, July 2002

“A voice is a human gift: it should be cherished and used, to utter human speech as fully as possible. Powerlessness and silence go together.”
Margaret Atwood, Canadian novelist and poet

"Frightened though they were, some of the animals might have protested, but at this moment the sheep set up their usual bleating of 'Four legs good, two legs bad,' which went on for several minutes and put an end to the discussion." 
Animal Farm, ch.7

For all who still believe a K-12 public school education should see our students first and foremost as future citizens—and not future workers—I recommend one book.

      Too long since you last read it?

In the Addendum you will find a few guiding questions I gave to my eighth graders.  Here are three … to refresh your memory:
1.  What does Animal Farm have to say about the use (or abuse) of power?
2.  What role do propaganda and distortions of the truth play in helping tyrants succeed?
   3.  What is the role of dissent in               maintaining a free society?

For all who are finding it difficult to manage classroom discussions on politics and current events, or Someone in Particular – discussions a teacher hopes will be honest and constructive, that suddenly cross the line and become partisan and nasty, I recommend this same book.  

Great literature examines the abuse of power; as English and History teachers we can explore texts from the Greeks and Shakespeare—invariably tragedies—that focus on leaders.  But for all who wish to focus on the rest of us and our role as citizens, I recommend one short novel. George Orwell’s Animal Farm.

My sixth-grade teacher read it aloud to us – back in Cold War days, 1961.  It has been on the reading list at most of the schools, in four states, where I taught.  I loved teaching it here in Colorado—one of the essential texts recommended for 8th graders in close to 40 Core Knowledge middle schools in our state.  Expectations for 21st century learning often start with “critical thinking.” What is the price, when we lose this faculty?  Read this book! 

If I were teaching it now, I would focus on two kinds of citizens, and one key idea: responsibility

Over the first few chapters, after the Rebellion, we see how the animals lose their voice. Chapter 5 ends with the shifty mouthpiece for the new Leader, Squealer, giving one of many false stories.

… The animals were not certain … but Squealer spoke so persuasively, and the three dogs who happened to be with him growled so threateningly, that they accepted his explanation without further questions.

After reading of the brutal executions in chapter 7—the slaughter of the innocent “rebels”—we see how “the remaining animals, except for the pigs and the dogs, crept away in a body. They were shaken and miserable.” Orwell takes us inside the mind of one, Clover:
… If she could have spoken her thoughts, it would have been to say that this was not what they had aimed at when they had set themselves years ago to work for the overthrow of the human race… Instead, she did not know why – they had come to a time when no one dared speak his mind ….
I would focus on the silence of Boxer and Benjamin.  The powerful horse, Boxer represents one type of follower: loyal, hard-working, with more faith in the leaders than in himself. He is introduced as “not of first-rate intelligence.”  In chapter 5, told there would be no more Sunday meetings and debates, just weekly “orders” from the Leader, “Even Boxer was troubled … but in the end he could not think of anything to say.”  It is far too easy to call him “stupid.”   What is it that makes Boxer so obedient?

It is certainly not fear. In chapter 7, his courage—or maybe his naiveté—allows Boxer to speak up and question the party line. When Squealer “makes the necessary explanations”—more spin—for a new lie:
   The animals were stupefied… But it was minutes before they could fully take it in.… Even Boxer, who seldom asked questions, was puzzled. He lay down, tucked his fore hoofs beneath him shut his eyes, and with a hard effort managed to formulate his thoughts.
   “I do not believe that,” he said.
Only to succumb. Squealer says:
   “’Our Leader, Comrade Napoleon, has stated categorically—categorically, comrade--….”
   “Ah that is different!” said Boxer. “If Comrade Napoleon says it, it must be right.”
   “That is the true spirit, comrade!” cried Squealer, though it was noticed he cast a very ugly look at Boxer with his twinkling eyes.  

A few days later, with Napoleon eager to claim a win, Squealer delivers more nonsense. 
   “What is the gun firing for?” said Boxer.                                             
   “To celebrate our victory!”
   “What victory?” cried Boxer. 
   “What victory Comrade? Have we not driven the enemy off our soil – the sacred soil of Animal Farm?”
   “But they have destroyed the windmill. And we had worked on it for two years!” (ch. 8)

But Boxer will only go so far.  If there is any misunderstanding—or apparent untruth—the fault must lie with him alone.  Orwell portrays Boxer as a victim—and we do sympathize.  (Several of my 8th-grade girls cried over his death.)  And yet we must ask: Does he choose to shut his mind to what he sees? Is he in any way responsible for his own tragic end? 

Benjamin, the donkey, the second type of “citizen” to study, represents a more dangerous flaw.

.… About the Rebellion and its results, he would express no opinion.  When asked whether he was not happier now that Jones was gone, he would say only “Donkeys live a long time….” (ch.3)
… Benjamin could read as well as any pig, but never exercised his faculty. So far as he knew, he said, there was nothing worth reading. (ch. 3)
… Benjamin, as usual, said that he refused to meddle in such matters….  (ch. 8)

Detached, even mocking. As when the enemy prepares to blow up the animals’ windmill:
   … Benjamin was watching the movements of the men intently … Slowly, and with an air of almost amusement, Benjamin nodded his long muzzle.
   “I thought so,” he said. “Do you not see what they are doing?” (ch. 8)

Clearly, he is not blind.  But Orwell’s cautionary tale asks us what Benjamin does with his understanding.
    … None of the animals could form any idea as to what this meant, except old Benjamin, who nodded his muzzle with a knowing air, and seemed to understand, but would say nothing. (ch. 8)
If I were teaching Animal Farm now, our class would examine the quote, above, from Margaret Atwood—a power point I used with my 8th graders. I would ask what Animal Farm might be saying about a citizen of this type—cynical, and silent.  And what it tells us that he speaks up only when it is too late.
    … The animals were … astonished to see Benjamin come galloping from the direction of the farm buildings, braying at the top of his voice.  It was the first time they had ever seen Benjamin excited—indeed the first time that anyone had seen him gallop. “Quick, quick!” he shouted. “Come at once! They’re taking Boxer away!” (ch. 9)
The animals—who love Boxer—come running.  The old horse—working with his last ounce of strength—had fallen.  The others do not see what Benjamin does. After all, he can read.
    “Fools! Fools!” shouted Benjamin, prancing round them and stamping the earth with his small hoofs. Fools! Do you not see what is written on the side of that van?” … he read: “Alfred Simmonds, Horse Slaughter and Glue Boiler.” (ch. 9)

Only then do the animals act, crying “Get out, Boxer, get out!”

Only then does Boxer himself understand he is not being taken to the veterinarian for care. He struggles in vain to kick his way out.  Too late…. 

Who now, we must ask, is the greatest fool?

Readers, our students, reach the final pages of this fable … aghast that it ends like this.  How is it possible, we would ask our class, that whatever the Leader pronounces, no matter how absurd— “All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others”—can stand, unchallenged? 

After reading, no end of questions to discuss: What, finally, is Orwell saying about the Boxers and Benjamins of the world?  What is a citizen’s responsibility? Especially, perhaps, if we do not live in a totalitarian state like Animal Farm, where fear can take away our voice.  Is it our role—even our duty—to keep our eyes open, to use whatever intelligence we have been given, to seek the truth, to question?

Whatever our politics, Animal Farm can inspire terrific class discussions.  To be sure, I would recommend it at any time—but especially now, in the fall of 2017.

**

FOR TEACHERS – Addendum includes handouts and assignments used with my 8th grade English classes.


Addendum 

Animal Farm - Guiding Questions

What is totalitarianism?

How do totalitarian rulers succeed?

What strategies do they use and what kind of atmosphere do they create in order to build and maintain control?

What does Animal Farm have to say about the Russian Revolution?
About many revolutions?
About the use (or abuse) of power? 

For a society to be free, what is necessary?

To prevent totalitarian leaders from succeeding, to prevent a society and its government from becoming totalitarian, what should citizens do?

BEYOND THE TEXT
Animal Farm raises a number of other provocative questions:

How can those in power manipulate or control people’s thinking?
What role do fear and intimidation play in helping tyrants succeed?
Why do people conform? Why do they fear challenging or protesting against a leader who causes them to suffer?

Which is more important to people – freedom or security?
What role do propaganda and distortions of the truth play in helping tyrants succeed?

Are we all equal?
Is creating equality for all a reasonable and worthy goal?
What responsibility do human beings have to maintain freedom and human rights for all?
What responsibility in a democracy do citizens have to maintain freedom and human rights for all?
What is the role of dissent in maintaining a free society?
Is it up to the government, or up to the people, to ensure that freedom and human rights are upheld?

Are there certain universal human rights all people and all countries should submit to?
What are they? (This can lead to a nice connection to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) that students read among their five post WW II essays and speeches in the Core Knowledge curriculum.)

Recommended:
02.18.15- CLOSE READING CASE STUDY: ELLIE STRAND TEACHES ANIMAL FARM



Language 8

Character Analysis – Animal Farm
Who are they? Why do they act this way?
What is the author saying about such “people”?

Writing between 350 and 500 words on two characters in Animal Farm
Due Tuesday
Not an essay – these are simply two independent pieces, perhaps 200 words each, examining who this character is, what he believes (does he believe in power? in his leader? in himself? in nothing), how he approaches life (to please myself, please others, or please no one), what human qualities he represents, and what Orwell is saying about this type of leader or citizen.  

We have said that in most fables animals are the main characters, but they are used to represent human qualities and flaws.  In Aesop’s fables, for example, the fox and the crow, the hare and the tortoise, each represents some aspect of human behavior.  Keep in mind that a fable usually criticizes certain human traits, so even those of you who like Boxer and Benjamin, you should be sure to observe and comment on what aspects of their character Orwell might be censuring.  You should write about TWO of the following four characters in Animal Farm.

Boxer                                       Benjamin
Napoleon                                 Squealer
______________

To help you get started, here are some words we have discussed in class (or if we didn’t, that we probably should have discussed in class) in commenting on one or more of these characters.  Looking at and perhaps using some of these words might be helpful to you as you plan each paragraph and decide what qualities you will describe.

Truth                           Lies                 Manipulation              Intimidation
Control                       Power              Tyrant                         Distorts truth
Domination               Compromise   Intelligent                  Unintelligent (stupid)
Cynic                          Believe             Resist                           Rebel  
Slave                           Brainwashing  Blame                         Responsibility             
Surrender                  Freedom           Questions                    Think
Selfish                       Unselfish           Cruel                           Obedient
Fear                            Blind                 Apathetic                    Ruthless



Animal Farm

1.  Did you like the ending of the book?  Why or why not?  If not, how would you have preferred to have it end, and why?

2.  Did you think the ending seemed appropriate, given what we know about Napoleon’s power over the animals, and how most traces or hints of rebellion had largely been removed from the farm?  Or did you think a rebellion by the animals against Napoleon would have been the appropriate ending, and if so, why?

3.  What is Orwell’s point in having the animals not only behave but even look like humans at the end?  What is he trying to say about the Rebellion?  What might that be saying about the Russian Revolution that brought an end to the Romanov dynasty and the czars’ rule of several hundred years?

4.  Poetic justice is a term you should know and be able to use about the literature you read.  It means, reward for virtue and punishment for vice.   It is a concept that is found in many books, plays, stories, and movies.  Goodness gets rewarded in some fashion, and bad or evil actions or behavior are punished.
In Animal Farm, we see no reward for virtue or any punishment for vice.  You could say, the bad guys win!  Why does Orwell do this? Why does he leave the reader with the “bad guys” in charge, with little hope for change?

5.  In studying fables we said some give advice, and some give a warning.  Is Animal Farm

trying to give advice?  If so, what kind of advice?  To whom?  If it is a warning, what is the warning? To whom is the warning being directed?    

Thursday, October 12, 2017

Open letter to candidates for the Board of Education for Aurora Public Schools

TO: All those running to serve on the Board of Education for Aurora Public Schools

FROM: Peter Huidekoper, Jr. – Oct. 10, 2017

ASSIGNMENT – In a letter of 2,000 words or less, what would you want to tell prospective candidates for the Board of Education of Aurora Public Schools?

First, THANK YOU for your willingness to take on such a tremendous responsibility, especially as you will be paid so handsomely (NOT!) for carrying such a burden.  So many many hours—are you sure you’re ready for this? – to do the job well. We must, sincerely, thank you for choosing to make such a commitment.

Second, it was encouraging to read in your answers to the Chalkbeat Colorado survey comments like: “When I am elected, I won’t be afraid to ask tough questions”; “… changing the current environment will require board members with the fortitude and courage to ask questions”; “The Board’s role in transformative change is to ask important questions, keep expectations high, hold people accountable….”

How great if you can bring that spirit to the board. I trust it will mean you can see through articles in the press that jar with reality. As in recent stories suggesting Aurora Public Schools is on the upswing: “Upward movement”; “excited about our momentum”; “making a comeback.” (Details in Addendum A—remember, under 2,000 words!)

“Overall, state officials in August raised the APS accountability rating to ‘Improvement,’ up from the bottom two categories of performance.”[i]
Improvements to Aurora’s state test scores and its high school graduation rate helped move the district’s rating up.”[ii]

(Later I will look at the seeming contradiction of being a school on Performance, but having unsatisfactory academic achievement, and will raise questions about the “higher” graduation rates.) 

This, it must be said, is also true (bold mine):
… among the state’s ten largest school districts, Aurora continued to post the lowest scores. For example, only 25 percent of fourth graders in the 41,000-student district met the state’s expectations on the English test. (Chalkbeat Colorado’s article on the release of PARCC scores.[iii])
And, I would add, less than 13 percent of the district’s middle school students met the state’s expectations on the Math test.

Perhaps your most difficult task

I trust new board members will be skeptical of overstatement and spin and lack of detail about student performance when district personnel provide updates.  I examine here – as a useful example – the presentation by the district’s Office of Autonomous Schools at a recent board meeting.

My hope is that you will understand the district and staff, as conscientious as they might be in presenting their reports, do not always convey the full story.  It may not be deliberate; I simply say, having visited at least two board meetings each year since 2012, the tendency is to stress the positive. As a result, I have seen board members caught off guard when the Colorado Department of Education or external reports present them with unwelcome facts.[iv] It will be your responsibility, in my view—perhaps your most difficult task—to ask the hard questions to ensure that you and your fellow board members, and the public, obtain essential information.

APS Board of Education Meeting - Sept. 19, 2017

Elementary Schools

Staff presented a 16-17 Performance Summary of the five schools in the Innovation Zone, one of the district’s key initiatives. It highlighted in green the Growth scores of 50 or above on the English test; but the slide also revealed that Growth scores in Math declined at the three schools serving grades 3-5 and fell under 50 at all five Innovation Schools.[v]  As I am sure you know, when achievement scores are exceptionally low—as is the case for these schools—growth must exceed 60 to see meaningful progress. 

Staff then gave 10 more power point slides listing the “innovative initiatives,” telling us—three times no less, “All Year 1 Initiatives have been accomplished.” But not one word about achievement results at the five schools. “Specific School Updates” stated:
  •                 ACHS - Revised Leadership Structure
  •                  Boston P-8 - Received $10,000 worth of Kindles from Amazon
  •                 Crawford Elementary - Has completed more than 80 teacher observations so far

I hope new board members will put a stop to this fluff and ask: How well are the students doing? 

Superintendent Rico Munn’s summary of the meetings spoke of “a presentation about the program implementation and assessment data from the five schools that are part of the Zone.”[vi]  I see no “assessment data,” nothing to indicate this effort has produced significant improvement in achievement.  I offer some 2017 PARCC results in Addendum B.  The new board should insist on more useful information.

**

District staff also showed a graph: Accountability Clock Summary.  It listed 11 schools that, in 2017, “have moved off the Accountability Clock (according to preliminary ratings only).  Good news, sort of. (More on that list in a moment.)  Two slides on CORE Progress Update, all upbeat: “Significant Improvement…”; Schools coming “off the clock”; “Revised Calendar providing more instructional time and teacher & leader training.”

However, APS says it begins 2017-18 with 14 schools on Priority Improvement or Turnaround, in part because, as one graph showed, six new schools went “on the clock in 2017.”   I count 13 (APS Online School’s rating is uncertain, “Pending AEC Framework”) and list them in Addendum C.  The new board will want to ask about their progress.

Yes, fewer schools on the clock, but let’s not miss the key point here: NO DISTRICT IN COLORADO HAS MORE schools on Priority Improvement or Turnaround than Aurora (excludes Alternative Education Campuses).  APS: 13; Denver: 12.  Please note: DPS had close to 200 schools last year compared to 70 or so in Aurora.  (See Addendum D for a list of districts with five or more schools “on the clock.”)


The state now gives schools a PERFORMANCE rating when achievement is unsatisfactory

The state’s preliminary ratings find it possible to place schools that had been on Priority Improvement the year before, Aurora schools like Sable, Wheeling, Sixth, and Laredo Elementary, on Performance.  I trust new board members see the paradox – or worse – when they go to the district’s new website. We can click on each school and get a snapshot of its data. For these four schools, we see:

Achievement – Does Not Meet

Growth – Meets

Current Status - Performance

Yes, Does Not Meet.  I trust a new school board will be skeptical of just how appropriate it is that the district has come off the accountability clock.  Not that APS is to blame; the fault lies in the state’s accountability algorithm that gives growth (60%) much more weight than achievement (40%).[vii]  And yet district leaders and school board members will be blamed, quite rightly, if they fail to see what being on Performance does not reveal.  I provide the troubling PARCC data at these four schools in Addendum E.


Middle Schools

I trust future board members will not overlook (as I do in this letter) the struggles of so many of the district’s middle schools.  I offer here a simple check on their performance in Addendum F.  If the K-8 system cannot raise overall performance, the district’s high schools will continue to face the huge challenge of meeting the needs of 9th graders who arrive well below grade level.


High Schools

At the board meeting staff put up a chart showing Aurora Central High School (ACHS) had improved its growth score in English by 29 points.  A close look also showed that the 2016 growth score for Aurora Central was 28.  That 28 in growth was the lowest score on growth in ELA (along with South Middle) out of all 70 schools in the district that year. 

I trust the new board will give growth its proper due, but that you will always be sure to ask about achievement.  For even with such “improvement,” a closer look at the results for 9th graders at ACHS shows how few are meeting expectations.

                                        ACHS – ELA – 9th grade – improvement from 2016, but …


% meeting or exceeding expectations


2016
2017
ACHS
6.6%
11.8%
District
22.8%
22.5%
State
37.2%
36.2%

Given the school’s performance the previous year, then, the growth in in 2016-17 is underwhelming. Board members might observe the impressive growth scores at several SMALLER high schools in 2017—better scores to start 2016-17, and even better by the end.

           Growth Percentile – ELA – 9th grade - 2016 to 2017
William Smith High School
89
Aurora West
87
Vanguard Classical
82
Lotus Schools of Excellence
74

And in asking about achievement, you will surely want to ask what is happening at our three troubled BIG high schools. Some would like to say ACHS is unique in its struggles, but Gateway and Hinkley—with good reason—are now the accountability clock too.  Addendum G shows how the BIG THREE are doing, in contrast to the much higher performance at three SMALLER high schools.  

I trust future school board members are willing to ask a basic question as: does school size matter?  Especially in our community—with so many immigrants, so much mobility, where it can matter all that much more to have schools become community where each student is known well by the adults in the building?  The next board should realize that questions about the “right” size of a school is not the same as asking: how many students can this building hold?[viii]  It appears that this has prevented ACHS from exploring a more fundamental restructuring. Many of us believe we give educators and students a much greater chance of success, of building good relationships and a strong community, in a smaller setting.

Graduating – but not college ready

A final point related to the woeful performance of the district’s big three high schools.  Yes, the district’s graduation rate improved from 59% in 2015 to 65% in 2016, but let’s be clear: as Chalkbeat Colorado’s report showed, of the 10 largest districts in Colorado, APS had the lowest graduation rate.

You would be correct to say: wait, we don’t care about comparisons with Boulder and Cherry Creek.  What about comparisons with districts enrolling a similarly high percentage of students qualifying for Free and Reduced Lunch? I offer that here - Addendum H.  It should raise the question: So is 65% good news? (I also present the graduation rates at the six high schools referred to above—big and small.)

What is more, a responsible board will find graduation rates suspect when they see the alarming percentage of recent APS graduates who found they were not ready to take college level classes.  For Aurora Central graduates in 2015, 70.3% required remedial classes upon entering college or universities in-state – 52 out of 74 students.  For Gateway, 61.8% - 47 out of 76.  Among Colorado districts with over 200 students graduating and going, Aurora’s remediation rate was the 4th highest. 

                   Remediation rate[ix] 
           2015 high school graduates
Pueblo 60
54.9
Brighton
54
Greeley 6
53.1
Aurora
48.7
Pueblo 60
48.6
Falcon
47
Denver
45.4
STATE of COLORADO
36.1

I trust such data will encourage the new board to ask about the value of a high school degree when so many recent graduates find they are compelled to take remedial classes. What, exactly, does that diploma from an Aurora high school mean?

To all who win and serve on the board, it’s just one more essential question you will want to ask!

My best wishes to you.

(1,865 words.)



ADDENDA


Addendum A - “our momentum,” “right direction,” “making a comeback”

1.            Aurora Public Schools improves enough to dodge state action, mixed results elsewhere in new preliminary state ratings - Chalkbeat Colorado, Yesenia Robles, Aug. 30, 2017

   Aurora Public Schools has improved enough to pull itself off the state’s watchlist for persistent low performance, according to preliminary state ratings made public Wednesday. The district of about 40,000 students was staring at state intervention if it didn’t move the needle enough. …. The district saved itself by earning a state rating of “improvement,” no longer in the bottom two categories of performance.
   “We’re excited about our momentum,” Superintendent Rico Munn said. “We are moving in the right direction.”

2.     “Aurora Public Schools is making a comeback of sorts - and this pilot school is leading the charge” - Aurora school hatching ideas that brighten students’ futures.  The Denver Post, Monte Whaley, Sept. 27, 2017.[x]

   William Smith’s approach is earning it national praise and academic success in Aurora Public Schools, a 39,000-student district that has been targeted by the state for persistently low test scores and that was considered for academic intervention.
    But the district may be launching a comeback of sorts. APS did well enough in the latest round of state tests to leave the state’s watch list of consistently troubled districts.
    Leading the rally was William Smith, which had the state’s fourth-highest median growth percentile on the statewide English test. In other words, William Smith students, on average, showed greater improvements than 89 percent of Colorado students who scored similarly to them the previous year.
    Principal David Roll said he’s proud of his students’ performance — and he knows the school is being watched closely by district and state officials.
    They want to see whether William Smith’s methods can be used at larger, more conventional high schools. William Smith has an enrollment of about 320 students. A majority of the student body — about 75 percent — qualifies for free or reduced-price lunches. That compares with about 68 percent of students districtwide.
**
    APS Superintendent Rico Munn said he is happy with the upward movement, but a lot of work still needs to be done. “This is merely a mile marker in a marathon,” he said, “and we will continue to build on our momentum.”


Addendum B

                                               2017 – PARCC/CMAS - CRAWFORD

% meeting or exceeding expectations - ELA


Crawford
District
State
4.2
20.4
40.1
Grade 4
13.7
25.1
44.1
Grade 5
11.6
26.0
46.3
% meeting or exceeding expectations - MATH
Grade 3
9.5
20.9
40.0
Grade 4
5.3
15.6
34.0
Grade 5
5.8
15.0
33.6

NOTE: In APS, where average scores in grades 3-5 are 20 percentage points behind the state average, Crawford’s scores are 10-15 percentage points even lower than the district average.

Boston and Paris did not have enough students taking the test in some grades to allow for public reporting, but what scores are available are as troubling as Crawford’s scores.

                                               2017 – PARCC/CMAS - BOSTON

% meeting or exceeding expectations - ELA

Boston
District
State
Grade 3
10.4
20.4
40.1
Grade 4
*
25.1
44.1
Grade 5
*
26.0
46.3
% meeting or exceeding expectations - MATH
Grade 3
16.3
20.9
40.0
Grade 4
*
15.6
34.0
Grade 5
*
15.0
33.6


                                               2017 – PARCC/CMAS - PARIS

% meeting or exceeding expectations - ELA

Paris
District
State
Grade 3
10.7
20.4
40.1
Grade 4
11.3
25.1
44.1
Grade 5
9.7
26.0
46.3
% meeting or exceeding expectations - MATH
Grade 3
7.1
20.9
40.0
Grade 4
*
15.6
34.0
Grade 5
*
15.0
33.6



Addendum C

APS schools on Priority Improvement or Turnaround. From the state’s Preliminary School Performance Framework—2017.


2017
Rating
2017
Total % pts earned
Jewell Elementary


Priority Improvement
40.7
North Middle
40.6
Mrachek Middle
40.0
Paris Elementary
40.0
Crawford Elementary
39.4
Aurora Hills Middle
38.7
Aurora Central High
34.8
Gateway High
34.8
Virginia Court Elementary
34.4



Century Elementary
Turnaround
33.5
Lynn Knoll Elementary
Turnaround
33.1
Lansing Elementary
Turnaround
33.2
Kenton Elementary
Turnaround
32.5



Addendum D

Districts with high number of schools on Priority Improvement or Turnaround (Preliminary Ratings)


On PI/T*
Enrollment – 2016-17
Aurora Public Schools
13
41,797
Denver Public Schools
12
91,132
Pueblo City 60
11
17,299
Colorado Springs 11
11
27,911
Adams 14
7
7,467
Westminster
6
9,638
Mesa County
5
22,105rr
*unofficial – my tally from studying CDE’s preliminary 2017 ratings[xi]



Addendum E 

  PARCC scores at 4 elementary schools – rated on Performance


% of students meeting expectations - ELA
3
4
5
State
40.1
44.1
46.3
District
20.4
25.1
26.0
Sable
18
17.2
8.2
Wheeling
24.7
17.5
13.2
Sixth
11.0
20.5
16.0
Laredo
18.5
12.6
26.3








% of students meeting expectations - MATH
3
4
5
State
40.0
34.0
33.6
District
20.9
15.6
15.0
Sable
17.9
9.1
5.8
Wheeling
17.9
9.8
*
Sixth
9.6
10.8
6.2
Laredo
17.8
4.5
7.9










*means there were too few students to allow for the release of the data.



Addendum F – APS Middle Schools
PARCC Results*

Average
6
7
8
State
40.6
44.2
43.4
APS
21.0
24.2
30.2




Meeting expectations on PARCC - MATH
Average
6
7
8
State
30.9
25.8
21.0
APS
12.2
12.6
12.5







The state’s -Preliminary School Performance Framework, 2016-17:



2016
Rating
2017
Rating
2017 - Total % pts earned
Year on Accountability Clock
Hinkley
Improvement Plan
Priority Improvement Plan: Decreased due to Participation
44.7%
Year 1
Gateway
Priority Improvement Plan
Priority Improvement
Plan
34.8%
Year 3
Aurora Central
Turnaround Plan
Turnaround Plan: Decreased due to Participation
34.8%
Year 7




2014
Rating
2016
Rating
2017
Rating
2017
Total % pts earned
Performance
Performance
Performance
64.9%
Lotus
Performance
Performance
Performance
57.7%
Aurora West
Performance
Performance
Improvement
52.7%


Size of freshmen class at these six schools – and PARCC results (English)

APS high schools with between 1,700 and 2,200 students in grades 9-12, fall 2016:
# of 9-12
Students*
# of 9th graders*
9th grade - % meeting or exceeding expectations – English**
State
-
-
36.2%
District
-
-
22.5%
Hinkley
2,184
531
15.3%
Gateway
1,718
396
14.8%
Aurora Central
2,209
550
11.8%

High schools with under 400 students in grades 9-12:
2016-17
# of 9-12
Students*
# of 9th graders*
9th grade - % meeting or exceeding expectations – English**
Lotus
232
71
44.0%
William Smith
319
77
42.3%
Aurora West
382
104
41.2%
State
-
-
36.2%
District
-
-
22.5%


Addendum H – Graduation rates - 2016

              10 districts with FRL over 65%*
10 Colorado districts with FRL -> 65%
Graduation Rate*
% FRL students
Harrison 2
79.7%
69%
Greeley 6
77.1%
66%
Weld County RE-8
74.1%
73.6%
Pueblo City 60
73.9%
68.5%
Sheridan
69.1%
90.1%
Denver Public Schools
67.2%
69.1%
Adams 14
65.8%
85.4%
Aurora Public Schools
65.0%
66%
Mapleton
64.6%
70%
Westminster
56.3%
83.2%



State of Colorado
78.9%
42.2%


Graduation - Three big vs. three small Aurora high schools

2016
Graduation Rate*
Aurora Central
48.1%
Gateway
56.5%
Hinkley
71.3%


William Smith
73.5%
Aurora West
77.9%
Lotus
82.2%


APS - District
65.0%
State of Colorado
78.9%

                                                *http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdereval/gradratecurrent




[iv] From AV#129 - Evidence of success from the charter world – smaller high schools:
At the February [2015] school board meeting, an informative presentation by CDE’s Turnaround Office stated what could be severe consequences if current trends continue.  The news appeared to startle some board members: “I think this is a lot to take in,” said board president JulieMarie Shepherd (http://co.chalkbeat.org/2015/02/18/aurora-chief-will-propose-changes-for-struggling-central-high-school/#.VRw-s_nF9qU). Mary Lewis—a member of the school board since 2007, and former board president—grew defensive, as well she might. “It’s — scary isn’t the right word — I’m still looking for the partnership piece,” she said, eyeing the state officials. “I’m looking for [you to say] we’re here to help.”
[vii] In North Carolina, in contrast, grading of elementary and middle schools “is calculated 80 percent from student test scores and 20 percent from student growth,” http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article177812261.html
[viii] In March of 2015, as the district and board explored options for turnaround efforts at ACHS, Munn advocated for innovation status and said it “would open structural options, including schools within a school, smaller learning communities, or a mix of some autonomous or charter schools.”  http://boe.aurorak12.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2015/04/final03_17_15boeminutes1.pdf.  But it had 2,100 students then.  Last year ACHS enrolled even more students: 2,209. 
[ix]The most recent publication by the Colorado Department of Higher Education. “LEGISLATIVE REPORT ON DEVELOPMENTAL EDUCATION FOR THE HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF 2015 (published May 2017) -  http://highered.colorado.gov/Publications/Reports/Remedial/FY2016/2016_Remedial_relMay2017.pdf.