Time to abandon a school design where we cannot know all our students well
#3 – “Personalization”
Final look at three principles guiding
restructuring efforts with the Coalition of Essential Schools (CES).[i]
From 1991-95, six Colorado high schools were active in the Coalition’s work, led
and supported by the Colorado Department of Education.[ii]
“Personalization” is the Coalition principle that always spoke to me.
Perhaps because I first read about it when teaching high school 40 years ago. (Ted
Sizer’s Horace’s Compromise – The Dilemma of the American High School,
pub. 1984.) Our school did even better (lucky me) than the recommended “no more
than 80 students.” Today many consider this target impossible. Teachers in
Aurora and Denver
tell me many have over 160 students in their classes.[iii]
Most teachers agree with the goal: yes, let’s personalize. But given
their workload, they might add, “I wish.” Current contract negotiations include "reducing class sizes."[iv] Merely tinkering
at the edges.
|
3.
Personalization [One of the 10 common principles of CES] |
This principle gets
at the heart of the chronic failure of many comprehensive high schools. AV #287
applied the Coalition principle of “less is more” to the academic program; AV
#288 connects “less is more” to the very structure and size of our high schools.
Smaller schools and smaller classes make it possible for teachers to know their
students well, build strong relationships with them, and help them feel they
belong, to know their presence matters. Critical for all schools, of
course, but especially where we are serving a majority of low socio-economic
students.
Again I demonstrate the importance of a
Coalition principle by looking at three Denver-area high schools: Aurora
Central, Adams City, and Abraham Lincoln. At each, over 85% of students were on
Free and Reduced Lunch this past year. Exactly where students need to feel
known, supported, connected. Exactly what is often missing, the evidence
suggests, in these schools.
|
“To be connected to school, you have to believe there’s an adult who
knows and cares about you as a person, not just like, it’s my job to teach
you English and give you a grade. I have an actual relationship with you.” Bob Balfanz, The
Colorado Sun, 3/14/23[v] |
This is
where poor attendance and high chronic absenteeism at these (and at least 10
other[vii])
comprehensive high schools exposes the problem. The sad fact is that a large
number of students come to believe it does not matter if they show up at all.
|
Chronic absenteeism at these three schools averaged
close to 64%. In Colorado, the statewide average was 27% (2023-24) |
|
Schools
& 2023-24 enrollment* |
Attendance** |
Truancy** |
Chronically
Absent* |
2022-23 to
23-24 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Aurora Central High (2,044) |
|
|
|
|
|
2023-24 |
73.2 |
22.8 |
72.7% |
Attendance
down, truancy up |
|
2022-23 |
76.5 |
18.3 |
|
|
|
Adams City High (1,743) |
|
|
|
|
|
2023-24 |
79 |
17.2 |
65.9% |
Attendance
down, truancy up |
|
2022-23 |
83.3 |
13.2 |
|
|
|
Abraham Lincoln High (1,147) |
|
|
|
|
|
2023-24 |
85.1 |
10.5 |
53.1% |
Slightly
better on both issues. |
|
2022-23 |
84.7 |
11.5 |
|
|
|
STATE OF COLORADO |
|
|
|
|
|
2023-24 |
91.5 |
3.4 |
27% |
Slightly
better on both issues. |
|
2022-23 |
90.8 |
3.5 |
|
*enrollment, chronically absent: 2023-24 figures – CDE – 2023-2024 Chronic Absenteeism by School (XLSX)
**attendance, truancy:
2023-24 - 2023-2024 Attendance and Truancy Rates by School (XLSX)
2022-23
- 2022-2023 Attendance and Truancy Rates by School (XLSX)
NOTE the enrollment at these schools. One plausible conclusion: the bigger the school, the bigger the problem with attendance.
To be specific:
·
the harder to be sure all students are known
well by the teachers and staff;
·
the harder it is to help students feel they
belong;
·
the harder to keep many students from feeling
lost.
And the easier for students to
ask:
Who will know, and does anyone care, if I
am not in class today?
|
The comprehensive high school
model fails to control for size. Example: take a school that has been
struggling to get off the accountability clock for over a decade. It was
already far too big. But in just the past two years Aurora Central High
enrolled an ADDITIONAL 170 students. How does this make sense? It only “makes sense” when we think school
size does not matter. Our goal: to fill those seats.
2022-23 – 1,788 (525 in 12th
grade)
2023-24 – 1,858 (536 in 12th
grade)
2024-25 – 1,956 (596 in 12th grade)
|
The state recognizes the problem. At the March
12 State Board of Education meeting, CDE staff provided an update on schools
(including our three high schools) on Performance Watch. Overall, little
good news.[viii]
Dr. Andy Swanson, CDE’s Director of Turnaround Strategies, admitted:
“I think what we’re
noticing, and I think you can probably see, that at our high schools on
state board-directed action, we are struggling to gain traction.”
He offered a couple of reasons.
“Turnaround of high
school has always been, I think, the most difficult aspect of school turnaround
work, when it comes to the work we’re trying to accomplish, especially at large
comprehensive high schools that serve predominantly low
socio-economic student bodies – [has] always been our most difficult
challenge.”
And then he pointed directly to
attendance.
“When
you look at our sites, the attendance dips that … we’ve seen over the
last 4-5 years have been exacerbated at the high school level, and that lack
of student engagement and attendance has been a struggle.” (Bold
mine)
“Adams 14 has a goal to
increase the relevance, engagement, interconnectedness and sense of belonging
in high school by integrating academic core courses, career, technical
course, work-based learning and personalized student support. To this
end, Adams City High School has begun implementing a new academy model…
the school launched [this] in 9th grade with four academies….” (UIP,
p.9)
Aurora Central High – “From
2019-2023, overall average daily attendance has declined and the school has
seen chronic absenteeism increase. School leadership has identified this as
a priority challenge aligned through a focus on overall engagement… with the
Community School model, an increased amount of resources have been added in
order to meet the emotional, social and academic needs of students … For too
many students, large comprehensive high schools are a place to feel lost
and more support is necessary in order to establish student/staff
relationships.” (UIP, p.8)
Abraham Lincoln High – “Our
intervention tracker shows that the needs of our chronically absent students
were not addressed using our current system... Teachers did not regularly
participate in attendance team meetings. Team reflections indicate a missed
opportunity to discuss student engagement data comprehensively, ie, academic,
attendance, BESS, and behavior data. Our attendance tracker points to
inconsistent implementation of interventions.” (UIP, p.6)
|
Ted Sizer –
Connecting the teacher workload to attendance Q: What characterizes the most successful
Coalition schools? Sizer: One
of the things that has emerged as most critical—and also the most difficult
to accomplish—is reducing the load of students assigned to each teacher. When
you get that number down, even if nothing else changes, you can see an effect
on the kids. The kids show up. They complain because they cannot get away
with anonymity any more, but they show up.[ix]
|
But note what the schools purport to do. How do academies for freshmen (Adams City), the community school model (Aurora Central), or an attendance tracker (Abraham Lincoln) address what is needed to help students feel they belong? See the schools’ complete UIPs.[x] Do you see any serious effort to rethink their structures in order to create greater personalization? Never once addressing such a basic issue as the teacher workload. Again, can we really know 160 students well?
These proposals
miss the larger point. In these communities[xi],
the comprehensive high school itself is the problem. In order to connect
with our students—to know them well and to support them as individuals—the
current structure does not work.
What’s the cause? –
The answer is in the question
At that March 12 meeting, Board member Lisa
Escarcega was willing to ask CDE: “what is it that causes” us to see
chronically low-performing high schools in a such a range of districts? With these
differences, she noted, it must be something other than leadership, curriculum,
etc.
“What is it that we can do that is going to help?”
she wanted to know.
But her own words betray the problem. She
asked: “I’m just wondering at a national level, is there anything you are seeing,
any trends of work with comprehensive high schools with student populations
like this,” that Colorado might learn from. (Emphasis mine). Escarcega
added: “I’m not seeing anyone knocking it out of the park, at least not in Colorado.”
And yet the comprehensive high school model is deeply flawed. WE CANNOT GET THERE FROM HERE.
I have suspected this over the
past 15 years tracking results at high schools, like our three here.[xii]
(Others have been making this point for years.[xiii])
Now I am certain: in these settings, this model does not produce strong
academic results or a strong school culture. And too many students are lost.
Going forward, let’s face the fact: We must
start with an entirely different design.
Where to look for
a better design? Four charter networks might be a place to start.
While I doubt anyone is “knocking it out of the park” in serving our most vulnerable high school students, the State Board and CDE might study America’s Innovative High Schools.[xiv] Among them is the charter school Ted and Nancy Sizer helped found over 30 years ago.[xv] Or—assuming CDE is not averse to learning* from charter school models—it might explore four charter high school networks. (See a recent study in the Addendum. One of the four networks is local, DSST, with seven high schools.) These charters showed no desire to replicate the comprehensive high school model. Perhaps one reason for their success.
AV #289 will list more efforts to redesign
our high schools. There is a yearning for something new.
|
In
designing a new high school model in Denver, the creators of the Denver
School of Science and Technology had a clear vision of what would be the
optimal size. Note the average size at their six largest high schools this
past year. In
contrast, at Aurora Central High, see (above) the size
of just this year’s senior class: 596 students. |
Enrollment numbers at six DSST high schools, and % of students on FRL - 2024-25 DSST Cedar High - 546 %FRL - 57 DSST College View – 533
%FRL - 86 DSST Conservatory
Green - 556 %FRL - 70 DSST Elevate Northeast
– 545 %FRL - 77 DSST Green Valley
Ranch - 562 %FRL - 74 DSST Montview High
- 562
%FRL
- 70 Average size: 548 students |
The Addendum also addresses Escarcega’s qualifier: can we find schools that serve student populations similar to what we see at Adams City, Aurora Central, and Abraham Lincoln? See the data on the demographics for these four high school networks.
When a 15- or 16-year walks into that crowded lobby at 8:15 and feels unseen,
when he feels no connection to one adult in the building, we can understand why
he might turn around. Becoming another statistic, another chronic absentee.
We want our teenagers to show up, to stay, to learn, to grow.
Let us redesign our schools in ways to make that possible.
Addendum
Case studies of
four charter networks
“This year,
we also studied four networks: Da Vinci Schools, DSST Public Schools, Noble Schools, and Uplift Education — that stood out for their
results in last year’s study.… each did
so in their unique way — from offering career majors for all students, to
pairing IB education with broad career exposure, to deep STEM exploration and
strong college guidance with rich summer experiences. We encourage you to learn
more about each of their approaches….”
“What Drives Alumni Success: Insights from the 2024
Early Career Outcomes Survey,” By Eric Chan (Charter School Growth Fund), Aubrey Diaz Nelson (Charter
School Growth Fund), & Abigail Smith (Bain & Co.), Jan. 15, 2025, Charter
School Growth Fund. https://stories.chartergrowthfund.org/what-drives-alumni-success-insights-from-the-2024-early-career-outcomes-survey-ee1eda24aafc
**
“Opportunity Charter High Schools and Early Career Outcomes,”
by Bruno V. Manno, Forbes Magazine, May 6, 2025.
“The report has case studies of four charter high school networks—Da Vinci Schools, Uplift Education, Denver School of Science and Technology (DSST), and Noble Schools—with insights into the effectiveness of their educational approaches. I call these schools opportunity charter high schools because of the positive academic and early career outcomes they produce for graduates.
“Da Vinci Schools in Los Angeles County emphasize project-based
learning and career experiences. Their model integrates academic rigor with
career readiness through career exposure. It includes partnerships with local
businesses and other organizations that provide students with internships and
mentorship opportunities, including pathways that lead to associate and
bachelor’s degrees. This approach equips students with the academic knowledge
and practical skills necessary for success in the workforce.
“Uplift Education, based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, operates a network that prepares
students for college and career success. Their model is based on the
International Baccalaureate (IB) program, college counseling, and career
exploration activities. Students earning an IB diploma receive 24 hours of
college credit at a Texas public university. Uplift's comprehensive support
system is designed to guide students through high school and into postsecondary
pathways that align with their goals.
“DSST Public Schools in Denver combines
character development and career pathways in science, technology, engineering,
and mathematics (STEM) education. Their middle and high school model combines
rigorous academic instruction with a focus on values like respect, responsibility,
and integrity. DSST allows students to engage in hands-on projects and
research, fostering critical thinking and problem-solving skills essential in
today's job market.
“Noble Schools, operating in Chicago, aim to close the achievement gap for low-income
students through high expectations and structured support. Their model includes
a college-preparatory curriculum, extensive college counseling, and a focus on
discipline and accountability. It provides summer programming for career
exposure and a summer internship. Noble Schools strive to ensure that students
not only gain college admission but also persist and succeed in their
postsecondary endeavors through continuing student support while in college.” https://www.forbes.com/sites/brunomanno/2025/05/06/opportunity-charter-high-schools-and-early-career-outcomes/
Average size of the high school
program in these four charter networks
California – 456
Colorado - 491
Illinois - 697
Texas - 520
DATA on enrollment and demographics in these four charter networks provided by Momentum Strategy & Research, https://momentum-sr.org/.
Demographics at these four charter networks
|
California –
DaVinci Schools (6 schools) |
2020 |
2022 |
2024 |
|
White |
24% |
20% |
19% |
|
Non-White |
76% |
80% |
81% |
|
Economically Disadvantaged |
41% |
42% |
47% |
|
English Learners |
6% |
5% |
5% |
|
Students with Disabilities |
|
|
16% |
|
Homeless |
|
|
1% |
|
Colorado – DSST Public Schools (Denver School of
Science & Technology) (14 schools) |
|||
|
White |
14% |
11% |
11% |
|
Non-White |
86% |
89% |
89% |
|
Economically Disadvantaged |
73% |
71% |
77% |
|
English Learners |
34% |
32% |
36% |
|
Students with Disabilities |
11% |
11% |
13% |
|
Homeless |
1% |
1% |
2% |
|
Illinois – Noble Schools (17 schools) |
|
|
|
|
White |
1% |
1% |
N.A. |
|
Non-White |
99% |
99% |
N.A. |
|
Economically Disadvantaged |
89% |
80% |
N.A. |
|
English Learners |
10% |
13% |
N.A. |
|
Students with Disabilities |
|
|
|
|
Homeless |
7% |
6% |
N.A. |
|
Texas – Uplift Education (6 schools) |
|
|
|
|
White |
8% |
6% |
5% |
|
Non-White |
92% |
94% |
95% |
|
Economically Disadvantaged |
48% |
40% |
52% |
|
English Learners |
26% |
28% |
35% |
|
Students with Disabilities |
5% |
6% |
7% |
|
Homeless |
0% |
1% |
0% |
Endnotes
[i]
The three principles (among the ten) to be examined in Another View:
|
1. Learning to use one’s mind well |
|
2.
Less is more: depth
over coverage |
|
3.
Personalization
should be directed toward a goal that no
teacher have direct responsibility for more than 80 students
in the high school and middle school and no more than 20 in the elementary school.… |
The 10 Common Principles of the Coalition of Essential
Schools can be found at: https://web.archive.org/web/20230326054404/http://essentialschools.org/home/
[ii]
Colorado Coalition of Essential Schools – Colorado Department of Education.
State Department Commitment: Dr. Brian McNulty, Executive Director of Special Services, is the state contact; Mary Apodaca is the full-time coordinator. (Nov. 1994)
[iii] Another
View #241 – “Listening to teachers on
class size, teacher workload (1998-2021),” Jan. 2022. http://anotherviewphj.blogspot.com/
[iv] “Union that represents Denver teachers pushing for higher
pay, smaller class sizes,” by Nicole Brady, Denver
7, June 17, 2025.
(Bold mine)
“Robert Gould, president of the Denver
Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA), remains cautiously
optimistic. He emphasized that negotiations are not limited to salaries but
also reducing class sizes from the current cap of 35 students and reducing
caseloads for specialty teachers.
“‘It's difficult for that teacher because they
have to try to provide that same kind of support and care to every single one
of their kids, and they do that, but it makes it hard for them, and we see a
lot of teacher burnout because of that,’ Gould said.”
[v] “Colorado
schools struggle to keep kids in class amid a spike in dropouts and absence,” by Erica Breunlin, The Colorado Sun, Nov. 13, 2023. Breunlin
spoke with Bob Balfanz, a research
professor at the Center for the Social Organization of Schools at Johns Hopkins
University School of Education. https://coloradosun.com/2023/11/13/colorado-schools-dropout-rate-increases/?mc_cid=6fde119645&mc_eid=d624f52310
[vi]
Accountability Clock – first year on the clock:
Adams City High – 2010 - Priority Improvement (on Performance
Watch ever since)
Aurora Central High – 2010 - Priority Improvement (on Performance
Watch ever since)
Abraham Lincoln High – 2011 (Priority Improvement) for
one year; 2014 (Priority Improvement); (on Performance Watch ever since)
[vii]
Chronic absenteeism [OVER 50%] 2023-24 – in high school with enrollment [OVER
1,000] *
AURORA PUBLIC SCHOOLS –
Gateway - 62% (1,814)
Hinkley – 56.6% (1,725)
DENVER PUBLIC SCHOOLS - Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr. – 52.8% (1,027)
DISTRICT 49 – Sand Creek H.S - 54.8% (1,439)
HARRISON 2 - Harrison High - 52.0% (1,236)
POUDRE –
Poudre High - - 67.4% (1,626)
Ft. Collins H.S. – 53.8 (1,984)
Fossil Ridge H.S. -51.2% (2,008)
PUEBLO 60 – East High – 51.3% (1,409)
SUMMIT RE-1 – Summit H.S. - 61.4% (1,156)
[viii] AV#287
– “Applying a second CES principle: less
is more. (Part 1) Perhaps just what might help three struggling high schools. (Part 2).” (May 2025)
[ix]
“On Lasting School Reform: A Conversation with Ted Sizer,” by John O’Neil, Educational
Leadership, Feb. 1995.pages 4-9.
[x] UIPs for 2024-25 – Adams City High - https://co-uip.my.site.com/uipv2/apex/uipV2PrintPublic?dcode=0030&scode=0024
Aurora Central High - https://co-uip.my.site.com/uipv2/apex/uipV2PrintPublic?dcode=0180&scode=1458
Abraham Lincoln High - https://co-uip.my.site.com/uipv2/apex/uipV2PrintPublic?dcode=0880&scode=0010
[xi]
As I have written before, of course there are large comprehensive high schools across
Colorado and the country that perform well. But a school’s design should meet the
needs of its particular setting. The setting and the students’ needs demand a different
response.
[xii] AV#59
– “Could high schools be part of the
high school dropout problem?” (Aug. 2009).
AV#88 – “Aurora Central High – The Case for
State Intervention,” (Sept 2012).
AV#92 – “Regional
economic development works. Why not a regional recovery school district?” “How’s
this for a New Year’s Resolution? In
2013 Coloradans will make a determined effort to begin to turn around our
lowest-performing high schools,” (Jan. 2013).
AV#109 – “Why
turnaround schools do not turn around (Aurora Central High), (Feb. 12, 2014).
[xiii]
“Is the Comprehensive High School
Doomed?” by W. Norton Grubb & Marvin Lazerson, Education Week,
Sept. 21, 2004
“The rise and fall
of the public comprehensive high school is one of the great tragedies of
American education…”
“What can we do?”
“The future need not be all doom and gloom. There are innovations developing that could help. Efforts to reconstitute high schools as small communities with a clear sense of purpose and with something serious to accomplish in their own right can be encouraged. Large comprehensive high schools are a disaster—chaotic, fragmented, purposeless factories. In contrast, schools-within-schools, theme-based schools, charter schools, magnet schools, and schools where teachers stay with their students as they progress hold out some hope that common purposes, built on a community of learners, can restore coherence, engagement, and motivation.” https://www.edweek.org/leadership/opinion-is-the-comprehensive-high-school-doomed/2004/09
[xiv]
“America’s Innovative High Schools,” The 74, https://www.the74million.org/americas-innovative-high-schools/
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