AV #289 - High schools where our Education Accountability Act does not work. Time for a change.

 

               State Board members suggest they, too, realize the Education Accountability Act of 2009 has not succeeded in “turning around” our lowest-performing comprehensive high schools.                                               Are we willing to redesign our high schools to better serve our most vulnerable students?

  For the past two years, at State Board hearings for a number of our chronically low-performing high schools, a number of senior board members have voiced new doubts. As if they, too, wonder if what we have been doing for 15 years still makes sense. Several board members, I believe, are ready to acknowledge that the Colorado’s Education Accountability Act of 2009^[i] has proved incapable of generating major improvement in these schools.

  What else can one conclude when we see two high schools on the accountability clock since 2010, year one of the new system? On the clock for 15 years.

  The hopeful language of the Accountability Act never imagined this possibility. It reads:

The state’s Accountability Clock requires the State Board of Education to direct a course of action to the local board of education if the school or district has received Priority Improvement or Turnaround ratings for five consecutive years. 

   These two schools hit Year 5 almost a decade ago.

   In our naivete, we thought: great, we would identify these troubled schools, bring our best thinking and plenty of resources to turn these schools around, and – presto! – the problem would be solved. Unrealistic. Foolish.

   Well, we know better now.

   Why have we failed? Is there a basic flaw in our current approach? Are there blind spots that keep us from seeing a what prevents these schools from making progress, year after year?

   I find it encouraging to hear State Board members sound, well, bewildered. Even a bit exasperated. (See the hamster’s wheel, below.) Curious, too. Admitting we need, and asking for, something new.

   (It’s true, I may be projecting my own wishes on them. See for yourself what they say.)

   Colorado had hoped the five pathways for schools on the clock for five years would provide the flexibility and opportunity for dramatic change. (Addendum A lists the options.) This spring, given the discontent with the constraints of these five options, the legislature added a sixth pathway in HB 25-1278. (Addendum B.) Will this new pathway inspire and welcome more fundamental rethinking and redesign from our chronically low-performing high schools, and their districts, than we have seen to date? Based on the past 15 years, it seems unlikely.

   Senior members of the State Board have now seen schools make their case for plan A, win approval; return again two or three years later—after chronic low-performance has continued—and offer PLAN B; and now, in some cases, present PLAN C. (One example, see Aurora Central.^[ii])  Allowed to “keep at it,” even if no one expected meaningful improvement.  It is truly sad.

AV#288 argued that something fundamental in the very structure of our comprehensive high schools – as comprehensive high schools – prevents them from making significant improvement.

   The experience and insights from State Board members leads to one conclusion: we must question the very design and purpose of our traditional high schools, especially when serving a predominantly low socio-economic student body. (My focus last month.) Leading to a bigger question: how can we redesign our high schools in order to meet the needs of these very students? (See conclusion.)

   I doubt The System today—CASE, CASB, the CEA; superintendents and school boards; even the majority of high school educators—is willing to ask something so basic and so provocative.

  But I sense there are members of the State Board who feel it might be the right question to ask. Is this what you hear from them?

 

Observations from State Board members. “It’s not the solution.” (From two recent meetings.)

1.        June 2024 – State Board hearing on Aurora Central High – year 10 on Performance Watch

2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
PI	PI	PI	PI	PI	TR	PI	PI	PI	PI	PI	TR	PI*	PI

Performance Watch ratings. 2nd lowest rating: Priority Improvement (PI). Lowest rating: Turnaround (TR).  *Entire Aurora Central K-12 campus given Insufficient rating. But the high school itself was rated PI.   https://www.cde.state.co.us/accountability/performanceframeworkresults

   In the spring of 2024 the State Board held accountability hearings for Abraham Lincoln (March 13), Adams City High (May 8), and Aurora Central High (June 12). In each case the Board approved of the high schools’ “pathways plans.”

   Both Angelika Schroeder (in her 16^th and final year on the board) and Steve Durham (then in his 10th year) had participated in hearings for Aurora Central High School in 2017, again in 2019, and again for a board order in 2000. While Schroeder voted for the plan presented on March 12, and Durham did not, neither expected significant progress at Aurora Central.

Transcriptions of board comments (several used before, in AV#273 and #288) are mine. I apologize for any errors.

Schroeder:  I guess I’m a little confused about what some of us would define as what works …. We know that incremental work will get us there and that’s what you all I think are going to try to do – is incrementally improve outcomes for kids. You’ll get off the clock, have growth, probably not enough growth – we don’t get to keep the kids long enough if they’re three-years behind to get’em caught up – but it is incremental growth.

 

“We nine don’t have the solution yet. Help us out there. If you all want to experiment with something completely different, I think we would support you.”                             Angelika Schroeder

Durham: I suspect that eventually you will get off the clock …  but … getting off the clock doesn’t mean you’ve solved any of the problems ... that you’ve dramatically increased outcomes … it means you’ve marginally increased outcomes …                      

   Given this, Schroeder posed a “What if?”

Schroeder: So I agree with my colleagues that this is going to be really hard work. I have the faith that you’re going to do enough here to make progress, but I also realize it’s not the solution. We don’t – we nine don’t have the solution as yet. Help us out there. If you all want to experiment with something completely different, I think we would support you.     

       The challenge is so great. Maybe we cannot ask for more than this: that you keep trying.                                

Karla Esser (Board member since 2021) also voted for the plan. But note this comment, in light of her words nine months later, in March of 2025.

Esser: The work is almost impossible - I hate to put it that way - but it’s really hard work to try to move that number of kids bringing those needs and those diverse backgrounds all in one direction to become this at the end… So I applaud your work; I couldn’t possibly offer a plan that would be better, so I will be supporting your plan.

 

AV#273 (July 2024) was my response to this meeting: Limited options and less hope – can’t we imagine something better? State Board hearing for a chronically low-performing high school conveys a note of despair. [iii]

 

2.  March 2025 – State Board “Progress Monitoring Updates” on 9 schools and one district on “Accountability Clock Board Orders”

   Five of the schools were comprehensive high schools: Adams City High, Abraham Lincoln (DPS), Aurora Central High and Gateway High (APS), and Mitchell High (Colorado Springs).

At that March hearing the first two school updates were from Adams 14: Adams City High and Central Elementary.

Adams City High School – year 11 on Performance Watch

2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
PI	TR	PI	PI	PI	TR	TR	PI	PI	PI	PI	PI	PI	PI

Performance Watch ratings. Second lowest rating: Priority Improvement (PI). Lowest: Turnaround (TR).    https://www.cde.state.co.us/accountability/performanceframeworkresults

Karla Esser: When I look through the data, I read through everything, and it hasn’t moved much. It hasn’t moved; it’s gone down since we started all of this. If I compare it to the last two years, it hasn’t moved much.

[Esser made it clear she was talking essentially about Adams City High and Central Elementary. Perhaps she thought something similar could be said of several high schools that day.]

She asked CDE: Can you speak to that? Why we’re in a kind of hamster cage/hamster wheel?

   Dr. Andy Swanson, Director of Transformation Strategy at CDE, pointed to the additional challenges these schools face due to significant leadership and teacher turnover.

   Esser returned to her theme. Are we stuck?

 

“I’ve been on the board four years. What could we do?”                                                      Karla Esser

Esser: I probably shouldn’t ask this question but I’m going to anyway Dr. Swanson…. We know there’s always going to be turnover at the leadership level, with our teachers, it’s ongoing … hamster wheel – that’s the only word I can think of for it.

Do we as a department have anything we feel we can put in place and kind of counteract what we perceive is going to happen over and over again, because I’m not seeing movement.

I’ve been on the board four years. What could we do?

   She also asked CDE a larger question about these low-performing comprehensive high schools.

Esser: Are you seeing concrete similarities between these types of comprehensive high schools? Are they having the same issues across the board, or is each site individually struggling?

Humbled by reality

   During the afternoon CDE gave updates on all nine schools on the clock. 

Lisa Escárcega (Board member since 2021) had been the Chief Accountability and Research Officer in Aurora Public Schools when Aurora Central High stumbled forward, always on the accountability clock, year after year. In June 2024 she had explained to her colleagues why, back in 2016, the leadership team at Aurora Public Schools had supported the innovation plan for Aurora Central.^[iv] Now in March of 2025, with compelling evidence of continued low achievement and high chronic absenteeism at the high school, Escárcega sounded open to new ideas.

  Her observation about the high schools on board-directed action led to a question.

“What do you think we can do to help with this issue?”                                                   Lisa Escárcega

Escárcega: I find five different districts, with five different superintendents and five different communities. And five different types of curricula – but the demographics are the same… What do you think we do to help with this issue, because obviously it is not just people at this one place – people tend to think, if I just change this …

   After Dr. Swanson’s response, she added:

 And some of the most successful schools we have are also in these exact same school districts, with the same superintendents, the same curriculum, the same materials. So what is it that causes these issues? It’s not one per person or one thing. It’s complicated.

And more questions. A search for something better.

Escárcega: I’m wondering at a national level - is there anything you see – any trends – [in] comprehensive high schools with student populations like this? I look at a couple around the state but when I look up their demographics they’re not the same, they are not as impacted high schools … I’m not seeing anyone knocking it out of the park, at least not in Colorado.

Is there some national model that you are aware of bring to bear that we could talk about?

The good news – a longing for better ideas and better options

   Last summer I found “a note of despair” in the comments from State Board members. This year I sense greater frustration, particularly among senior members of the board, like Esser and Escárcega, who have participated in these hearings for several years. It is as if they, too, share the skepticism about our state’s accountability process that Schroeder and Durham expressed earlier.

   These board members who have sat at the table long enough see “a hamster’s wheel.” It is clear to them, if not yet to new board members just getting their first look at this 15-year conundrum, that to maintain the status quo is untenable.

   How can we tap into this growing hunger and curiosity for new ideas?

   How can we reconfigure our approach so that we are thinking less of how to maintain these large high school buildings and more about how to better serve the students in these communities?

   Who has some answers for us, new designs, new approaches?

 

“How can we redesign our high schools in order to meet the needs of these very students?”

Rethinking high school. Renewing hope.

   Before closing, a word of hope. It is wonderful to see a new interest in reimagining the American high school.

1)   Dr. Andy Swanson wrote me that his office at CDE is looking at various studies to learn how it can best "encourage different strategies for positive changes in pervasively low performing high schools.” One of the studies is the 2024 report, “Redesigning High Schools – 10 Features for Success.” (The Learning Policy Institute.  Authors: Linda Darling-Hammond, Matt Alexander, and Laura E. Hernández.)  (Its section on “Smaller Learning Communities” echoes points made in AV#288 about comprehensive high schools and personalization. See box.) https://www.redesigninghighschool.org/sites/default/files/rk/attach/Redesigning_High_Schools_10_Features_REPORT.pdf

 

From “Redesigning High Schools” “Over the past few decades, educational research has suggested that all else being equal, small learning communities of 300-500 students … tend to produce significantly better results for students, including better attendance, fewer failed courses, fewer behavioral incidents … These results are the most pronounced for students who are typically least well served by traditional schools.” (p.8)

2)     We see this new focus in districts (Jefferson County), in nonprofits with local ties (Transcend Education, the Donnell-Kay Foundation, and the Colorado Education Initiative), and in national reform efforts (Center for Reinventing Public Education). (More in Addendum C.)

3)     We read stories of small schools doing a good job of educating a high FRL and minority population. Such stories lift our spirits. (See Addendum D). Yes, their enrollment is often tiny. Still, these microschools open our eyes to new possibilities. They show us that we cannot hang our heads and claim to have no idea of how to serve these communities. That way lies despair.

**

   Wouldn’t it be helpful if CDE and/or a nonprofit brought together such efforts in a public arena? Surely we can find ways to imagine and explore a wide range of new high school designs. AV #286-288 recalled the excitement I witnessed 35 years ago when the Colorado Department of Education brought the Coalition of Essential Schools to Colorado. How great it would be to reignite some of that passion and hope in educators searching for a better way.

   For over 15 years we have been sending thousands of our most vulnerable students into school buildings that are not providing a high-quality education. For over 15 years.

   The Education Accountability Act has brought benefits. But not for these high schools and not for this student population. Years ago we spoke hopefully of “school turnaround”; we envisioned dramatic improvement. It has not happened.

   I believe this is what the State Board is ready to admit.

   And I suspect many of you would agree.

   Time for a new approach.

 

Addendum A

Colorado Department of Education - Accountability Pathways

District-Run Public Schools

For district-run public schools that receive Priority Improvement or Turnaround ratings for five consecutive years as measured by the District Performance Frameworks, the state board can direct one of the following Accountability Pathways:

• Management: that a public or private entity partially or fully manage the school.
• Charter Conversion: that the school be converted to a charter school.
• Innovation: that the school be granted status as an innovation school.
• Community School Conversion: that the school be converted to a community school.
• Closure: that the school be closed.

https://www.cde.state.co.us/accountability/accountability_clock

 

Addendum B

 HB 25-1278 - Changes to the Education Accountability System

Chalkbeat Colorado, “Bill to change Colorado’s school ratings system undergoes major amendments as it advances,” by Melanie Asmar, March 28, 2025.

“The House Education Committee on Wednesday approved seven amendments that in some cases completely rewrote sections of the bill. Among other changes, the amendments would:

 

“Create a new option for when schools or districts have five years of low ratings. Instead of more drastic measures like closing schools, the new option would allow schools and districts to follow a ‘pathway plan’ of their own design. Actions under that plan could include ‘contracting with external support partners, using contractors or resources provided by the (state education) department, engaging in cross-district progress monitoring, or comprehensive school redesign.’”

             https://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/2025/03/28/bill-to-change-school-accountability-system-undergoes-major-amendments/

 

Addendum C

Imagining a new high school – three efforts

 

1.     Center for Reinventing Public Education (CPRE)

 

“It’s Time to Launch a National Initiative to Create the New American High School”

“We must start thinking, talking and acting bigger when it comes to preparing teens for both college and career.”

By Robin Lake, The 74, February 7, 2024

(Bold mine)

   The American high school is broken. The pandemic underscored just how broken. American teens are—as a September 2023 Gallup poll shows—disengaged, stressed, and questioning the value of high school and college. At the same time, they are hungry to make a difference in the world and to use new technologies and ideas toward that end. 

   In 2013, Ted Sizer wrote a book called The New American High School. Large national foundations invested in smaller, more personalized high schools. The pandemic made clear it’s past time to finally remake high school, but with an eye toward the future. 

[Her piece closes this way.]

   Tinkering around the edges of American high schools won’t ensure that every student graduates on a viable pathway to a family-sustaining career. We don’t need to remake career and technical education—we need to remake high school. 

   Skeptics will understandably ask: how is this possible when school systems are struggling just to keep their heads above water, grappling with record levels of mental health and behavior challenges and declining achievement? 

   My response to the skeptics: high schools across the country began this transformation before or even during the pandemic. They did so because they know there is no alternative but to shift toward the future. They know they must catch kids up, but they also know that the best way to do so is to engage them in deep, meaningful, and relevant ways. With the right help from the federal government, states, businesses, and philanthropies, this is doable. 

   But the first step on any road to recovery is to admit that there’s a problem. Given the reality of the past few years, can anyone really argue that the American high school has not reached its bottom?

https://www.the74million.org/article/its-time-to-launch-a-national-initiative-to-create-the-new-american-high-school/?utm_source=The+74+Million+Newsletter&utm_campaign=97f592fe87-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2022_07_27_07_47_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_077b986842-97f592fe87-176892804

 

2.     Transcend Education

 

“Intrinsic Schools: Saying Goodbye to the 'Classroom' Changes the Way Students Learn”

[Colorado connection - Leslie Colwell is a Partner. Before joining Transcend, Colwell was the Vice-President of K-12 Initiatives at the Colorado Children’s Campaign.]

    Intrinsic Schools built a Chicago middle school and a high school that put student needs at the center of learning. Instead of one teacher guiding students through the same content at the same time, students experience different learning environments and can customize their learning via playlists.

        Intrinsic’s design cultivates agency, critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity in its students.

The result: a 95% high school graduation rate and 70% college enrollment rate for the class of 2024, outpacing the district average.

   The traditional concept of a classroom just wasn’t working for Chicago high school students. Over and over again, the data showed that one talented teacher simply could not keep up with the varied learning styles and needs of 30 students.

   When Intrinsic founders Melissa Zaikos and Ami Gandhi worked at Chicago Public Schools in 2014, only 14% of youth entering Chicago Public Schools earned a 4-year degree by the time they were 25. Zaikos and Gandhi were surrounded by extremely committed teachers and colleagues but many students still were not thriving.

“I realized that school isn’t designed to change. It isn’t designed to be responsive when a child needs it most. It isn’t designed to allow a teacher to apply their expertise to unique problems. That made us wonder, ‘what if we built a school that was designed to be flexible and change and expand based on what children most needed?’”  –Ami Gandhi, Chief Learning Officer at Intrinsic Schools

   Intrinsic Schools set out to design learning environments around the needs of students and teachers. These environments would customize learning for all students, in part by letting students review their data and set their own goals. By building their agency, students would also grow the drivers to be more motivated, confident, and successful.

   A reimagined use of technology and space would be necessary for both students and teachers to be successful. Such a design could meet learners at their level while optimizing teacher capacity. https://transcendeducation.org/intrinsic-schools-saying-goodbye-to-the-classroom-changes-the-way-students-learn/

 

            Transcend Education is also a co-creator of “The Public Microschool Playbook, A New Actionable Guide for System Leaders.” (Getting Smart Collective, Learning-Centered Collaborative, Transcend, May 14, 2025.)

https://www.gettingsmart.com/2025/05/14/the-public-microschool-playbook-a-new-actionable-guide-for-system-leaders/

 

3)   Jefferson County Public Schools

        High School Reimagined

 Preparing Jeffco Graduates for Bright and Successful Futures

   Jeffco has the opportunity to dramatically shift the current high school experience over the next five years with the goal of preparing students for their future and, most importantly, investing students in their education. Students will be excited to come to school, engaged in what they are learning, and they will experience a real-world relevance that demonstrates the value of their education. At the heart of our strategic approach are stronger Career Technical Education (CTE) pathways and the creation of a seminal Jeffco high school experience that prepare students for success after graduation.

   Why focus on high school? High schools shape daily life, help turn students’ biggest dreams into reality and create the foundation for bright and successful futures.

Creating a Shared Vision

   In early 2023, we created a shared vision for what a reimagined high school experience should look like through brainstorming and feedback sessions with groups of students, parents, principals, educators, Alliance members, and District Accountability (DAC) members. We wanted to hear what great things schools are doing for kids today that they wanted to see more of and what else they wanted them to offer in the future.

Related Resource: Paving the Way for a New Middle and High School Experience[

[…and much more at - https://www.jeffcopublicschools.org/about/initiatives/reimagining-high-school]

  

Addendum D

 Small schools/Microschools

(Bold mine) 

1)     “A Case for a New Public School Movement: Microschooling Stories from Across Colorado,” (June 5, 2025), by Sarah Johnson, Donnell-Kay Foundation. 

Excerpt: “In speaking to many microschool leaders across Colorado in the past year, I have felt momentum for a renewed excitement in education. From rural communities with very few options for choice, to urban city folks trying to navigate a sea of school choices, there are a range of reasons behind the energy of the microschool movement in Colorado. …  I interviewed four microschool leaders, one from a very rural community, and three serving Aurora and Denver. Despite their geographic differences, there are many similarities in these leaders and their schools. In each of the interviews I did with microschool leaders, I left with questions about the ways in which these schools could be a model for public districts, or in one case, the need to form its own microschool charter network.”

 

2)     “Microschools Are Not Just a Trend, They’re A Turning Point” (May 27, 2025)

“Public microschools offer a focused, actionable path forward in this era of uncertainty and opportunity. These small, purpose-built, learning environments give public schools and their communities the power to design experiences that are deeply personalized, flexible, and malleable without waiting for entire systems to shift. They can serve students, empower educators, and address community needs.

“While the idea isn’t new, today’s reality is. This is not about boutique innovation. Public microschools are a turning point and an invitation to broadly reimagine how we design for relevance and responsiveness inside public systems. They can restore the connection between what students need and what schools provide to transform how we deliver on the promise of public education.”

https://www.the74million.org/article/microschools-are-not-just-a-trend-theyre-a-turning-point/

 

3)      “For Students Who Struggle, Boston High School Offers ‘Space to Grow Emotionally’”

   (Jan. 13, 2025)

“Boston Day and Evening Academy gives non-traditional students a nearly obsessive level of attention, from small classes to free city bus passes.”

“Though its model has changed slightly over the years — the school no longer operates in the evening, as its 20-year-old name implies — it has become one of the most closely watched alternative high schools in the U.S., offering a model of care and personal attention that larger, more comprehensive schools often struggle to create.”

https://www.the74million.org/article/for-students-who-struggle-boston-high-school-offers-space-to-grow-emotionally/

 

                        4)    “We Are High Achievers, But We Were Almost a Statistic” (July 1, 2025)

 By Briauna and Tiauna Black (twin sisters) from Las Vegas

“When tragedy struck, we suddenly needed something more: flexibility and understanding. We found that at an alternative hybrid school.”

“Today we’re both medical assistants. We went through a training program at Northwest Career College and earned medical assistant licenses and phlebotomy certifications in nine months….

“We wish more high school students knew that there are alternatives to traditional high school. A hybrid school like what we did in high school and now in college is a great option. There are some young people who need the social interaction an in-person environment offers, but there are also a lot of us who face challenges or who just want something different. https://www.the74million.org/article/we-are-high-achievers-but-we-were-almost-a-statistic/

 

5)    “The rise of microschools: A wake-up call for public education” (Aug. 19, 2024)

 “Microschools, which typically serve small groups of students in personalized learning environments, have gained traction as families seek more flexible and tailored educational options. This flexibility is particularly appealing in an era when traditional education models are increasingly seen as one-size-fits-all, leaving many students either unchallenged or overwhelmed.

“The threat posed by microschools is not just a challenge to the public education system, but also an opportunity for redesign and reform. If public schools are to remain relevant in the face of growing competition from microschools, they must find ways to become more flexible, innovative and responsive to the needs of their students.”

https://edsource.org/2024/the-rise-of-microschools-a-wake-up-call-for-public-education/717798

 

6)    “Reflections From a Formerly Disengaged Teen” (July 14, 2025)

                                                                                         By Hannah Askew

Student’s view: I used to sit in the back of class, trying my best to avoid eye contact with my teacher, but now I sit in the front row every day.

“At my old, 2,200-student high school, I never had a sense of community. Isolation, loneliness, and a lack of purpose were the defining characteristics of my first high school experience. Teachers and staff members were overworked and overwhelmed, busy trying to navigate the challenges of our large and diverse high school to form one-on-one connections. Looking back, I can see how important the connections I made at Elizabethton were in helping me find my path.”

https://www.the74million.org/article/reflections-from-a-formerly-disengaged-teen/?utm_source=The+74+Million+Newsletter&utm_campaign=cd4f6f6f20-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2022_07_27_07_47_COPY_02&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_077b986842-cd4f6f6f20-176112633

Endnotes

---

[i] “Accountability Pathways,” and the Education Accountability Act of 2009, Colorado Department of Education

“Background - In 2009, Colorado’s legislature passed the Education Accountability Act that created a system to hold the state, school districts, and schools accountable for student academic performance on specific indicators and measures, including achievement and growth on state tests and graduation rates. Every year, schools and districts receive performance ratings. Those that do not meet expectations are assigned a rating of Priority Improvement or Turnaround. The state’s Accountability Clock requires the State Board of Education to direct a course of action to the local board of education if the school or district has received Priority Improvement or Turnaround ratings for five consecutive years. These courses of action are called ‘Accountability Pathways’, and are directed by the state board during an Accountability Hearing.”

 

[ii] “Change Partners” -

Aurora Central High’s plans included work with 1) a management company in 2017, then 2) PEBC in 2020, then 3) TNTP in 2024.

From the Aurora Central Campus Pathway Plan (June 2024)

“In 2017, ACHS partnered with a management company to develop strong systems/structures for professional learning, accountability, coaching, instruction, and PLCs.

“In 2020, ACHS partnered with an academic partner to deepen teacher knowledge and skills around GLEAM, Phenomenal Teaching Framework and instructional coaching. Aurora Central Campus Pathway Plan - June 2024 56 “The need now is a partner [which would become TNTP] who can bridge the work of the two previous partners and help define instructional expectations, develop consistent systems/structures for regular assessment, DDI practices, and leadership-level progress monitoring that would better promote positive student outcomes.”

https://go.boarddocs.com/co/cde/Board.nsf/files/D5QTXB79339D/$file/Aurora%20Central%20Pathway%20Plan%20(June%202024).pdf

 

[iii] From AV#273 – July 2024

    My conclusion: the State Board is constrained by the Accountability Pathways. To be both creative and bold, it needs new options. ….

    So do our districts. The June 12 hearing suggests that after the Adams 14 intervention, districts can expect a passing grade if they construct 60-page proposals and demonstrate that they are committed to do better. And the Board’s main message? Thank you for trying.

    No one can be proud of this.

    We are responsible for creating what is not working – in this case, tragically, what is not working for our most vulnerable students. And I would say this is the case in over 20 high schools in our state.

    We say this process is about accountability. Is it? Aurora Central is one of those high schools. One where we have seen chronic low performance continue for 14 years. What have we accomplished?

    Let’s think anew. Enough of “we can’t.” We can create better options.

 

[iv] Escárcega: (June 2024 State Board meeting) – from AV#273:

Lisa Escárcega, Vice Chair of the State Board, recalled her time in 2016 as part of the leadership team in Aurora Public Schools. She said that the district had not been open to charter applicants who were only interested in a K-12 option. (Ironic. By adding the K-8 Charles Burrell Visual & Performing Arts program to the Aurora Central Campus, APS has created a K-12 plan of its own.) She added:

    Closure was on the table as well. The community said no to that. You can’t take 200 or 300 students and start plopping them into high schools surrounding that high school. It needs to be there, it services a neighborhood, and if those kids are going to get services …. (Emphasis mine.)

   As Addendum A - #2 shows, Superintendent Rico Munn favored innovation status over a fundamental change in the school’s structure. See [Winston] Churchill: “We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.” Again, we can’t imagine a new way. (Note the declining performance of APS high schools over the past decade - Addendum C.)