The Colorado Department of Education

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State Accountability - Alternative Education Campuses

The Education Accountability Act of 2009 (SB 09-163) authorizes the Colorado Department of Education to conduct an annual review of the performance of the public schools in the state and to make recommendations to the State Board of Education concerning whether the public school shall implement a Performance, Improvement, Priority Improvement or turnaround plan. The law also authorizes the Department to conduct a distinct performance review for those schools that meet the definition of an Alternative Education Campus (AEC).  The state's performance framework for AECs takes into account the unique purposes of the campuses and the unique circumstances of the challenges posed by the students enrolled in the campuses.

Required Forms

Schools interested in applying for AEC designation must complete the below forms, with their district/authorizer's support.

REQUIRED FORMS
Form Last Updated File Type
Application and Renewal for Designation as an Alternative Education Campus
  • By July 2, 2012, all schools seeking designation as an Alternative Education Campus or renewal as an Alternative Education Campus will need to submit this Application/Renewal form, with their district or authorizer’s approval, verifying that the school meets or continues to meet eligibility criteria.
 May 17, 2012

 

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Selection of Accountability Measures for Alternative Education Campuses
  • By July 2, 2012, all AECs (both those seeking designation for the first-time and those seeking renewal) will need to submit this form, with their district or authorizer’s approval, indicating any optional supplemental accountability measures, metrics, and cut-points they are requesting to be used in their AEC School Performance Framework report.
 May 17, 2012

 

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Unified Improvement Plan Template for Alternative Education Campuses (version 3.2)
  • Priority Improvement and Turnaround schools must use this template to submit their Unified Improvement Plan (UIP) by January 2013. Improvement and Performance schools must use this template to submit their UIP by April 2013.
  • For more information: http://www.cde.state.co.us/uip/UIP_Templates.asp
July 9, 2012

 

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Resources

Schools interested in applying for AEC designation, with their district/authorizer's support, should review the resources below to help in the completion of required forms.

RESOURCES
Resource Last Updated File Type
Accountability for Alternative Education Campuses, and Proposed Changes for 2013-14
  • This slideshow guides schools and districts through the basics of the AEC statute, rules, accountability process, and proposed changes for the 2013-14 school year.
March 29, 2013 PDF
Policy Guidance: Accountability for Alternative Education Campuses
  • This document guides schools and districts through the AEC application and accountability process.
 May 17, 2012

 

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Calculation Guidance for Alternative Education Campus Measures
  • This resource guides schools and districts through the AEC required and supplemental measures, including definitions and calculation formulas.
 June 11, 2012

 

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NWEA MAP Growth Data - Research Paper on Norms for AECs
  • This research paper provides the research-based rationale for the calculation of growth results on the NWEA MAPS assessments using AEC norms.
 May 2011

 

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NWEA MAP Growth Data - Calculation Guidance for AECs
  • This resource guides schools and districts through the calculation of growth results on the NWEA MAP assessments using AEC norms.
 July 2012

 

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NWEA MAP Achievement and Growth Data - CDE Webinar for AECs
  • This webinar presentation guides schools and districts through the calculation of achievement and growth results on the NWEA MAP assessments using AEC norms.
 July 2012

 

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Scantron Achievement and Growth Data - CDE Webinar for AECs
  • This webinar presentation seeks district and school feedback on the use of Scantron assessment data within the AEC School Performance Framework report.
 July 2012

 

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Schools Designated as Alternative Education Campuses

Below are the lists of AECs in 2010-11 and 2011-12, as approved by the State Board of Education. In August 2012, following the July 2, 2012 application submission deadline, the State Board will approve those schools receiving AEC designation for 2012-13.

Regulations

On April 13, 2011, the State Board of Education voted to amend the following rules concerning accountability for Alternative Education Campuses:

Research and Development

The Department's intention is to initiate and foster a process of research, development, and continuous improvement. Thus, the Department encourages the ongoing effort to develop rigorous measures that are well-calculated to capture the success of Alternative Education Campuses in fulfilling their mission. The annual submission of the Selection of Measures form is necessary, as the Department anticipates that some AECs may modify their selected measures form year to year. However, the Department also encourages AECs and districts to carefully evaluate the value of any adjustments to their frameworks, as consistency from year to year is critical to gauging progress over time.

The current Alternative Education Campus School Performance Framework report and accountability process reflect the result of collaboration between the Colorado Department of Education, the Colorado League of Charter Schools, the Colorado Coalition of AECs, and other stakeholder groups across the state. Many of the AEC SPF's measures, metrics, and cut-points are informed by the initial work conducted by the Colorado Coalition for Alternative Education campuses during the 2009-10 school year. In addition, during the 2010-11 school year, the Department met multiple times with AEC stakeholder groups to develop the AEC SPF criteria and components.

The documents below reflect archived materials from these stakeholder meetings.

For More Information

please contact Alyssa Pearson, pearson_a@cde.state.co.us, 303-866-6855.