April 14, 2011
News Release
State Board Of Education Maps Next Steps In CAP4K Implementation; Remands Charter School Appeal; Adopts Parental Notification Rules
The
Colorado State Board of Education continued its oversight and
implementation of the Colorado Achievement Plan for Kids with an update
by Assistant Commissioner for Standards and Assessment Jo O’Brien on
components of the landmark P-20 education bill.
CAP4K, as the plan is known informally, was initiated by Senate Bill
08-212 and was approved with the aim of creating an aligned, seamless
preschool to postsecondary educational system in Colorado.
The legislation calls for the state board to adopt high school
completion policies that will establish high school diploma endorsement
criteria and detail statewide graduation guidelines.
Under CAP4K, the board is required:
• To adopt, by Dec. 15, 2011, a comprehensive set of guidelines for the
establishment of high school graduation requirements to be used by each
school district board of education in developing local high school
graduation requirements.
• To jointly adopt with the Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE)
on or before July 1, 2011, or as soon as fiscally practicable “high
school diploma endorsement criteria indicating a student’s level of
postsecondary and workforce readiness.”
Pointing out a seeming disconnect between the two requirements and their
deadlines, O’Brien sought and secured the board’s approval of a November
2011 deadline for approving these criteria, stating that CCHE has
indicated similar support for the deadline. Staff from both departments
are working in tandem to ensure that both the high school diploma PWR
endorsement criteria and college-entrance requirements align.
The two boards are tentatively scheduled to meet on Sept. 15 and again
on Oct. 6 in preparation for their joint adoption of the endorsement
criteria.
The proposed changes to Colorado’s high school completion policies will
likely be implemented by local districts, O’Brien noted, in preparation
for the 2012-13 school year.
O’Brien also provided an update on the ongoing development of formative
assessments, emphasizing the need for a common and shared definition of
“formative assessments” to avoid confusion in the field about their
purpose and function. Even the label “formative assessments” might need
re-thinking, she said, because many are not clear about its purpose in
the assessment system.
Dropout Prevention and Student Engagement
The state board also received an update on a number of initiatives the
department is implementing to help districts reduce the number of
suspensions and expulsions and to engage students who have or are on the
verge of dropping out.
Judith Martinez, director of CDE’s Office of Dropout Prevention and
Student Engagement, highlighted a notable, five-year trend of Colorado’s
decreasing annual dropout rate. She also spoke to Colorado’s new “on
time” graduation rate, which follows a cohort of students beginning in
their freshman year. “The percentage of students in that cohort that
graduate four years later equates to the ‘on time’ graduation rate,” she
said. “But that doesn’t mean that the rest have dropped out. We also
identify those cohort students who are on track to graduate in five or
even six years.”
The Dropout Prevention and Student Engagement Office is comprised of six
programs and three initiatives, all of which are designed to engage or
re-engage students, keep them in school and, thereby, increase the
number of students who graduate high school prepared to enter college or
the workforce.
For more information on dropout prevention and student engagement
efforts, visit the office’s Web site at
http://www.cde.state.co.us/dropoutprevention.
Induction Programs
At the request of Board Member Debora Scheffel, the approval of teacher
induction programs received special attention this month.
“I want to underscore how important induction programs are to the
development of an educator,” she said. “They are a milestone in the map
of the reform efforts underway in educator effectiveness.”
By state law, the state board is charged with the responsibility of
approving and reviewing induction programs.
“If an educator can continue to grow under an exemplary mentor during
the induction program,” Scheffel noted, “he or she is more likely to be
successful in facilitating growth in student achievement.”
She added that successful induction programs also will result in more
educators maintaining their commitment to the teaching profession.
Scheffel noted that each of the programs include some excellent points
of focus including the importance of student engagement in learning,
mastery of knowledge domains crucial to student achievement,
differentiation of instruction, research- and evidence-based practices,
and instructional clarity. The board unanimously approved the following
induction programs:
• The teacher induction program submitted by ACE Community Challenge
School.
• The teacher induction program submitted by Aspen Academy.
• The teacher/special services provider induction program submitted by
NHA-Foundations Academy.
• The teacher induction program submitted by Skyview Academy Charter
School.
• The teacher induction program submitted by West End School District.
Colorado Teacher of the Year Recognized
The state board took a few minutes to recognize 2011 Colorado Teacher of
the Year Michelle Pearson, a seventh-grade teacher at Hulstrom Options
K-8 School in Northglenn (Adams 12 Five Star School District).
Pearson is the Colorado nominee for National Teacher of the Year honors
and serves as a teaching ambassador to communities and organizations
around the state and nation.
During brief comments regarding Wednesday’s board discussion involving
educator effectiveness (http://bit.ly/eFLlzK),
Pearson complimented the state board on its work, emphasizing that its
decisions have impact for years to come.
“We are really proud of you and what you do representing all teachers in
Colorado,” said Chairman Schaffer. “In everything we do we are cognizant
and fully aware that the real work of education takes place wherever you
are.”
Imagine Charter School Appeal Upheld
The state board voted unanimously to remand the appeal filed by Imagine
Charter School against Falcon School District 49, finding in favor of
the charter school. Board chairman Bob Schaffer and board member Elaine
Gantz Berman agreed to work together on recommendations that will be
issued in the state board’s order to the district.
Support for Innovation
In a show of support for innovation in education, the state board
unanimously approved two requests for waivers from certain statutes, one
from Mesa County Valley School District 51 on behalf of Mesa Valley
Vision Home and Community Program, and the other from Aurora Public
Schools on behalf of the district’s Option Program.
Parental Notification Rules
The Colorado State Board of Education approved rules that require school
districts to notify parents within 24 hours (business days only) when
district employees are arrested or charged with an offense identified in
the rules. The rules were approved unanimously following discussion of a
few amendments.
Board Chairman Bob Schaffer, who proposed the rules to set a statewide
expectation for how districts handle such information, said parents
should not be “in the dark” when employees are arrested. The waiting
time between arrest and formal charges, he added, is sometimes “too long
a lapse.”
The Colorado Department of Education will send official notification of
the rules to school districts prior their going into effect, anticipated
for May 31, 2011.
For more information, contact the Colorado State Board of Education
Relations Office at
state.board@cde.state.co.us.
In Other Action:
In other action, the Colorado State Board of Education:
• Took action on disciplinary proceedings concerning a license, charge
number 2010EC20.
• Took action on disciplinary proceedings concerning a license, charge
number 2011EC01.
• Took action on disciplinary proceedings concerning a license and a
license application, charge number 2011EC02.
• Approved initial emergency authorizations (monthly total, 2).
• Approved the five-year reauthorization of the teacher preparation
program at Fort Lewis College.
• Approved the annual acknowledgement of the school districts regarding
Exclusive Chartering Authority for the 2011-2012 school year.
• Approved a waiver request from certain statutes by Colorado Springs
School District 11 on behalf of GLOBE Charter School.
• Approved appointments of members to the Colorado Special Education
Advisory Committee, the Facility Schools Board, the Alternative School
Funding Models Advisory Council and the State Council for Parent
Involvement in Education.
• Approved amendments to the rules for the Accountability of Alternative
Campuses.
For technical assistance, E-Mail: CDE_Communications_Office@cde.state.co.us