900 Grant Street / Denver, CO 80203
TELEPHONE 720-423-3300
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900 Grant Street / Denver, CO 80203 |
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OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDENT
August 1, 1996
To Teachers, Parents, Administrators, and Community Members:
In late June, the Denver Public Schools Content Standards for Reading and Writing, Mathematics, Science, History, and Geography were approved by the Board of Education. This was an important milestone in our efforts to identify "Standards for Success"what every student should know and be able to do.
Many citizens and educators worked diligently to develop these standards. Professional staff, parents, and community members were provided with opportunities to meet, discuss, and suggest changes to the original draft, which was developed by the five Standards Development Task Forces.
Selected standards will be piloted during the 1996-1997 school year, and in September 1997, all schools will begin to implement the first tier of standards. I encourage everyone to work together to share ways of using standards to improve student learning.
I am grateful for the amount of volunteer time and energy that have been put into this project thus far. Your involvement and support throughout the standards implementation process have been greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Irv Moskowitz, Superintendent
Denver Public Schools
Standards Development in Denver
Reading and Writing Standards Internet Links
Appendices
District Goal 1: Developing LiteracyElementary Schools
District Goal 1: Developing LiteracyMiddle Schools and High Schools
District Goal 2: Preparing Students for College & Careers
District Goal 3: Increasing School Readiness
District Goal 4: Creating Schools as Neighborhood Centers
Background. On June 3, 1993, Governor Romer signed into law HB 93-1313 requiring local districts to develop content standards and implement standards-based education. Content standards, which are clear, measurable statements of what students should know and be able to do, can have a significant effect in advancing the educational achievement of Colorado students. The following excerpt from HB 93-1313 describes its legislative intent:
The General Assembly hereby finds and declares that, because children can learn at higher levels than are currently required of them, it is the obligation of the General Assembly, the Department of Education, school districts, educators, and parents to provide children with schools that reflect high expectations and create conditions where these expectations can be met. Through a shared sense of accountability and a cooperative spirit among state government, school districts, educators, parents, business persons, and the community, school districts and educators can develop and teach to high standards which will enable students to achieve the highest level of knowledge and skills.
The General Assembly further declares that this system of standards-based education will serve as an anchor for educational reform, with the focus of education including not just what teachers teach, but what students learn. In addition, standards-based education will advance equity, will promote assessment of student learning, and will reinforce accountability.
The General Assembly therefore charges school districts with the responsibility to develop content standards, programs of instruction, and assessments that reflect the highest possible expectations. The General Assembly further declares that the ultimate goal of this...is to ensure that Colorado's schools have standards which will enable today's students of all cultural backgrounds to compete in a world economy in the twenty-first century.
House Bill 93-1313
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Standards Development in Denver. Consistent with Colorado Revised Statute 22-53-407 requiring districts to adopt standards that "meet or exceed the state model content standards," the Denver Public Schools community has developed the rigorous educational standards found in this document. These standards will have positive implications for student achievement and offer significant opportunities to enhance literacy.
This document is arranged in five content areas: Reading and Writing, Mathematics, Science, History, and Geography. Each content area includes proposed standards, numbered subtopics, and benchmarks. Standards are general statements of what students should know and be able to do. Benchmarks provide examples of how standards should be applied at specified grade levels (Grades Kindergarten-4, Grades 5-8, and Grades 9-12). In some sections, you will find certain words followed by the asterisk (*) symbol. This denotes that the word has content-specific meaning and is defined in the glossary of terms found at the end of that content area.
A number of activities preceded the development of this final draft of proposed content standards. Initially, the district's current curriculum was analyzed in relation to the Colorado Model Content Standards. Following this analysis, five Standards Development Task Forces were organized. These task forces were broadly representative of professional educators, parents, Collaborative Decision Making Committees (CDMs), School Improvement and Accountability Council (SIAC), and community members. The task forces developed the first draft in January 1996. Seven thousand copies of the draft in English and two thousand copies in Spanish were made available. Each page of the draft document included a convenient tear-off response form.
Distribution of the first draft document began February 5, 1996. Individual and groups receiving copies included
· All CDM members in each school
· All SIAC members
· All teachers/principals in each school
· Hispanic Education Advisory Council (HEAC)
· American Indian Education Advisory Council (AIEAC)
· Black Education Advisory Council (BEAC)
· Asian Education Advisory Council (AEAC)
· Latino Education Coalition Members
· Parent, Teacher, and Student Association (PTSA) and other
parent organizations
· Citizens for Quality Schools
· 550 citizens/organizations from the district's information
dissemination lists.
In addition to provision for written responses, a series of five public forums were held to give citizens a chance to suggest changes and additions.
Following the public forums and receipt of several hundred written responses, each of the Standards Development Task Forces met to review, consider, and act on the responses. Upon completing their consideration of first draft responses, a second draft document was printed April 5, 1996. The second draft document contained only those first draft pages that were modified, with changes clearly marked. The second draft was again printed in English and Spanish versions and distributed to the same individuals and groups who had received the first draft.
Following distribution of the second draft, another series of public forums was scheduled for community response opportunities.
After the second round of public forums was concluded, the five Standards Development Task Forces reconvened on May 13, 1996 to review, consider, and act on public comments and on written responses to the second draft.
The third draft of proposed content standards in reading and writing, math, science, history, and geography included the state's adopted content standards with significant additions and changes made by parents, patrons, and professional staff of the Denver Public Schools. It was presented to the Superintendent and Board of Education for further review, change, and adoption and was adopted on June 20, 1996. These content standards will be the focus of a 1996-1997 standards pilot program for 30 or more schools. Beginning in 1997-1998, the standards will be implemented in all Denver Public Schools. Issues related to special needs, such as students enrolled in bilingual, special education, or gifted and talented programs, are presently being addressed and will continue to be an important part of the district's implementation planning process.
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Staff Development for Piloting Standards. The Instructional Focus Team prepared a series of one-, two-, and three-week staff development summer workshops to prepare teachers and administrators for piloting our new content standards during the 1996-1997 school year. All schools were given a chance to request "first opportunity" statusthat is, the opportunity to be among the Denver Public Schools that will be piloting standards in the 1996-1997 school year. The workshops accommodated some 200 staff members from 35 schools.
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Standards and the District Goals. The district's investment and commitment to standards development represents more than an effort to comply with state law. The Denver Public Schools Standards for Success is an important step in achieving the district's goals for improving student achievement.
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In 1995, the Board of Education adopted four goals to focus the attention, energy, and resources of the district and the community on the issues of highest prioritythose issues with the potential for greatest educational return. The goals are
· Developing Literacy
· Preparing Students for College and
Careers
· Increasing School Readiness
· Creating School Neighborhood Centers
Developing Literacy. The district's most immediate and highest priority is increasing student literacy. Literacyand its building blocks of reading, writing, listening, speaking, and understandingare the tools through which all other learning occurs. The key strategies for achieving the literacy goal include effective instruction for all students, the use of assessments that measure student achievement in reading and writing and providing quality reading material to all students.
The Denver Public Schools Standards for Success emphasizes literacy at every grade level and across subject areas. The definition of literacy reflected in the standards involves much more than the ability to read books and write papers. The standards define literacy as the ability of individuals to communicate effectively in the "real world." Consistent with the broadened definition of literacy, the standards incorporate literacy as a tool for problem solving, for acquiring and using information, for working with others, and for communicating through technology.
Preparing Students for College and Careers. The national economy is changing in ways that have a major impact on both the opportunities available to workers and the expectations and needs of their employers. The growth of new information and knowledge is explosive, doubling in a span of ten to fifteen years, and supporting the emergence of new technologies and services. These changes in the nature of work have significant implications for learning. Employers need employees who can put knowledge to workemployees who possess basic skills, but who also can solve problems, work as a member of a team, understand systems, and manage new technologies and other resources. For students, acquisition of these skills will be increasingly essential to pursuing career and educational opportunities beyond high schoolwhether in a four-year degree program, community college, apprenticeship, or job training program.
The skills and knowledge students need to succeed in the workplace (workplace competencies) are not an "add on" to the curriculum that addresses these Standards for Success. Rather, teachers integrate the workplace competencies into the curriculum through their methods of instruction. For example, students can learn workplace interpersonal skills through the science curriculum by working on group projects and presenting the results to students in another class. Students can learn workplace information management skills through the math curriculum by designing and carrying out a survey and developing spreadsheets, tables, and graphs to communicate the results.
Increasing School Readiness. This goal aims to reduce the number of students who spend their first few years of schooling in a catch-up situation. Key objectives for achieving this goal include increasing the availability and quality of preschool opportunities; promoting parent involvement, education, and support; and developing strategies that help young children acquire the language and social interaction skills they need to learn. School readiness is the foundation of all other reform efforts, including standards-driven reform.
Creating Schools as Neighborhood Centers. Neighborhood Center schools function as support centers for the network of individuals, agencies, and institutions committed to meeting community needs through increased resources and learning opportunities for students, families, and all members of the community. Emphasis will be given to citizen involvement, community improvement, social and human services, broad community resources, diverse educational services, interagency cooperation, and public-private partnerships.
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Board of Education
Aaron Gray, President
Susan Edwards, Vice President
Lynn Coleman, Secretary
J.P. Hemming, Treasurer
Laura Lefkowits
Rita Montero
Lee White
Administrative Staff
Irv Moskowitz, Superintendent
Wayne Eckerling, Assistant Superintendent for Planning, Research, and Program Evaluation
Sharon Johnson, Assistant Superintendent, Alternative/Career Education
Twila Norman, Assistant Superintendent, Elementary Education
Bernadette Seick, Assistant Superintendent, Secondary Education
Pamela Jensen, Executive Director, Curriculum/Instructional Support Services
Instructional Focus Team Members
Pam Jensen Exec. Dir. Curriculum & Instruction 764-3761
Michele Bernadett Foreign Language 764-3894
Susan Berney-Green Grant Manager 764-3368
Barbara Dwight CSSI Grant 764-3705
Bunny Eyer Visual Arts, Dance, Drama 764-3878
Pam Fisher Math/Science 764-3420
Jody Gehrig Educational Resource Services 764-3692
Steve Gonzales Music, PE 764-3439
Claudia Graziano K-5 Reading/Writing 764-3886
Carol Johnson School to Career 764-3893
Lupe Leece K-5 Reading/Writing 764-3895
Marilyn Roberts Testing/Assessment 764-3736
Liz Stansberry Social Studies 764-3885
Jo Thomas Multicultural Education 764-3491
Ronna Winterton Secondary Reading/Writing 764-3892