QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FROM MIKE JOHNSON’S 2017 MEETINGS WITH SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS This document includes questions asked and answers to questions asked at Mike Johnson’s 2017 meetings with schools and community organizations in East Denver. The index is organized by topic. If you control–click on a question in the index, you will be linked to a restatement of the question and the answer to the question. The school or other meeting at which the question was asked and the date the answer was prepared is shown at the end of each answer (for example, Bromwell 5/10/17). There are hyperlinks throughout this document that are in blue and underlined. If you control–click on the hyperlinks, it should take you to a web page. If that doesn’t work, copy the hyperlink and paste it in your browser. If you have problems accessing any of the information in this document, please call or email Ramona Lewis at 720.423.3211 or [email protected]. This document is current as of 6/21/2017 and will be updated from time to time as Mike attends more meetings and answers more questions. 1 | P a g e Index Accountability and School Performance Framework (SPF) ....................................................................... 9 Why did DPS make the recent changes in the SPF measurement for attendance? Why was it changed mid-year? ................................................................................................................................................. 9 Why are there “cliff” cut off points in the SPF scoring? Some scoring categories have broad ranges from low to high so that a school that ranks at the bottom get just as many points as a school that ranks at the top even though the differences are significant. Wouldn’t scoring be more accurate (and fair) if DPS used a percentage scoring approach?................................................................................... 9 What changes will be made in the SPF between the most recent SPF (released in the fall of 2016) and the next one (the one expected to be released in the fall of 2017)? ........................................................ 9 What are the SPF Equity Indicator Proposed Changes? ......................................................................... 9 Please describe the new changes to the SPF regarding early literacy. Will the early literacy changes be part of the equity/gaps indicator? ..................................................................................................... 10 Describe how a school’s SPF rating affects teacher compensation under ProComp. ........................... 11 What percentage of the SPF for Place is based on early literacy? Place has a unique population of language diverse students who need several years to catch up to English speakers. Could the Place SPF growth be weighted more to the later years to make up for this? .................................................. 11 How is student growth calculated for high performing students for purposes of the School Performance Framework (SPF)? Isn't it easier for a low performing student to achieve a high growth score than a high performing student? .................................................................................................. 12 Why do we care whether high performing students are growing? ........................................................ 12 Why doesn't the SPF give more weight to high PARCC test scores? ................................................... 12 How does DPS hold schools accountable? ........................................................................................... 13 Attendance Boundaries and Choice .......................................................................................................... 14 What can the district and/or Bromwell do to help parents choose the best middle school for their children? ................................................................................................................................................ 14 Can we consider redrawing attendance boundaries for schools? .......................................................... 14 What are the rules regarding student enrollment and mid-year enrollment? ........................................ 14 Where can parents find information about the supports that individual schools provide for special needs students, including students with IEPs, 504s and those who may not have a specific diagnosis but who need special supports? Is there a central repository for this information or do parents have to investigate each individual school? ....................................................................................................... 15 BoardDocs................................................................................................................................................. 16 How do I search by topic on BoardDocs? ............................................................................................. 16 Cafeteria .................................................................................................................................................... 17 Does DPS have a program to reuse cafeteria food that is not consumed? ............................................ 17 2 | P a g e Career and Technical Education (CTE) .................................................................................................... 18 Describe DPS’s CTE program, including the availability of CTE in middle and elementary school. 18 Is there a linkage between CTE and special education? Should there be a linkage? ........................... 18 Central Office............................................................................................................................................ 20 Describe the DPS central office staffing. .............................................................................................. 20 How much money is allocated for DPS department budgets? .............................................................. 20 Charter Schools ......................................................................................................................................... 21 How many charters has Denver Public Schools closed?....................................................................... 21 Are DPS charter schools allowed to require that students sign contracts? ........................................... 21 Do DPS charter schools “counsel out” low performing students in order to improve their performance data? ...................................................................................................................................................... 21 Do DPS charter schools serve a lower percentage of low income students, students of color, English language learners and special education students than do district-managed schools? .......................... 22 Do Denver charter schools divert public money to private persons by paying large salaries to their senior officials? ..................................................................................................................................... 23 How does the public find financial information about DPS charter schools? ...................................... 23 Community Help for Our Schools ............................................................................................................ 24 What can members of the community do to help our schools? ............................................................ 24 About the DPS Foundation ................................................................................................................... 24 Community Outreach ................................................................................................................................ 25 How can parents communicate with the board of education? ............................................................... 25 How does the board communicate with school communities? ............................................................. 25 Community Use of Schools ...................................................................................................................... 26 How did the church that meets at Palmer obtain access to the building? What can be done to minimize the effects of vehicles parked in front of/near houses in the neighborhood? ........................ 26 Compensation for Non-Teachers .............................................................................................................. 27 How does DPS determine compensation for people who work in schools in a capacity other than teacher, principal or assistant principal? ............................................................................................... 27 Para wages are too low. Place cannot fill para positions in several language groups. What can DPS do to help? ............................................................................................................................................. 27 Discipline .................................................................................................................................................. 28 Proposed new policy prohibiting expulsion of ECE-3rd grade students. Is there an alternative school to which persistently violent students can be transferred? Is it possible to require parental involvement from the parents of these students as a condition to keeping them at Place? ................... 28 3 |