Alyssa Pearson, Associate Commissioner

Brenda Bautsch, Accountability Specialist

Andy Swanson, Turnaround Support Manager

4/4/2017 2

• Remarks from Commissioner Anthes

• Overview of Commissioner’s Recommendation• Background and Data

• Grants and Support

• Review of Conditions for Success

• Rationale for Recommendation

• Alternative Pathway Options

• CDE Evaluation of District’s Management Plan

• State Review Panel

• Summary

• Next steps

4/4/2017 3

• Remarks regarding the recommendation for Aurora Central High School in Aurora Public Schools

4/4/2017 5

• Aurora Central High School will enter their 6th

consecutive year of Priority Improvement or Turnaround on July 1, 2017

• The State Board of Education is required to direct action to the district’s local school board prior to June 30, 2017

4/4/2017 6

• The Commissioner recommends Innovation School Status for Aurora Central High School

• Recommendation is based upon:• Review of the school’s data, leadership, culture, academic

systems, Unified Improvement Plan, and the history of grants and supports provided to the school

• The Commissioner’s visit to the school in January 2017, as well as many staff visits and support over past several years

• The State Review Panel’s final recommendation

• The district’s own initiative to create an Innovation Zone or “ACTION Zone”

• Key conditions for success

4/4/2017 7

State Review Panel Recommendation

Innovation

Commissioner Recommendation

Innovation

District Proposal Innovation & Management

State Board of Education Decision

4/4/2017 8

• Aurora Central is a large, comprehensive high school of over 2,100 students that serves a diverse community of families in Aurora

• 70% of students are eligible for free/reduced lunch, compared to 37% of high school students across the state

• 71% of students are English learners, compared to 17% of high school students in the state

• 96% identify as racial/ethnic minorities compared with 42% statewide

4/4/2017 9

School Trends on Academic Achievement and Growth, for English Language Arts and Math

Official School Ratings over Time

Indicator

Content

Area 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2016

2016

Participation

Rates

Achievement

Reading/

ELA DNM DNM DNM DNM DNM DNM 95.2%

Math DNM DNM DNM DNM DNM DNM 96.1%

Growth

Reading/

ELA A A M A A DNM

Math A A A A M A

DNM=Does Not Meet A=Approaching M=Meets

Aurora Central 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2016

Rating Priority

Improvement

Priority

Improvement

Priority

Improvement

Priority

Improvement

Priority

Improvement

Turnaround

4/4/2017 10

1 11 11 11 11 10

99

ELA Math

Pe

rce

nti

le R

ank

All EL FRL Minority IEP

50

15

85

Exceeds Expectations

Meets Expectations

Approaching Expectations

Achievement Percentile Ranks at Aurora Central High School in 2016, by Disaggregated Group

4/4/2017 11

28

3831

40

2938

2938

27 29.5

0

99

ELA Math

Me

dia

n G

row

th P

erc

en

tile

All EL FRL Minority IEP

50

35

65Exceeds

Expectations

Meets Expectations

Approaching Expectations

Median Growth Percentiles at Aurora Central High School in 2016, by Disaggregated Group

4/4/2017 12

• CDE has been a partner in the school’s turnaround efforts over the past 4 years, particularly through the Tiered Intervention Grant (TIG)

• CDE provided feedback and technical assistance on turnaround strategies, grant opportunities and the UIP

• CDE staff reviewed early drafts of the school’s innovation plan

• Commissioner Anthes took a tour of the school and met with district leadership in January 2017

4/4/2017 13

• Expelled & At-Risk Student Services (EARSS)• Assists with providing services to expelled and at-risk

students

• Tiered Intervention Grant (TIG)• Intended to increase the academic achievement of all

students attending chronically low performing schools; Aurora Central is implementing the Transformation model

• Colorado Graduation Pathways (CGP)• Supports systems change to increase the graduation rate,

decrease the dropout rate, and reengage students who had dropped out

4/4/2017 14

Research on turnaround shows that schools on track to improve student achievement are likely to show strong evidence of highly-functioning:

• Leadership & staff

• School culture

• Academic systems

• District support and flexibility

• Board and community relationships

4/4/2017 15

• A principal was hired in spring 2013 to lead the school in implementing the Transformation model as a part of the Tiered Intervention Grant (TIG) program

• In spring 2015, an interim principal, Gerardo de la Garza, was assigned to lead the school

• Mr. de la Garza was then named permanent principal prior to the 2016-17 school year

• At the start of the 2016-17 school year, approximately one half of Aurora Central’s teaching staff was new to the building, and most of the leadership team are new to their roles• This allowed the school to hire staff who are committed to

the innovation plan and the extra work entailed in implementation

4/4/2017 16

• Average daily attendance at Aurora Central has declined from 89.3% in 2011-12 to 76.5% in 2015-16• State average = 93.2%

• Aurora Central had a truancy rate of 20.1% in 2015-16• 8 times higher than the state average of 2.4%

• Graduation rates have been trending upward

• In 2016-17, the school is using restorative justice for student behavior concerns

• There are partnerships with over 30 community organizations through the TIG grant plan

• In 2016, the school started a “House” model for ninth graders• Freshmen class assigned to one of four “houses” of core teachers

to allow for greater cross-subject planning and better relationships with students

4/4/2017 17

• Aurora Central currently uses interim data to track student growth and proficiency and target students for intervention and acceleration

• In 2015, the school implemented a comprehensive professional development sequence in partnership with Marzano Research Lab• The focus of this work was to support teachers with lesson

planning and deepening instructional strategies

• Aurora Central has established multiple systems to support students most at-risk of dropping out, including mentors, additional counseling and tutoring support

• The high school uses Edgenuity software for credit recovery for students who have fallen off track for graduation

4/4/2017 18

• As part of the new “Action Zone,” Aurora Central is overseen by the Office of Autonomous Schools• Provides added flexibility and accountability along with

streamlined reporting to the superintendent

• The district provided Aurora Central with additional support in implementing the TIG grant

• The Aurora Central leadership team used the flexibility to restructure the school day, recruit and hire TIG-funded positions, and establish rewards and incentives for teachers as a part of the TIG program

4/4/2017 19

Aurora Central’s pathway plan must address the following conditions to ensure that dramatic change will occur at the high school and that outcomes will improve for students

• District commitment to:• Provide regular and supportive supervision of the school

including weekly coaching meetings with Zone staff

• Strategically align district staff to provide streamlined support to innovation schools;

• Set and maintain clear performance expectations and goals

• Routinely examine student data and plan implementation, and use that to enact real-time, mid-course adjustments

• Seek and implement any new waivers, flexibilities or actions deemed necessary

4/4/2017 20

• Zone and school leadership need to be able to implement the autonomies granted to the school(listed in the approved innovation plan) over:• Talent management

• Budget & operations

• Curriculum, instruction & assessment

• Professional development

• Student support

• School calendar

• Partnerships and programs to meet the specific needs of special populations of students

• Adding a management partner to support project and performance management will ensure successful implementation of the innovation plan

4/4/2017 21

The Commissioner recommends Innovation School Status for Aurora Central

• The Department believes the Innovation Plan, if implemented with fidelity, can result in positive outcomes for students

• The district and school have taken steps to ensure thoughtful and deliberate implementation of their innovation plan

• There is broad community support for the innovation plan

• Some early successes from implementing the innovation plan have been identified this school year (e.g. improved drop-out rates, school culture, graduation rates)

4/4/2017 22

• Leveraging an external management partner, an action that Aurora Public Schools is actively pursuing, is an additional pathway• Will support the district in creating systems of performance

management to ensure sustainable change and ongoing accountability of outcomes

• CDE does not recommend school closure• No capacity at other district high schools to serve the 2,000+

students

• School serves a large immigrant and refugee population and has developed supportive resources for the community

• CDE does not recommend conversion of Aurora Central to a charter school at this time• District is pursuing other partnerships with charter schools as

part of their district-wide turnaround strategy

• Innovation should be given at least two years of implementation at Aurora Central before charter conversion is considered

4/4/2017 23

• Aurora Central’s current innovation/management plan:• Grants significant autonomy to the school

• Seeks to address the root causes of low performance

• Creates a new governing structure to provide greater support and accountability from the district

• Focuses on global competencies as a part of the ACTION Zone, which follows a vertical feeder pattern for students

• Entails a significant amount of family and community engagement both in the creation and enactment of the plan

• Proposes a management partnership with Mass Insight Education, which will support project management, capacity building and progress monitoring

• CDE finds this is a beneficial addition to the pathway plan and will help ensure the innovation plan is well-implemented

• Mass Insight is an experienced partner who already has engaged in supporting the district with its Innovation Zone work

4/4/2017 24

CDE has determined that the proposed Innovation/

Management Plan meets the expectations of rigorous

standards, addresses the key conditions for success and will

have significant, urgent, and positive impact on student

learning

• The district needs to adhere to its commitment to provide regular and supportive supervision of the school, while also maintaining fidelity of implementation for the approved waivers and flexibilities

4/4/2017 25

• The 2015 State Review Panel (SRP) report:

• Recommended Innovation School Status for Aurora Central High School

• Rated the school as “Effective” on 3 criteria; “Developing” on 2

2015 SRP Site Visit Summary Capacity Level*1. The leadership is adequate to implement change to improve results. Effective

2. The infrastructure is adequate to support school improvement. Developing

3. There is readiness and apparent capacity of personnel to plan effectively and lead the implementation of appropriate action to improve student academic performance.

Developing

4. There is readiness and apparent capacity to engage productively with and benefit from the assistance provided by an external partner.

Effective

5. There is likelihood of positive returns on state investments of assistance and support to improve the performance within the current management structure and staffing.

Effective

6. There is necessity that the school/district remain in operation to serve students. Yes

*Capacity levels include: Not Effective, Developing, Effective and Highly Effective

4/4/2017 26

The Commissioner recommends Innovation School Status for Aurora Central High School

• CDE believes a rigorous Innovation Plan that implements significant and rapid change can facilitate an environment that addresses the conditions for success

• Adding a management partner to the pathway plan, as the district has proposed, will provide needed support and capacity building around performance management• Will ensure ongoing accountability for student outcomes and

responsiveness to school needs

4/4/2017 27

• CDE will continue to support the school through a turnaround support manager and implementation of grants

• District will be asked to provide annual updates to the State Board until the school comes off the clock

• The Board may request additional progress monitoring through the written determination