Blog #8
Nov. 30, 2018 – Watch Us Work
This is the tale of two school districts.
First, Sheridan School District 2.
Second, Adams 14 (Commerce City).
I want you to know my heart goes out to our friends clear on the other side of Metro Denver. This week (Nov. 27) the Colorado Board of Education wrested control of the district from the local board of education, the first such takeover in the history of the state. I really can’t imagine how that must feel.
Adams 14 serves 7,500 students—about five times bigger than Sheridan. They have 13 schools; we have five.
The problem? As the Denver Post reported, the state board’s move “was triggered by a nearly decade-long track record of low test scores, lack of academic growth, high dropout rates and lagging scores on college entrance exams.”
What I know is nobody wants the state to get close to even
thinking about taking the same action in Sheridan. We want to be off their
radar. In fact, we want to become a model of continuous improvement.
We are extremely fortunate that the community has our back.
The support we received on Nov. 6, when voters enthusiastically supported our
$3 million mill levy proposal, is powerful.
Now, those fresh resources must be coupled to a clear,
simple agenda that focuses on the right work.
We want to make sure we bear down on a few key issues and
get those right. At the same time, we want to evaluate all the programs we are
currently running and review their effectiveness, also as a step to make sure
our staff is as effective as possible with the collective use of our time.
On the same day that the state board yanked control from the
local board in Adams 14, I was fortunate to be presenting a broad agenda for
changes in Sheridan.
One thing I know for sure is that if we don’t approach the work differently, we’re going to keep getting what we’ve always got—and we don’t want that.
Earlier in November, the state let us know that our performance rating is now “priority improvement,” that we slipped off the “improvement” category by one single point.
In other words, we are back
on the state’s radar.
Whether or not our official ranking slipped a notch, we all
know the overall results are not where they need to be. Students deserve
better. Parents expect better.
Thus, the work.
Thus, changes.
As outlined to the board, we have developed a specific list
of changes we want to make. These are changes that uphold our pledge to the
community for how we would spend the additional $3 million.
Our news release following the board meeting this week details
the work ahead; click here.
The list includes implementing the right curriculum, boosting teacher training,
strengthening instructional leadership, adding instructional support, improving
our school libraries and instructional technology, increasing our teacher and
staff salaries, making repairs to schools and grounds, strengthening all of our
safety and security systems, and more.
The process of precisely defining the work, and funding these initiatives with the right budgets, is beginning now. I encourage anyone who is interested to attend our board meetings or ask us any questions about the plan and about how it’s going.
While I feel a keen sense of urgency about this work, I also
know we need to use these resources carefully and only after a great deal of
deliberation. There are lots of salesman out there pushing flashy answers. We
will kick every tire and take long test drives, believe me, before making any
investment.
But, change is coming.
I’ll say it again: one thing I know for sure is that if we don’t approach the work differently, we’re going to keep getting what we’ve always got.
We wish our friends well in Adams 14 and will do
everything we can to ensure that Sheridan School District 2 does not end up
going down that road, not even for one more year.