Greeley – One of the largest school districts in Colorado is on the brink of being labeled among the worst unless it can improve test scores and bring teaching more in line with state standards.
Greeley-Evans School District 6 has been warned it will be placed on accreditation watch by the state in November because of a history of poor performance on the annual Colorado State Assessment Program exam.
The designation means the 17,000- student district would be forced to piece together an improvement plan under the watchful eye of the Colorado Department of Education. The Greeley district would be the largest in the state to make the watch list, causing a civic and economic jolt already being felt in a community that takes pride in its schools.
Greeley is, after all, home to the University of Northern Colorado and its prestigious teacher-training program.
“It was a total surprise to us, and it’s got everybody’s attention,” said Mark Geil, president of Sears Real Estate and a member of the Greeley Weld Chamber of Commerce.
Some prospective homebuyers are veering away from the Greeley area because of worries about the city’s schools. “We want our school system to be first-class, so it’s a big community concern,” Geil said.
Business and community leaders have rallied around the school district, and UNC is planning to expand its relationship with District 6.
Others, including parents and students, say the district already serves them well despite the state’s concerns.
Recently, a long line of sixth-graders hustled through an immaculate hallway at Heath Middle School. They were boisterous but not rowdy, and nearly each one gave principal Mark Rangel a cheery hello.
After many secured a lunch tray and a seat, Rangel asked them to sing the school song to a couple of visitors, as is the custom at Heath. They obliged, belting out a noisy tribute to Heath pride.
Eighth-grader Robert Sampson, on hall-monitoring duty, paid his own respects to his school in a quieter way. “The teachers here are strict and on top of things,” said the 13-year- old. “There is no messing around in classes.”
Schools in Colorado earn accreditation after demonstrating their students are reaching state standards in subjects including math, science, reading and writing. Currently, 15 smaller districts are on accreditation watch.
Under the worst possible scenario, Greeley’s accreditation could be yanked by the state if test scores don’t improve, resulting in strict state control.
No district has ever lost its accreditation in Colorado, and officials and residents in Greeley vow it won’t happen to them, but the district faces plenty of hurdles.
Students fell below the state average in all 23 CSAP tests taken in 2004, and most scores were 15 percent or more below average, according to the Colorado Department of Education. The state also ranked the Greeley district 164th of 178 districts on academic performance.
Scores on the 2005 CSAP exam showed little improvement. Greeley’s best schools were still, on average, below the state average by 10 percentage points, according to the CDE.
Nearly 20 percent of the district’s students are learning English, and 52 percent get free or reduced-priced lunches because they come from poor families.
But Superintendent Renae Dreier says she won’t use Greeley’s demographics as an excuse. “There are plenty of districts with high numbers of English- language learners, and they do well,” she said.
Dreier took over as head of the district in July after serving as superintendent in Redding, Calif., for three years. She and the school board learned for the first time that the district could be headed for the state’s watch list in August, even though a warning letter was sent to the district in January.
No one has determined why the letter wasn’t found until August. The district’s previous superintendent, Tony Pariso, who retired in June, couldn’t be reached for comment.
Dreier met with every principal and called in an audit team of outside educators to determine the district’s weaknesses. She wants to better align district and state standards to what’s being taught in classrooms.
“Up until now, there has been a lack of focus,” Dreier said. “It’s not been clear what students have to learn.”
Rangel said the watch list warning is a “wake-up call” the district needed. His school raised its test scores by expecting a lot from students, even though nearly 50 percent of them come from low-income homes.
“We can’t control if you come from a single-parent home, but we can control how much you read and write while in school,” Rangel said.
Parent Megan Van Der Torre, meanwhile, said she has not lost faith in the teachers at her children’s school – Meeker Elementary.
“I know how devoted the teachers are to learning at our school,” Van Der Torre said.
“I haven’t met anyone there yet who is just there for the paycheck.”
Staff writer Monte Whaley can be reached at 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com.
