A reform plan for Denver’s public schools includes an overhaul of curriculum for students, giving special attention to those struggling in the classroom while also boosting science and literacy efforts.
Superintendent Michael Bennet’s plan is highly specific – in some cases, down to the number of minutes teachers must spend on each subject – and would guide daily school activities for teachers at virtually every grade level.
The proposed curriculum changes, Bennet said, are a partial departure from past mandates that highlighted teacher responsibilities, including literacy education, but failed to bring instruction under one policy.
If approved as written, some of the curriculum changes could happen as early as next August.
“With a clear set of plans, I think we can move the ball up the hill faster than before,” Bennet said. “We’re giving a compelling tool to teachers.”
Denver’s students have underperformed yearly in virtually every statewide assessment test and struggled mightily in English-language learning, mathematics and reading.
Bennet’s proposal would hit those subjects the hardest, in part mandating a minimum 135 minutes of reading and writing instruction each day from kindergarten through fifth grade; reorganizing the district’s English Language Acquisition Department; and requiring double loads of math each day for middle and high school students who perform below grade level.
“This is a plan that’s detailed and ambitious, and it makes a lot of sense to us,” said Lisa Weil, co-founder of the nonprofit Great Education Colorado, which supports improved funding for public schools.
Outside of math, reading and writing, more extracurricular classes – including foreign languages, visual arts and music – would be available along with additional core history, civics and science instruction.
Changes in science study would include “inquiry-based” programs that would rely on students’ asking questions and then pursuing an answer through scientific projects, rather than relying solely on books for instruction.
