At first, it seemed to be a 10-minute problem.
Two boys were being boys, there was some pushing Wed nesday after school, and one maybe shoved the other in a science class. But there are, of course, two stories.
Between bringing the kids together to talk it out and calling the parents of each, the little imbroglio ate up 49 minutes of Peter Sherman’s day Thursday.
The principal at Park Hill School also helped serve food for a Thanksgiving dinner thrown for parents, returned calls to place student teachers and welcomed a family that enrolled two children at his east Denver school for grades K-8.
“The Denver Plan,” an expansive reform document released by Denver Public Schools Superintendent Michael Bennet this week, calls for principals and assistant principals to winnow their administrative duties to spend more time in the classroom.
This migration from office to classroom theoretically helps teachers feel more supported. It also should give principals more ownership of state test scores – something DPS officials are looking to improve.
But that tug between what happens in the classroom and what happens outside of it is something Sherman and other principals say they struggle with.
“It’s a balance that’s not, for me, in balance,” Sherman said between phone calls in his office Thursday. “I’m not complaining or making excuses, but these things are here, and I have to take care of them.”
DPS chief academic officer Jaime Aquino said senior officials are already trying to shave administrative duties for principals, including allowing only himself and the superintendent to send group e-mails from the central administration.
“They’re always putting out fires,” Aquino said. “Michael and I are trying to model this by spending so much time in the schools.”
The 83-page draft plan comes after years of relatively flat Colorado Student Assessment Program test scores. Last school year, 90 of the 145 Denver schools or programs with students taking the CSAP tests were ranked “low,” and seven were ranked “unsatisfactory.” New rankings come out in December.
When former Superintendent Jerry Wartgow announced his resignation in February, school board members vowed to bring in a leader to focus almost entirely on raising student achievement.
Bennet took over the district in July, promising board members and the community that, despite his lack of K-12 experience, he would organize the district to funnel all of its energies – and its budget – into boosting test scores.
The plan is his first big move. If implemented, it calls for specific changes in the way students learn literacy, math and writing. It also calls for more parental involvement and a more efficient human-resources department that will recruit teachers at top universities.
“It is very much like a district reform plan on steroids,” said Van Schoales of the Colorado Children’s Campaign. “And it’s impressive in that regard.”
Staff writer Allison Sherry can be reached at 303-820-1377 or asherry@denverpost.com.
