Students should be more carefully shepherded from middle school into high school and on to college, and their academic growth should be more frequently measured to make sure they’re not falling behind, according to recommendations released Wednesday by a state high school reform commission.
Districts – even rural ones -should also try to offer more high school options so students feel that their experience is relevant, according to the report from the Colorado Commission for High School Improvement.
Statewide, only about 70 percent of students graduate.
“It starts here,” said Jared Polis, a commission member and vice chairman of the state education board. “We have a high dropout rate across the state, as well as graduates who are not ready for college. … High schools need a more rigorous approach.”
The commission, composed of elected officials and principals and superintendents, began meeting in August 2004 in hopes of finding ways to help high schools improve. Commission members and the Colorado Children’s Campaign, which funded the work, hope the report sparks conversation in high schools across the state.
“I hope they look beyond their School Accountability Reports,” said Van Schoales, an executive vice president of the Children’s Campaign, referring to the state’s school report cards released Tuesday.
The commission’s report was slightly critical of large, traditional high schools where, Polis said, many students don’t do well. Most schools also lack bridge programs from middle to high school and on to college, the report said.
Most new schools, the report said, should be kept small.
Denver East High School teacher Celeste Archer agrees.
“I think at some point it becomes so anti-personal,” Archer said. “I want to be able to call parents, but there aren’t enough hours in the day to do it.”
For Dean Koester, who is the principal, assistant football coach, superintendent and physical-education teacher for Peetz K-12 School in the tiny northeastern town, success means making sure each student who comes in is learning.
The school is “excellent” in state rankings. Though Koester suspects the reason is the school’s intimate class sizes and personalized instruction for kids who need extra help, he “can’t put my finger on it,” he said. “I would bottle it and sell it if I could.”
