The Denver school board, meeting in its annual retreat Sunday, made improving student achievement its top priority for the next two years.
This fall, the board will vote on closing a number of low-performing and under-attended schools. How the board and the district will handle those tough decisions was part of the moderated discussion Sunday.
“We need to be all on the same page for what’s coming,” said board member Jeannie Kaplan.
Six board members, Superintendent Michael Bennet and his chief of staff, Sarah Hughes, convened for the strategic retreat in the relaxed setting of a Lower Downtown office to hash out priorities for the 2007-09 school years.
The retreat continues today.
The meeting was facilitated by independent consultant Sarah Glover, who is also a Bozeman, Mont., school board trustee.
“It was a temperature check to identify our road map for the next 24 months,” said board President Theresa Peña.
In the casual setting, board members went sockless, and wore shorts and Chuck Taylor All-Star sneakers. Ideas were batted around, including focusing more on higher achieving schools and holding principals accountable through termination if their schools fail or with pay increases if they succeed.
But the day wasn’t about specifics. It was about charting a course for years to come.
The No. 1 priority will be improving student achievement.
Board members say reforms outlined in Bennet’s ambitious Denver Plan must be fully funded and implemented. They added that they would like to see the data on how those changes are working.
The board’s second priority will be holding schools accountable for results – whether it is good news or bad.
The third priority will be to strengthen the capacity of the organization.
Finally, the board wants to better engage with the community – become ambassadors – and keep in contact with key local officials and make the board’s priorities well known.
Staff writer Jeremy P. Meyer can be reached at 303-954-1367 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com.
