AURORA – Two elementary schools in Aurora Public Schools have been removed from a federal improvement list, but the district as a whole failed to reach performance goals.
The schools – Sixth Avenue and Fulton – had been on the list because for two years they did not meet adequate yearly progress targets mandated by the No Child Left Behind law. They did so in the 2006-07 year.
The federal law requires that states make such progress – known as AYP – toward the goal of having all students be proficient in math and reading. Schools and districts that repeatedly do not reach the goals could lose federal funding.
As a whole, the district did not meet the goals. The district did meet 80 percent of certain targets, down from 87 percent last year.
Statewide, 57 percent of school districts made adequate yearly progress, the same percentage as last year, said Alyssa Pearson of the Colorado Department of Education.
None of the major districts in the Denver metro area met the AYP targets, she said.
“It’s all pretty static,” Pearson said. “But there are some schools that are really focusing and taking a look at their practices.”
Some of those schools are in Aurora.
Middle schools in Aurora saw gains in math. In the 2006-07 school year, 87 percent met targets, compared with just 83 percent in 2005-06.
At Fulton Elementary, Michelle Krawchik, who was principal there for nine years before becoming the district’s director of student achievement, said it was a cooperative and focused effort that turned things around.
Teachers were given specific training, they were coached by peers and analyzed each other’s work. Parents were brought into the classroom to sit side-by-side with their children. Parents also were taught English in a school where 69 percent of its students were English-language learners.
“We really were a cohesive, collaborative school focusing on students, and families were a big part of it,” Krawchik said.
Carlos Illescas: 303-954-1175 or cillescas@denverpost.com
Schools on the upswing
Twelve schools showed academic improvement and were removed from the Title I School Improvement list, based on meeting 2006-07 Adequate Yearly Progress goals.
Fulton Elementary School and Sixth Avenue Elementary School, Aurora (Adams-Arapahoe School District 28)
Schmitt Elementary School, Denver Public Schools
Wilson Elementary School, Colorado Springs (District 11)
Gunnison Elementary School, Gunnison School District
Aguilar Elementary School, Aguilar School District
Pomona Elementary School, Montrose School District
Youth and Family Academy Charter, middle school, Pueblo City Schools (District 60)
Haskin Elementary School, Center School District
Billie Martinez Elementary School, Greeley-Evans School District 6
Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind, elementary and high school
Source: Colorado Department of Education
