The good news: Denver Public Schools is likely to receive up to $10 million over three years from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to improve teacher effectiveness.
The bad news: The district lost out on a bid for even more money from the Gates Foundation, which chose four other districts and a group of charter schools to receive the largest awards in a competitive quest for $500 million in grants.
“We’re absolutely thrilled to have this potential to win $10 million and use it to advance our efforts,” said DPS Superintendent Tom Boasberg.
The district must still work out an agreement with the foundation before the money is officially awarded. If it comes, the money — called an accelerator grant — will be the largest private grant in district history.
Winners of the top-level grants are districts in Hillsborough County, Fla.; Memphis, Tenn.; Omaha; and Pittsburgh; as well as a group of Los Angeles charter schools.
Five other districts, including Denver, will receive the foundation’s accelerator grants.
Denver’s proposal was developed jointly with teachers union members, administrators and groups of teachers. It was submitted in July and presented to foundation officials this month.
“We asked for significantly more money,” Boasberg said. “There are certainly elements of the proposal that we will have to scale back. But the overwhelming majority of the proposal can be done . . . within that financial envelope Gates is giving us.”
The DPS proposal says it plans to improve:
• Performance management and development, including the creation of a multimeasure Teacher Performance Framework.
• The quality of new teacher hires.
• The number of effective teachers working with students with the most needs by offering incentives.
• The retention of effective teachers, the structure of the tenure process, compensation for effective teachers and counseling for underperforming teachers.
Henry Roman, president of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association, said the grant is about giving teachers more resources, time and tools.
Boasberg said the grant process was a good lesson for Colorado as it prepares its bid for a slice of the $4.35 billion in competitive grants to spur education reform that are being offered by the White House. “This is a great illustration of how competitive nationally states will be for the Race to the Top money,” he said.
Nevertheless, he said, he’s trying to keep perspective about the $10 million in extra funding.
“We get the biggest grant in our history, and it feels like we are driving 100 mph. But there are some trains out there that are going to go faster.”
