The Gazette recently noted the statewide school rankings. It was no surprise to me that Colorado Springs District 20 and 12 fared very well. Note that, even if you are in a school district that ‘needs some help’, transferring out of district or into one of the many excellent, available charter school is not too hard to do, however, you will have to transport your children to and from school yourself.

I added some information on WHERE the pertinent ( to posts/bases) school districts are and colored the the important information….

Statewide school rankings:

3 Colorado Springs school districts were among only 14 statewide that received the highest marks under the Colorado Department of Education’s new accreditation system, which places emphasis on academic growth and preparing students for college and careers.

The districts,

• Cheyenne Mountain School District 12,
• Academy School District 20 and
• Lewis-Palmer School District 38,
  

were deemed “accredited with distinction.” (see accreditation categories at the bottoNine other districts in the Pikes Peak region, including and

• Falcon School District 49 and
• Woodland Park RE-2,

received the second highest ranking of “accredited.”Five area districts received the mid-level “accredited with improvement plan” designation:

• Colorado Springs School District 11,
• Fountain-Fort Carson School District 8, (on Ft. Carson)
  
• Widefield School District 3, ( East – right outside Ft. Carson)
  
• Harrison School District 2 (right outside Ft. Carson – north gate)
  
• Cripple Creek-Victor School District RE-1.

No districs in the region earned one of the bottom rankings that come with higher levels of state oversight. However, officials said the state continues to work on its accreditation system for alternative education sites.

Under Colorado’s new accreditation process, it is more difficult to emerge as a top-performing district because the state looks at more indicators to determine academic growth, District 20 officials said.

Districts earn points for good performance on things such as test scores, graduation rates, dropout rates, performance in individual subjects and narrowing achievement gaps between certain student groups. Among other things, the state uses ACT college entrance exam scores and graduation rates to determine districts’ success in preparing students for college or the workforce.

“It does present a big picture,” said Todd Morse, District 20 director of assessment. While D-20 rated high in all areas, it was strongest in academic achievement and postsecondary and workforce readiness, he said. The accreditation program changed this year under the Education Accountability Act of 2009. The new rankings give parents a way to compare districts, and allows districts to better assess their own work. The accreditation system aligns conflicting accountability systems into a single system that passes federal muster; modernizes and aligns reporting of state, district and school performance information; creates a fairer, clearer and more effective cycle of support and intervention, and enhances state, district and school oversight of improvement efforts.

The state accreditation feedback is something schools can use to make improvements, D-20 Superintendent Mark Hatchell said. “Every district has different challenges and different needs,” he said. The new system modernizes and streamlines Colorado’s education accountability system, said CDE Associate Commissioner Richard Wenning. The new system also provides a consistent and transparent planning process that will allow all stakeholders to know where schools and districts are focusing their improvement resources,” he said.

All districts are required to have a plan for moving forward. For the top-ranked districts, it’s a performance plan. For the others, the plan emphasizes improvements a district must make to move up. Janeen Demi-Smith, D-11 executive director of assessment, said the new system should streamline the process of wading through the data, although CDE calculations of point totals are more complex. “The first year of implementation is always difficult,” Demi-Smith said. The new approach could help parents who are moving to Colorado or those who want to compare districts, since all districts will have the same kind of data on file with the CDE, she said.

Accreditation contracts now last one year and will be automatically renewed as long as the district remains at “accredited with improvement plan” or higher. Previously, accreditation contracts were for six years. If the CDE believes a district is not in substantial compliance with requirements, it may request information or conduct site visits. The CDE then warns the school board that it has ninety days to come into compliance before the department takes further action, such as changing the district’s accreditation status.

Struggling districts with the lowest rankings are in danger of being restructured if they remain there for more than five years.

Harrison School District 2 is a good example of how the tougher the state accreditation changes impact ratings. The district, with mostly minority and economically disadvantaged students, was on “academic watch” four years ago, which is akin to the new system’s “turnaround” improvement plan. The district moved up to full accreditation last year.

Its rating this year under the new grading system is “accreditation with improvement plan.”

Dan Snowberger, Harrison executive director of schools, said the state formula is now weighted more heavily for what the state calls the achievement gap’s subgroups, including second language learners, minorities and others. Now, there is increasing emphasis on eliminating the achievement gap.

“This plan is more aligned with how we already were looking at our data,” he said. “It reiterates the areas we want to continue to grow in.”

He noted that Harrison is narrowing achievement gaps and improving in other area addressed in state priorities. Since the district annual writes a District Action Plan and it includes the same elements as the state-required improvement plan, it will use that, he said.

“We are very optimistic. We have had two of the greatest growth years in the past two years and we are looking to continue the pattern.”

Across the state, 182 school districts — plus the related school organizations, including Charter School Institute, Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind, and three Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) — were given accreditation ratings.

“The majority of Colorado school districts provide high-quality learning opportunities for students and these results bear out that fact,” Colorado State Board of Education Chairman Bob Schaffer said. He added that the districts accredited with distinction “are setting a high bar for performance and delivering on the promise to students.”

Ted Bauman, interim superintendent at Lewis-Palmer School District 38, sent several staff members to the recent celebration event at CDE headquarters in Denver to recognize the top 14 districts.

“The teachers and staff are the ones who did the work,” he said. “Our ranking speaks to the commitment and dedication and their skill in the classroom. To get a score like that is quite an honor.”

Bauman said there was not a specific strategy used in creating the district’s success.

“Teachers pay special attention to Colorado standards and skills that kids should know and be able to do at each grade level. Concentrating on those leads to good results not only on CSAPs but on other assessments.”

District 20 is one of only two districts of more than 6,000 students in the state that earned “accredited with distinction.”

The district has had two years of strong results in CSAP scores and academic growth, and is hoping to see that trend continue, D-20’s Hatchell said.

He credited the work of teachers and staff and the ongoing analysis of assessments. That data is used to make curriculum and professional development decisions.

The district’s accreditation ranking shows the process works, Hatchell said.

“There is no silver bullet for success,” said Walt Cooper, superintendent of Cheyenne Mountain. “It is hard work and focusing on trying to do what we do well better.”

Some of that focus includes ensuring curriculum is aligned and providing opportunities for collaboration between teachers so they can learn from each other.

One big plus for D-12, he said, is supportive parents and community. “The kids come to school prepared to learn.” Other districts are wrestling with how to get higher designations.

Widefield School District 3,for example, has hired a consultant to “look at the root cause related to our data,” said Jane Gossman, executive director of curriculum and instruction. The school board and staff are analyzing accreditation performance indicators to create improvement strategies.

A big part of that will be increasing growth for each student based on individual needs, she said. All district and school improvement plans and details on performance, and more information about the law, are available online at www.schoolview.org

DISTRICT ACCREDITATION CATEGORIES: The five accreditation categories are:

• • Accredited with Distinction: Meets or exceeds state performance indicators and is required to adopt and implement a Performance Plan.
• • Accredited: Meets state performance indicators and is required to adopt and implement a Performance Plan.
• • Accredited with Improvement Plan: Meets or is approaching state performance indicators and is required to adopt and implement an Improvement Plan.
• • Accredited with Priority Improvement Plan: Approaching or does not meet performance indicators and is required to adopt and implement a Priority Improvement Plan.
• • Accredited with Turnaround Plan: Approaching of does not meet performance indicators and is required to adopt and implement a Turnaround Plan.

THE NUMBERS: Across Colorado, 182 school districts and related school organizations were accredited by the Colorado Department of Education. Here’s the number at each level:

• 14 — Accredited with Distinction
• 97 — Accredited
• 47 — Accredited with Improvement Plan
• 17 — Accredited with Priority Improvement Plan
• 7 — Accredited with Turnaround Plan

Colorado Springs:- Area rankings:

Accredited
• Calhan District RJ-1
• Edison District 54-JT
• Ellicott D-22
• Falcon D-49
• Hanover D-28
• Manitou Springs D-14
• Miami-Yoder District 60-JT
• Peyton District 23-JT
• Woodland Park District RE-2

Accredited with Improvement Plan
• Colorado Springs D-11
• Cripple Creek-Victor District RE-1
• Fountain-Fort Carson D-8
• Harrison D-2
• Widefield D-3
• Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind

Accredited with Distinction
• Academy D-20
• Cheyenne Mountain D-12
• Lewis-Palmer D-38

DISTRICT ACCREDITATION CATEGORIES The five accreditation categories are:

• • Accredited with Distinction: Meets or exceeds state performance indicators and is required to adopt and implement a Performance Plan.
• • Accredited: Meets state performance indicators and is required to adopt and implement a Performance Plan.
• • Accredited with Improvement Plan: Meets or is approaching state performance indicators and is required to adopt and implement an Improvement Plan.
• • Accredited with Priority Improvement Plan: Approaching or does not meet performance indicators and is required to adopt and implement a Priority Improvement Plan.
• • Accredited with Turnaround Plan: Approaching of does not meet performance indicators and is required to adopt and implement a Turnaround Plan.

THE NUMBERS Across Colorado, 182 school districts and related school organizations were accredited by the Colorado Department of Education. Here’s the number at each level:

• 14 — Accredited with Distinction
• 97 — Accredited
• 47 — Accredited with Improvement Plan
• 17 — Accredited with Priority Improvement Plan

7 — Accredited with Turnaround Plan

via