Newsrooom

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Denver, CO – Denver Public Schools has recommended approval of an all-girls charter school focused on developing leadership skills through athletics. If approved by the Board of Education, the Girls Athletic Leadership School would open in the fall of 2010 and serve students in grades six and seven, eventually growing out to a full 6-12 school. The school’s leadership is currently exploring facility options.

“We need to continue to expand the number of high-quality options available to our families, particularly at the middle- and high-school level,” DPS Superintendent Tom Boasberg said. “We think the GALS team now has a very strong proposal in place to create a high-quality new school, and it is clear that there is significant community support for this school.”

The GALS proposal first came to the district through the 2009 new-schools process. That application was not recommended for approval by district leadership, due to concerns about strength of the school’s academic program and the lack of an identified school leader. After extensive follow-up and review with the DPS Office of School Reform and Innovation, the GALS team strengthened its academic program, identified a leader to run the school, and submitted a revised application this fall. DPS officials recommended approval of that application at tonight’s Board of Education meeting.

The school would be geared toward developing leadership skills in an all-girls setting. The educational program is based on the Expeditionary Learning model, which the GALS proposal describes as “a rigorous curriculum that promotes a depth and breadth of experience and knowledge and teaches the integration of content and skills in each core subject. It relies on a culture that pushes students to work collaboratively but to think independently, to take charge in their education, and to apply classroom lessons in the world. EL schools practice real-world, project-based learning and differentiated instruction throughout integrated expeditions to achieve this.”

Three additional charter applications received this fall—Global Village Academy, Independence High School, and Denver High School of Medical Science—were not recommended for approval. One applicant, the Janus International School, withdrew from the process.

Also at tonight’s Board meeting, DPS officials recommended renewals of three charter schools and three contract schools:

• Omar D. Blair—recommended 5-year renewal (charter); school must develop and implement an outreach and recruitment plan designed to ensure that the school enrolls and retains a percentage of students with special needs which is consistent with the district’s overall percentage of special needs students
• Life Skills Academy—recommended 2-year probationary renewal (charter) with specific performance conditions
• Southwest Early College—recommended 3-year renewal (charter)
• Escuela Tlatelolco—recommended 2-year probationary renewal (contract) with specific financial-management and performance conditions
• Connections Academy—recommended 2-year renewal (contract)
• Florence Crittenton—recommended 3-year renewal (contract)

The Board of Education will hear public comment on the recommendations at its Nov. 16 and Nov. 19 meetings, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. The Board is expected to vote on all recommendations at its Nov. 30 meeting.