Newsrooom

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Denver - Denver Public Schools announced Tuesday that it has received a grant from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation to pilot a groundbreaking program to increase cooperation and shared learning between leaders of charters and district-run schools in Denver.  

The roughly $800,000 grant will fund a pilot program in which assistant principals at district-run schools will serve a one-year residency at West Denver Prep (WDP), Denver School of Science and Technology (DSST) and SOAR charter schools as part of a rigorous principal training program.  These residents will then return to lead a district-run school and share the knowledge and best practices of their experiences. In addition to the residency program, the grant provides funding to develop a comprehensive training and support program for leaders implementing innovation school plans to assist them in using school resources (i.e. people, time, money, and instruction) in new and innovative ways. 

 "This is a nationally groundbreaking program to share best practices between successful district-run and charter schools," said DPS Superintendent Tom Boasberg. "We have much to learn from each other.  These schools are some of the best schools in the state with proven leadership development programs for aspiring principals.  This program will allow the charter leaders to share successful strategies with leaders from district-run schools and create better opportunities for collaboration among principals throughout all of Denver's public schools - both district-run and charter." 

This leadership program further demonstrates the successful collaboration between Denver charter and district-run schools to further achievement among all public schools in the city. 

"This partnership helps to further break down artificial barriers between charter and district-run schools," said Alyssa Whitehead-Bust, DPS Chief of Innovation and Reform. "We're all public schools, and all of our schools have the same goal - to make sure students succeed."

The pilot residency program and broader leadership training and support program will examine how leaders at highly-successful schools configure school resources to drive gains in student achievement. Through the pilot, principal residents will learn best practices, including how to implement a strong culture of creative problem-solving, high expectations, and accountability. 

"This is a tremendous opportunity for people who want to become leaders in the district," Boasberg added. 

The pilot, to start in August 2012, will likely include a total of six principal residents, who will be chosen after a competitive application process this spring.