DENVER PUBLIC SCHOOLS
School Improvement and Accountability
AN OVERVIEW

Background

School district accountability came into being in Colorado with the state legislature’s passage of the "Accountability Act of 1971", which requires that each school district in the state have an advisory accountability committee. The law states that the committee must be appointed by the local board of education and that the local accountability program be "designed to measure the adequacy and efficiency of educational programs offered by the district." According to the 1971 law, the committee must "consist of at least one parent, one teacher, one school administrator, and one taxpayer from the district."

Denver’s accountability process was expanded to all of the schools by a motion adopted by our Board of Education on October 14, 1981. It states that each school in Denver must have a local accountability committee. This motion and the description of Denver’s accountability program were submitted to the United States District Court on March 30, 1982, as part of the "Pupil Assignment Plan for a Unitary School System as Directed by the United States District Court."

In 1988, the Colorado General Assembly extended accountability with the passage of House Bill 1341, "The Public School Finance Act of 1988." Part two of House Bill 1341 requires that each school in the state have an accountability committee, which Denver has had in place since 1982. The responsibilities and duties of these committees are well defined in House Bill 1341. The 1988 law also had significant impact on the operations of the district-wide accountability committee in that it must now review the school improvement plans and the goals and objectives of the schools and make recommendations to the Board of Education in regard to district goals and objectives.

The "Colorado Rules and Regulations for the Administration of the Accreditation of School Districts", revised to mesh with House Bill 1341, provides very specific guidelines for the role and operation of the district-wide committee and the local committees.

The "charter school" bill (Senate Bill 93-183) requires that the district accountability committee review all charter school applications before they are submitted to the local board of education. In addition, recent legislation places the following responsibilities on local school and district-wide accountability committees:

• making recommendations regarding the expenditure of school and district funds (House Bill 91-1344)
• assisting in the development and implementation of standards-based education (House Bill 93-1313)
• reporting to the local board of education concerning learning environments in individual schools and districts (House Bill 93-1093)

The Accountability Process

In Denver, accountability committees are known as school improvement and accountability councils. The district-wide council is known as the District Council or the DSIAC. The local councils are commonly called SIACs. At both levels they function in accordance with state laws and rules and regulations.

Local SIACs - The local SIAC is convened by the principal in each building each fall and meets monthly during the school year. Membership must include parents, staff, non-parent taxpayers, the principal, and students in middle and high schools. It is vital that the SIAC is representative of the community that the school serves. The SIAC is chaired by a parent or a non-parent taxpayer. The chairperson and the principal jointly develop an agenda for each meeting and ensure that the monthly SIAC report and other items as required are sent to the School Improvement and Accountability Office.

The SIAC is responsible for making sure that the accountability process, as defined by law, is carried out at the school. Our accountability process involves five basic steps:

• Assessment of the needs of the school, including a school profile and a community survey
• Setting of priorities based on the results of the assessment of school needs
• Development and adoption of goals, objectives, and activities that will ensure that the needs of students are met (the action plan)
• Periodic evaluation of progress of the implementation of the action plan
• Reporting to the entire school community

House Bill 1341 requires that each year SIAC "shall adopt high, but achievable, goals and objectives for the improvement of education in its building… and shall adopt a plan to improve educational achievement in the school and implement methods of maximizing attendance rates and graduation rates from the secondary schools of the district. " Each school’s plan is reviewed by the District Council before it is submitted to the Board of Education. In the early fall, the SIAC reports to the community on the school’s success in meeting those goals and objectives and on the plans for the upcoming school year.

The DSIAC or District Council

The District Council studies issues that affect all of the children in the district. The issues change from year to year as they are based on the annual charge from the Board of Education. Council membership is between 50 and 60 people, representing all segments of the community: parents, non-parent taxpayers, students, teachers, principals, and representatives from business, other DPS advisory councils, and community organizations. The majority of the members are self-selected. As required by the accreditation rules and regulations, the DSIAC has adopted bylaws that determine how the group functions.

Generally speaking, the regular monthly meetings of the District Council are informational in nature. The agenda is set by the Steering Committee, which is composed of the officers and the chairpersons of the various subcommittees and task forces. Each member of the Council is required to serve on a subcommittee or a task force, which work on various aspects of the charge and report to the Board of Education at least yearly. These reports contain recommendations related to the area of study. The subcommittees and task forces are the basis of the work done by the Council.

Under House Bill 1341, the duties of the DSIAC were expanded to include review of the action plans from the individual schools. House Bill 1341 also requires that the Board of Education consult with the DSIAC before submitting the district’s plan for improvement to the State Board of Education.

The School Improvement and Accountability Office - This office serves as the link among the local SIACs, the DSIAC, the Board of Education and district staff. The primary function is to facilitate communication among these groups and to provide assistance to all involved in any way in the accountability process. Monthly reports from the schools are monitored, and appropriate materials are sent to the SIACs each month. Materials are prepared for the DSIAC and for the task force and subcommittees. For information about the accountability process or membership on a local SIAC or the District Council, call 303.764.3304.

DENVER PUBLIC SCHOOLS
School Improvement and Accountability Duties
The District School Improvement and Accountability Council

Parameters - The District Council operates under and within the following parameters.

• focus on district-wide issues, programs, and concerns
• make every effort to reflect the diversity of the student population
• work to improve student achievement and the delivery of educational services to all students
• communicate with the Board of Education, the administration, staff, local schools, and the community
• maintain compliance with all state laws, rules and regulations
• review and evaluate all school improvement plans and make appropriate recommendations to the Board of Education

Duties - The duties of the District Council are many and varied. They derive from requirements of the district’s 1982 federal court order and state laws, rules and regulations as follows:

• define and measure the adequacy and efficiency of educational programs offered by the district (Senate Bill 33 - Educational Accountability - 1971)
• make recommendations to the Board relative to the program of accountability (Senate Bill 33 - Educational - Educational Accountability - 1971)
• assist in the implementation of the district’s plan for accountability, which must include the following approaches: (Pupil Assignment Plan for a Unitary School System as Directed by the United States District Court - 1982)
• means for determining whether decisions affecting the educational process are advanced or impeding student achievement 
• appropriate testing procedures to provide relevant comparative data at least in the fields of reading, language skills, and mathematical skills
• reporting to students, parents, board of education, educators, and the general public on the educational performance of the public schools and providing data for the appraisal of such performance
• provision of information which could help the school district to increase its efficiency in using available financial resources· review all building goals and objectives and improvement plans before they are submitted to the Board of Education ( (House Bill 1341 - 1988)
• review recommendations and consult with the Board of Education prior to the Board’s submission of its improvement plan to the state (House Bill 1341 - 1988)
• work in cooperation with the Board of Education to establish guidelines and ensure that the ten essential components of the accountability program are addressed (Rules and Regulations for the Administration of the Accreditation of School Districts - 1992)
• advise the Board of Education regarding the assessment of satisfaction levels of students, parents, staff and community members at least once every five years (Rules and Regulations for the Administration of the Accreditation of School Districts - 1992)
• make recommendations, which shall be considered by the Board of Education in adopting the district budget, relative to prioritizing the expenditures of school district monies (House Bill 1344 - 1992)
• receive school level council budget priority recommendations and ensure that school level councils have input into local budgetary decisions (House Bill 1313 - 1993)
• work cooperatively with staff and other community representatives to review and revise content standards as needed (House Bill 1313 - 1993)
• receive and review each school’s annual report on learning environment, including conduct and disciplinary actions, to be summarized for the district’s annual report to the state (House Bill 1093-1993)
• review all charter school applications prior to consideration by the Board of Education (Senate Bill 183-1993)

Additional Duties - In addition to the tasks and duties required by state laws and rules and regulations, the Board of Education, in its October 1992 "District Plan for Attaining High, but Achievable Goals as Required by the Colorado Public School Finance Act of 1998 (HB 1341)" the Council is responsible for the following:

• ensuring development of individual school improvement plans that reflect measurable objectives, focusing on the Strategic Plan and the district’s goals
• monitor implementation of the ECE-grade 12 curriculum that includes scope and sequence and that is concept and skill-specific and prepares students to meet high school graduation requirements, college-entrance requirements, and meaningful employment opportunities after high school
• focus on continues development of the district’s proficiencies at designated grade levels and on certifying the diploma.

DENVER PUBLIC SCHOOLS
School Improvement and Accountability Duties
The District School Improvement and Accountability Council

The duties of the local school improvement and accountability councils (SIACs) are many and varied. They derive from requirements of the district’s 1982 federal court order and state laws, rules and regulations.

Pupil Assignment Plan for a Unitary School System as Directed by the United States District Court - 1982

• translation of the educational goals, student outcomes, and the general program objectives of the district into the context of school goals and objectives
• identification of building goals, student outcomes, or general program objectives consistent with, but in addition to, those of the district
• semiannual review of student progress in relation to the stated goals
• participation in development of a facility, equipment, and materials needs assessment
• annual review and recommendations concerning the district budget
• identification of inequities, academic program deficiencies and proposal of corrections to the accountability office at the central administration level
• service in an advisory capacity for special federal and state-funded programs as appropriate
• service in an advisory capacity for other school improvement activities

The Public School Finance Act of 1988 - House Bill 1341

Each year each SIAC "shall adopt high, but achievable, goals and objectives for the improvement of education in its building… and shall adopt a plan to improve educational achievement in the school and implement methods of maximizing attendance rates and graduation rates from the secondary schools of the district."

Rules and Regulations for the Administration of the Accreditation of School Districts - 1992

• An advisory accountability committee shall function in each school. The purpose of the committee is to provide recommendations to the principal for school improvement.
• The SIAC is to be involved in the development and implementation of the school improvement plan that meets the requirements of the 1988 HB 1341 and reduces the discrepancies in student performance among various student groups in the school.
• Development of the plan must be based on a written school profile that includes:
  • school assessment results
  • number and percentage of students attaining district standards
  • level of school satisfaction
  • findings from effective schools research
  • school demographic trends
  • performance of exceptional and language minority students

House Bill 1344 - 1991

The advisory accountability committee for each school shall make recommendations to the chief executive officer of the school relative to prioritizing expenditures of the school district’s monies by such school. Copies of the recommendations shall be sent to the District Council and the Board of Education. The chief executive officer of the school shall consider the recommendations from the accountability committee in formulating budget requests to be presented to the Board of Education.House Bill 1093 - 1993

At the end of every school year, the advisory accountability committee of each school shall submit a written report to the Board of Education with copies to the District Council and the Superintendent concerning the learning environment in the school during that school year. The report shall include specific information on conduct and discipline actions taken during the school year. The report shall be made available to parents and the general public.