DPS’ new schools push: innovation, kinda
Tuesday, March 11, 2008Written by: Alan Gottlieb
The Request for Proposals issued this week by Denver Public Schools as part of its New Schools Initiative would seem to suggest that the district is serious about promoting change and innovation, both through increasing the number of charter schools and promoting new district schools.
But the RFP shows that DPS is diverging from a set of best practices developed in cities like
It’s instructive to read the DPS Blueprint report, released last December by the Donnell-Kay Foundation, and compare the recommendations therein to the new RFP. What’s immediately clear is that DPS did not pay a lot of attention to the report, or lessons from other cities, and decided to chart its own course.
As currently constructed, it’s hard to find much room for real innovation for the so-called “innovation schools.” Such schools must apply for any waivers from district or union regulations, use DPS curriculum and benchmark assessments, have their principals selected by the superintendent, follow the district calendar, etc., etc.
On the more positive side, DPS is placing emphasis on new middle-grades schools, and schools serving students at risk of dropping out — so called “under-credit” and “overage” students. These are two areas of real weakness in the district, and it’s healthy that DPS is looking for outside help.
It’s also encouraging that DPS appears to be reversing itself and once again becoming friendly to charter schools. The RFP even dangles the possibility of providing district facilities to charters, or allowing charters to share DPS buildings with other schools.
There’s some vague language about “direct cost range of $11 to $17 per square foot of net occupied space,” with a security fee of $31 per student and an administrative fee of $20,000 per year tacked on. It’s hard to tell without more detail whether this constitutes a good deal for charters.
Interested applicants must submit a letter of intent between March 17 and June 27. Will there be a market for the somewhat watered down innovation opportunities DPS is peddling? Or will we see only a batch of new charter proposals? Time will tell.
March 12th, 2008 at 11:27 am
It would certainly be nice to see DPS encourage more innovation, but taking it slow isn’t the worst thing in the world. They’ll start with some mildly innovative schools; if and when those schools demonstrate success, maybe the district will become a little more adventurous.