2013 Annual Report

Annual Report
Message from the CEO 2013 Board of Directors Mission and Principles History and Impact Research and Analysis Community Engagement Staff Funders & Partners 3 4 5 6 8 9 13 14

Message from the CEO

Dear friend: With the support of our dedicated members, board, and friends, A+ Denver is moving from its infancy into an adolescent organization with big ambitions for Denvers kids. Heres how we worked to improve academic outcomes for students in 2013: 1. Exposing areas where we have the most work to do to improve policies, structures, and models: high schools, turnaround schools, and innovation schools. A+ published reports, gave dozens of media interviews, and worked with research partners to reect on how reforms have been working and where they are lacking. 2. Working toward getting the best people on the bus. Good governance starts with great leadership. Through detailed public surveys and the rst televised school board candidate debates, A+ worked toward electing a school board that reected the values and ideals of voters. 3. Increasing the number of quality seats. The most important part of school reform is increasing the number of good seats for kids. We worked toward this goal by pushing for closure of poorly performing schools, and colocating boundary schools and charters to allow facilities to be used efciently. In tandem with this effort, A+ Denver led an evaluation of the SchoolChoice to ensure access to high quality seats for all families. We will repeat this evaluation in 2014. 4. Pushing for the highest level of accountability. Accountability starts with a great plan with clear benchmarks and goals. This is one reason we have advocated for an updated strategic plan for the districta plan that is now underway. In addition, we successfully advocated for higher graduation standards and strong oversight of the $49 million mill levy override and $466 billion bond passed by voters last year. Our workload has increased, and with it, our visibility and capacity. A+ Denver now has over 9,000 people on its mailing list, 700+ Twitter followers, and 1,000 website visitors per month, along with over 8,000 report downloads this year. Our membership has increased to 130, and our staff has grown to six. Now is the time to double down on efforts to make Denver the best urban district in the country. With Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles facing major reform setbacks, Denver is now seenalong with New Orleansas a national star. We can, and must, step up to the plate to fulll our obligation to provide an equal and excellent public education to all. None of our work would be possible without a unique, committed, and thoughtful environment of philanthropists and foundations. A special thank you to the Piton Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation, the Carson Foundation, the Donnell-Kay Foundation, the Gates Family Foundation, the Denver Foundation, and the Anschutz Family Foundation for putting your trust in us. Finally, our largest debt of gratitude is to those doing the hardest work of all: teachers, principals, district leadership, and school board members, who put in endless hours to give hope and opportunity to Denvers kids. Sincerely,

Van Schoales CEO, A+ Denver

A+ Denver!

777 Grant Street, Ste. 302 !

www.aplusdenver.org

2013 Board of Directors

The Honorable Terrance Carroll Co-Chair Former Speaker of the CO House Attorney, SLC Healthcare Jill Barkin Managing Director, America Succeeds Denise Maes Public Policy Director, ACLU Charles Ward Vice President of Public Affairs, Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce

Mary Gittings Cronin Co-Chair Former Executive Director, The Piton Foundation Yee-Ann Cho Vice President - Initiatives, Colorado Legacy Foundation Dr. David Scanavino Executive Vice President, CMO, MMM HealthCare

Anna Alejo Director of Corporate Communications, Western Union Company Steve Dayney Managing Director CEO, REpower USA Corp. Jesus Salazar Consultant, Credera

Special thanks to the Board Members that nished their service in 2013: Federico Pea Landri Taylor Barbara OBrien Rob Stein

Mission and Principles

Mission The mission of A+ Denver (A+) is to harness the power of Denvers civic leadership to build public will and advocate for the changes necessary to dramatically increase student achievement in public education in Denver Strategic Pillars A+ Denver advocates for change through: 1. Accountability: Pushing for tools and processes that hold the system accountable for student achievement. 2. Research and Data: Analyzing and communicating information that encourages and enables the community to act. 3. Community Engagement: Creating an engaged and active community, armed with data, that demands better outcomes for all students in Denver. Principles Our research and advocacy work is guided by these principles because we believe these are the most important elements of a highly effective school district: Transparency! High expectations ! ! ! ! Accountability Awareness & engagement Choice & equitable access Adequate resources Data-driven best practices Student-centered decisions

Theory Of Action A+ Denver believes that creating an engaged public to hold the DPS Board and Superintendent accountable for stated goals and sound policies will lead to increased student achievement.

History and Impact

A+ Denver was founded in 2006 at the urging of DPS thenSuperintendent Michael Bennet and former Denver Mayors Federico Pea and Wellington Webb. It was chartered as an independent, citizen-based organization working to make DPS a district characterized by excellence. During its rst few years, A+ was actively involved in advocating for school closures, an effective school replacement policy, and a supported redesign of ProComp (pay for performance system). A+ Denver has transformed into an action tank to pursue an aggressive campaign to elevate school reform issues by being a comprehensive source for DPS data. !

We appreciate A+ Denvers dedication and commitment to academic achievement. !The community benets when A+ Denver shines a spotlight on the performance of underserved students. A+ Denver works with partners to insist that student achievement improves. -Commissioner Robert Hammond, Colorado Department of Education

Published ve reports A+ Denver was founded by former Mayors Federico Pea and Wellington Webb Led SchoolChoice Transparency Committee Launched our Quality Arts Task Force Evaluated Colorados Turnaround Schools Increased our mailing list to 9,000+ 700+ Twitter followers and 150+ likes on Facebook Hosted eight events with local and national education experts

Produced our rst report, Denver Public Schools: Reform, Challenges, and the Future

2006 2008
Conducted analysis of ProComp (pay for performance system)

2009

2012 2013 2011

Produced six reports Had 900+ on our mailing list 220+ Twitter followers and 70+ likes on Facebook

Hosted the rst ever televised DPS School Board Debates Launched BoardWatch Denver Screened the lm 56 Up, the largest A+ Denver event to date

Van Schoales accepted position as CEO

Our impact
A few of A+ Denvers accomplishments include: For more than two years, A+ Denver has publicly called for the revision of the Denver Plan. We never ceased insisting on the need for a clear district strategy for raising student achievement. In November, the DPS Board refocused on the importance of rewriting the Denver Plan in the coming year. A + Denvers Board and staff have issued a list of recommendations for the revision and will meet with the Superintendent in January. A+ Denver encourages a culture of accountability within the district. DPS is now publicly sharing college remediation data and graduation rates. DPS has also invited A+ Denver to be part of their School Performance Framework Focus Group as they re-examine the weighting structure of the SPF scores for 2014. We have been a leader in insisting on higher quality proposals for new innovation schools, and advocating for clear and data-driven turnaround plans and proposals for schools as a result. A+ Denvers work to inform the public about the DPS School Board elections, through detailed candidate surveys and the rst televised school board candidate debates, led to a strong school board being elected. A+ Denver embarked on a campaign to raise awareness about the state of DPS and APS high schools. In tandem with the release of our high school report, we hosted a day-long conference to discuss the challenges that persist in urban high schools and reect on the successes that have occurred. A+ Denver exposed many of the failures happening in DPS and contributed to the states decision to raise graduation requirements. Due, in part, to our push for higher-quality arts education in the district, DPS created a director-level position to oversee arts programing, which they recently lled. With support from the arts community, DPS also committed to creating a coherent plan for arts education with the successful passage of 3A/3B, which included about $11 million for arts/physical education. Next year, A+ Denver will lead a project that dives deeper into how arts programing impacts student outcomes.

Research and Analysis

Denver School Board Candidate Surveys (February 2013 & September 2013) To improve voter turnout and awareness, A+ distributed a survey to the Denver School Board candidates in February 2013 for the District 4 race to ll the seat vacant by Nate Easley, and again in September 2013 for District 2, District 3, District 4, and At Large seats. We compiled the responses into a voter-friendly report to inform the public on each candidates position on important education issues.

Denver and Aurora High Schools: Crisis and Opportunity (April 2013) This report was released as a call to action for Denver citizens to support and demand quality reform for DPS and APS high schools. While there are more students graduating from Denver schools, this report reveals that progress has been slow. DPS has had little success in creating academically high-performing high schools.
NOVEMBER 2013 DENVER PUBLIC SCHOOLS PROGRESS REPORT BY A+ DENVER

Progress Report: Adequate is not enough

A letter from the CEO
Dear reader: Denver Public Schools is making progress on achievement across all income levels and ethnicities. While we are encouraged by the trends, this brief is intended to illuminate areas where we still have the most work to do and where progress has been uneven or slow. We know that 100% of students in DPS wont reach proficiency overnight. However, we must find ways to accelerate change because at the current rate, it will take approximately forty years for all poor students to reach grade level. In the meantime, hundreds of thousands of kids will drop out of high school or fall

% 74 4,585,69
249,809 4,000
Introduction Persistent challenges Positive news College selectivity

too far behind academically to catch up. To quicken the pace of progress, A+ calls on the DPS Board of Education and administration to engage in a rigorous and transparent audit of which programs, initiatives, school models, and supports actually produce gainsand which do not. We believe that such a probe would allow the district to eliminate those programs that are the least effective while doubling down resources on those that do work, thus accelerating gains. While we support making room for new programs and trying new ideas, all programs must be validated.

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We strongly believe that the district is moving in the right direction, but it must be more focused on understanding what really is working and shift resources accordingly. Sincerely,

About Us

2013

A+ Denver is an independent, non-partisan 501(c)(3) organization working to bring!the power of Denvers citizens to bear on school reform. !Our mission is to harness the power of civic leadership to build public will and advocate for the changes necessary to dramatically increase student achievement in public education in Denver. A+ focuses on the intersection of policy, practice, and politicsbuilding support for changes that put the interests of students over those of adults. Learn more at www.aplusdenver.org

More than 1,000 Start with the Facts 2013-Progress Report: people have read Adequate is not enough (November 2013) Start with the Facts In an updated version of 2011s Start with the Facts, A+ 2013. Denver recognizes improvement among low-income and non-low income students in DPS but raises concerns about the rate at which low-income students are showing gains. The report focuses on changes over the past ve years.

Start with the Facts 2013

Turnaround Report 2 (December 2013) This report is a follow-up to A+ Denvers 2012 Colorado Turnaround Schools Rays of Hope.!Despite initial optimism, recent results have been troubling. More than a quarter of the Cohort I and II schools are doing worse now than they were before receiving federal aid.

By the numbers: A+ Denver published ve reports in 2013. About 2,300+ people read our reports through our email service. About 6,150 people read our reports through our webpage.

Community Engagement
DPS School Board Debates A+ Denver partnered with KDVR Fox 31 and EdNews Colorado to host the rst televised DPS School Board debates. The four debates were moderated by Eli Stokols, KDVR Fox 31 Political Reporter, and were viewed by over 2,000 people. Membership To e x p a n d o u r i m p a c t i n t h e community, A+ Denver has engaged about 130 members, all of whom are leaders in business, nonprot, higher education, and other important sectors. While their professional backgrounds are diverse, they are all passionate about improving our public school system. BoardWatch Denver BoardWatch is both a website and a volunteer committee that monitors the DPS School Board during meetings. Currently, 20 volunteers attend the meetings and grade the boards governance. The website, launched in September 2013, features a record of all past board votes, biographies of past and present board members, volunteer resources, and BoardWatch report cards. The website had over 800 views in its rst week. School Visits Stepping into classrooms gives us a rsthand look at what is and is not working in DPS. While we cant make it to every school in the district, A+ Denver staff visited many schools this past year. Talking to students, teachers, and principals allows us to learn about each schools strategies, curriculum, culture, successes, and struggles.

A+ Denver provides a perspective that DPS Board members rely upon for objectivity when evaluating our district goals.!I value their work! Landri Taylor, DPS School Board-District 4

A+ Press Coverage by Media Source 100%

75%

50%

25%

0%

Jan.

Feb.

April

May

June

July

August

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Denver Post

EdNews Colorado

Education Week

Colorado Public Radio

Other

Social Media In the past year, we have seen dramatic increases in user engagement and interaction on our social media pages. We have more than doubled the number of Facebook likes and nearly tripled our Twitter followers. We now have 150+ Facebook likes and 700+ Twitter followers. Additionally, we have more than doubled our user interaction on Twitter, having over 500 retweets from people/organizations.

Press Coverage Local and national news sources like The Denver Post, EdNews Colorado, Education Week, and Colorado Public Radio have mentioned or quoted A+ Denver in over 57 articles this past year. Van Schoales, A+ staff, and board members have authored 16 articles. Mailings and Website A+ Denver now has over 9,800 newsletter recipients. Our website regularly receives over 1,000 visitors each month.

220

700

By the numbers: 130 members in our network of community leaders - and counting! 9,800+ contacts on our email list staying in touch with our work. 700+ Twitter followers and 150+ Facebook likes. Our reports or staff have been featured in 57 articles from 14 different press sources. 10

Events

Our calendar was full of lively events and meaningful discussions this year! Here is a recap of the events we hosted: An evening with Michael Petrilli - Diverse Schools Dilemma (January 2013) Michael Petrilli, Executive Vice President of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, led a conversation on economic and racial integration in urban schools, the topic of his most recent book, The Diverse Schools Dilemma. Michael joined more than 75 A+ members and friends to discuss the strategies for ensuring deliberate diversity. Get Smart Schools partnered with A+ Denver for this event.

Evan Stone - Educators 4 Excellence (February 2013) Evan Stone, co-founder and co-CEO of Educators 4 Excellence, spoke about empowering teachers in education. Y.E.P.-Colorado, CEA, and DFER partnered with A+ Denver for this event. Pat McQuillan - Transformative Leadership (March 2013) A+ Denver partnered with Get Smart Schools to host a discussion with Dr. Pat McQuillan, an Associate Professor at Boston College, about education reform in action at the Lynch Leadership School. He applied complexity theory to school organization and culture, discussing how even in complex systems, patterns can inform decision making. Urban High School Summit (April 2013) This was our rst large-scale, day-long conference, and it centered around the difculties and challenges facing both the district and educators at urban high schools. We heard from the following national experts on high school reform: Tom Vander Ark, author of Getting Smart; Larry Rosenstock, Founder of High Tech High; Jaime Casap, Google Global Education Evangelist; DPS Superintendent Tom Boasberg; APS Superintendent John Berry; Senator Mike Johnston; STRIVE Principal Antonio Vigil; STRIVE CEO Chris Gibbons; DSST CEO Bill Kurtz; David Greenberg, founder of DSST; Get Smart School President Barbara OBrien; Jane Shirley, Vice President of Leadership Initiatives at Get Smart Schools; the DSST team and the STRIVE team. Get Smart Schools and DFER co-sponsored this event.

We EIGH hosted T ev en 2013 ts in

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Events

Movie Screening: 56 Up (June 2013) A+ Denver and our partners: Insignia Partners, Y.E.P., Colorado Childrens Campaign, Get Smart Schools, Colorado Succeeds, and Stand for Children-Colorado hosted an exclusive screening of 56 Up, the most recent installment of the remarkable documentary series by Director Michael Apted. Following the screening, former NPR journalist Dan Drayer led a panel discussion that included Colorado lm critic Howie Movshovitz, University of Colorado Sociologist Dr. Stacey J. Bosick, and founder of Roots Elementary Jon Hanover.

Second Annual Members Meeting (September 2013) In September 2013, A+ Denver hosted the second annual members breakfast for more than 50 A+ Denver members. Van gave an update about DPS performance and growth. DPS Superintendent Tom Boasberg and DPS School Board President Mary Seawell discussed the state of DPS following Vans presentation.

Over 500 p e attended o ople ur events. We had 25 local and national ed ucation experts sp eak at our events.

Tim Daly - Teacher Effectiveness (October 2013) Tim Daly, President of The New Teacher Project, joined A+ Denver for a thought-provoking discussion about teacher effectiveness. Under Tims tenure as President, TNTP has become a leading source of innovative research and a respected voice on teacher quality issues. Dale J. Stephens (November 2013) Dale Stephens, founder of UnCollege and author of Hacking Your Education, left college and launched UnCollege. This gap year program guides unschoolers through a year of selfdirected learning. Dale challenged audience members to open their minds and think about higher education options beyond the traditional four-year college.

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Staff

Van Scholes Chief Executive Ofcer

Sari Levy Senior Advisor

Liz Platz Director of Operations

Aimee Martinez Assistant Director of Development

Maggie Lowenberg Community Relations Associate

Johannes Dreisbach Program Associate

Read more about our staff on our website!

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Funders & Partners

Funders Anschutz Family Foundation Carson Foundation Denver Foundation Donnell-Kay Foundation Gates Family Foundation Piton Foundation Rose Community Foundation Matching Gift Program Walton Family Foundation A+ Denver Board

Partners ACE Scholarships AmeriCorps-VISTA CEE-Trust Center on Reinvesting in Public Schools Colorado Childrens Campaign Colorado Department of Education Colorado Education Association (CEA) Colorado Nonprot Development Center Colorado League of Charter Schools Colorado Succeeds Democrats for Education Reform Denver Public Schools Denver Public Schools Foundation EducationNews Colorado Denver Education Reform Now Foundation for Educational Excellence Get Smart Schools Metro Chamber of Commerce Padres Unidos Scholarship Foundation Stand for Children Teach for America Together Colorado (MOP) Young Education Professionals (Y.E.P.)

Thank you!
14 A+ Denver! 777 Grant Street, Ste. 302 ! www.aplusdenver.org