Innovative education

In 2008, the Colorado Legislature passed the Innovation Schools Act, which allows school districts to ñ in a nutshell ñ tailor education by allowing greater autonomy and management flexibility to individual schools and districts. Some schools in innovation zones have had their innovation plans approved by the Colorado Department of Education, which allows them to waive certain state statutes related to education.Falcon School District 49 is one of four districts statewide approved for innovation status.D 49 is divided into four district zones: Falcon Zone; Power Zone; Sand Creek Zone and iConnect Zone.So, whatís it all about? Innovation zone leaders provided some insight into the districtís unique approach to education. †Falcon ZoneFalcon High School, Falcon Middle, Falcon Elementary, Meridian Ranch International, Woodmen Hills ElementaryInnovation zone leader Monty Lammers said progress in the Falcon Zone has been steady. The D 49 board has approved innovation plans for Falcon High, Falcon Middle, and Falcon Elementary schools.The other two schools in the zone will present their plans in September.Falcon Middle School is the only school in the zone to receive plan approval from the CDE, Lammers said.ìThe innovation plans that are approved by the state are in place for three years, then we collect data and we review it at the end of year three,î said board treasurer Marie LaVere-Wright.The approval means that Falcon Middle School can waive the stateís curriculum requirements.According to the Falcon Middle School innovation plan, the school will restructure the curriculum ìfocus on specific areas, skill and/or learning styles.î In other words, teachers will develop curriculums that ìreach the needsî of the diverse learners.Falcon Middle School requested a waiver granting it control over

• Curriculum adoption
• Curriculum development
• Instructional resources and materials selection and adoption
• Curriculum review

Lammers said middle and high schools will begin implementation of standards-based grading. ìTheyíre going to be able to establish grading criteria based on mastery of the standard versus an average grade for their work,î he said. ìIt will really give us a better guide for where students are in mastery of the skills versus how good they are at doing their homework.î The elementary schools have been using this grading system for a few years, Lammers said.ìWeíre bringing in experts and doing a lot of training so weíre able to support the teachers throughout the process,î he added.Power ZoneOdyssey Elementary School, Ridgeview Elementary, Stetson Elementary, Skyview Middle School, Vista Ridge High SchoolBob Felice is the innovation leader for the Power Zone, which boasts the only total zone innovation plan in the state approved by the CDE.The CDE approved each schoolís innovation plan as well, Felice said.The Power Zone is addressing one of the most polarizing topics in education: teacher and principal evaluations. In the current system, teachers and principals are evaluated in part based on the studentsí Colorado Student Assessment Program test scores, Felice said. The CSAP test and the Transitional Colorado Assessment Program test that replaced it in 2012 tested studentsí aptitude in three main areas: reading, writing and math.ìWeíre going to rewrite tests because we have 10 years of data that says the CSAP tests here in Colorado did not work,î he said. ìBig governmentís big answer to that was ëno, letís write a new test (the TCAP test) and you can have this money (funding) if youíre willing to tie yourself to all our strings.í My answer to that is ëkeep your money.íîFelice said he is hopeful the community and the teachers can work together on a teacher and principal evaluation plan that is not directly tied to student achievement in only three areas. ìI sincerely hope our community and teachers can come up with a test that isnít tying teachersí livelihood to test scores,î he said.Along with the evaluation overhaul, Felice said the Power Zone has received full-day kindergarten approval, as well as a technology plan. Vista Ridge High School is piloting an iPad technology program in which each teacher and student will have their own iPads, he said. Teachers will have access to new MacBooks.ìThe iPads and MacBooks allow teachers to author their own text,î Felice said. ìNow weíre talking the whole bit: video, audio 3D enhanced things to make learning a lot more engaging and make business a lot cheaper. The iPad gives you access to thousands of free educational apps. Itís going to be great for kids, and itís where weíre headed, with kids not carrying around backpacks anymore.îìA lot of people see innovation as adding technology, but that isnít the end all,î said Tammy Harold, board president. ìTeachers need to be able to use what they have and also get what they need to better equip the students for whatís out there. Just because we put an iPad in a studentís hand doesnít do them any good if their teacher doesnít know how to use it as a teaching tool.îHarold said teachers have received training on the iPads and MacBooks.iConnect ZoneBanning Lewis Ranch Academy, Falcon Virtual Academy, Patriot Learning Center, Imagine Indigo Ranch, Pikes Peak School of Expeditionary Learning, Rocky Mountain Classical Academy, Falcon Homeschool Enrichment ProgramThe iConnect Zone is structured differently than the others, said iConnect Zone leader Kim McClelland.ìThe innovation model has given us more autonomy and freedom,î she said.The Patriot Learning Center in Falcon is starting a new GED (general education development) preparatory program, McClelland said. ìWeíve also got a culinary arts program there so theyíre working on getting the building ready to start that program,î she said. The PLC is also implementing more online options for students and continuing with the night school program.ìOur Falcon Homeschool Enrichment Program is expanding considerably,î McClelland said. ìThe program has some opportunities for homeschool families to receive enrichment opportunities for students and parents to get instruction from teachers. Weíre trying to build a bridge to that community.î She said the zone has a curriculum lending library for families involved in the enrichment program.The D 49 board of education approved the iConnect Zone as a quality charter school authorizer, McClelland said. According to the National Association of State Boards of Education, authorizers have the responsibility and power to approve or reject proposals to develop and operate charter schools; manage the charter contract; maintain ongoing oversight, evaluation and intervention with the charter schools; and renew or revoke a charter at the end of its term.Additionally, McClelland said her zone is looking forward to the completion of the new building for the Falcon Virtual Academy at Constitution Avenue and Peterson Road. She said virtual learning is a different way of schooling and that kind of outside-the-box approach to education is what innovation is all about.Sand Creek ZoneSand Creek High School, Horizon Middle School, Evans International Elementary, Remington Elementary, Springs Ranch ElementaryThe BOE has approved three schoolsí innovation plans in the Sand Creek Zone, and Sean Dorsey, innovation leader, said he is excited that two plans will go before the state board in August.ìEvans and Remington are on the consent agenda for the state board and weíre looking for those to be approved,î Dorsey said. Horizon Middle Schoolís plan was approved at the July 19 BOE meeting.Springs Ranch Elementary and Sand Creek High School are working on their innovation plans.Sand Creek High is the only high school in the district to offer the international baccalaureate program. ìIt focuses on global awareness and international mindedness, among other things,î Dorsey said. Some people have asked why an innovation plan is necessary. ìMy response is that, down the road we want to maintain the autonomy that the district is providing us at this point in making sure we continue to have some freedom around the curriculum that we develop, the calendar, how we evaluate teachers, how we align our curriculum and our hiring processes,î he said.Dorsey cited a major change: The faculty at Evans International Elementary has voted to change tenure. ìThey voted to give up tenure or non-probationary status, which is a big deal,î Dorsey said. ìTheyíre basically saying that theyíre accountable for the work they do with students and they feel comfortable and confident with the work that they do.îOfficially innovativeWith the Power Zone and Falcon Middle School getting state approved innovation zone status, itís official.ìWe are now a district of motivation,î said Becky Carter, D 49 chief education officer.ìThe bottom line for everything we do is student achievement, and the innovation plans are part of our overall goal to teach students to be critical and creative thinkers, and problems solvers in the 21st century.îWhat about Special Ed? Jeff: this is a separate article but needs to be on the same page/s as the innovation article. The innovation direction the Falcon School District 49 special education department has taken involves restructuring the special education advisory committee, said Steve Axford, PhD, director of special services. ìOur SEAC is more active now than it was,î Axford said. ìWe now have an executive committee, regular meetings of both parents and staff and various subcommittees looking at issues like budget, finance, staff development and membership.îAlicia Stier, co-chair of the executive committee for SEAC, said the program has been challenged by the districtís reorganization into zones ìWith the implementation of innovation, the district pushed SPED out to the zones, including the responsibility and funds,î Stier said. ìThat worked for about four months. What you have is zone leaders and principals who had SPED money, but that wasnít really their area of expertise. They donít know the law. Within that four months, the money was pulled back to the district.îAfter major cuts, the starting budget for the SPED department was decreased. ìOther SPED programs were cut, too, like the SOAR (the gifted and talented) program, because that is under SPED funding,î Stier said. ìThere was some mistrust between the parents and the district, because they didnít know what was happening and the district didnít really know either.îWith the reformation of the SEAC, communication between the parents and the district is better than before, Stier said. ìItís all about creating a relationship between the parents, staff and administration,î she said. ìItís got us all talking about what the kids need, what the future is, where we are going with technology and where innovation is taking us.îAxford said the innovation piece for the SPED department centers on inclusion. ìMore often, the opinion from the teachers and staff was that we should have programming more conducive to inclusion so students can stay in their feeder systems so they donít have to access programs outside their neighborhood or community,î Axford said.ìStudents might start out in one feeder system or zone, but as they transition from one school to another, they have to move to a new zone. Thatís very disruptive with students and their cohorts.îA parent advocacy group in the community sponsored a training session for the district last school year that featured Dr. Christi Kasa from the special education department at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.Axford said Kasa showed the SEAC her research on inclusion, which basically brings SPED into the general education population. ìThe focus is on including the student more in the general classroom but providing the teacher with the support they need and the training they need to be more effective with these students and bring them more into the general population,î he said.ìHer research showed significant increases in academic performance that is measured by the state in their SPED population. Weíre continuing to have conversations with her. Weíve had a lot of discussion about training requirements and what would make sense for implementing the inclusion model.îìI think this innovation model is really about pulling together as a community and getting better results that way,î Axford said. ìIím really encouraged that weíre moving in a good direction and things are going to get a lot better. I see a time when there will be other districts that will come to look at what weíre doing so they can replicate it.îKasa has committed to a two-hour training session with the SPED teachers Sept. 28, followed by a training session with the entire staff at a later date.ìWeíve had to become more efficient and do a better job with the resources we have, and thatís the purpose of the innovation model, in my opinion,î Axford said.