The Innovation Initiative that came out of a Falcon School District 49 board retreat in December was the culmination of years of discussions about how best to educate children, board members say.
While some community members may have been startled with a flurry of activity in the past two months during which top administration positions were eliminated and other jobs were redefined, board members simply say it was time for change.
“We’re tying to lay groundwork for future generations,” school board president David Martin said.
The board wants to make changes now, so the growing 14,700-student school district on Colorado Springs’ eastern edge may avoid future struggles.
A 2008 law that opened the door for schools or districts to try new things was key to the decision to move forward with a complete makeover of the district. District 49 is seeking “innovation” status from the state, which would allow it to seek exemption from some rules to try new things.
Overhaul plans for eight Colorado schools have earned state approval as “Schools of Innovation,” according to the Colorado Department of Education. That includes Wasson High School in Colorado Springs School District 11.
D-49 officials don’t think they can get higher test scores, better-prepared graduates and a shrinking achievement gap without significant districtwide changes. Proposed budgets cuts from the state of about $7 million for next year’s budget also are a factor.
Board members have looked at work done to improve student achievement in districts throughout the country and Canada, including Denver. For the most part, schools that went through drastic change had been failing, and at least some show positive results. Some of the seven innovation schools in Denver will have their required three-year review sometime this year.
The district has compiled reams of reports and studies on educational strategies, many of which are posted on the District 49 website. Some board members said they hadn’t read through all of it.
One such document is a March 2010 policy brief from the Reason Foundation that looks at several models across the country, including California, New York and New Orleans.
In 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated Louisiana’s school system, which has for years been among the worst in the United States. The state helped create a system in New Orleans that expanded schools of choice and granted charter and noncharter schools greater autonomy, including staffing and budgets.
According to the report, about 60 percent of New Orleans students are in charter schools and test scores across all grade levels have risen dramatically.
D-49 officials said they culled ideas from various places.
“It would not be fair to identify any particular idea that has been considered and discarded since so many different models and concepts have been reviewed,” said Brad Miller, attorney for District 49 and the school board.
It makes sense for District 49 to make changes because the pattern of how elementary schools feed to middle schools that feed into high schools is perfect for it, said board member Rusty Moomey, who was sworn in at the Dec. 9 meeting after being appointed a month earlier. He said Miller had explained some options to him before the retreat.
“We want to rely on the ability of our professionals to improve student achievement,” Moomey said. With the Innovation Initiative, the people closest to the students will make decisions and not someone at the central administration building.
Board treasurer Andy Holloman said remaking the district puts the responsibility on parents and the community. It’s worth the pain that comes with change to give kids better opportunities to thrive, he said.
The board as early as 2007 considered changes in curriculum, organizational structure and finance, Miller said.
Changes to the district’s organizational structure were considered again in 2009 when 13 positions in administration were cut, Martin said. That year, the board looked closely at the model in Edmonton, Canada, which is similar to D-49’s Innovation Initiative.
“The board and superintendent and others in the district have had discussions about effective strategies for as long as I can remember,” Miller said.
One reason Superintendent Bradley Schoeppey was hired was because of his association with an innovative educational model in Tulsa, Okla., Miller and Martin said. Ironically, D-49’s plans eliminated Schoeppey’s position and he opted to take a contract buyout rather than move into a position in the new structure.
The district reorganization and “innovation” approach was first suggested by Martin at the Dec. 15 board retreat that tackled several topics, including transportation.
Martin said weeks earlier, he or Miller — he couldn’t remember who — shared a template that listed what was needed and some possible solutions.
“It’s probably changed a hundred times since then,” he said.
Martin said he told Schoeppey before the retreat that he would propose a different approach to education.
“This is the way I want to do business now,” Martin said Dec. 15 when discussing a district reorganization, “because I believe this will save and be more effective at educating kids.”
A recording of the meeting obtained through a Colorado Open Records Act request was missing portions of the discussion, once because of a dead battery, the other because of a delay in restarting the recorder following a recess, according to notations made in the recording.
A significant portion of the four-hour recording dealt with organizational change, ideas and reasons to move forward.
Schoeppey brought up details he disagreed with and some concerns, including the speed of the process and one of those tapped to lead the process.
“As soon as this is out, there’s going to be a million questions that I can’t answer,” Schoeppey told the board.
Schoeppey later in the meeting said his concerns weren’t insurmountable, adding that typically superintendents design new structures or plans that are approved by a school board. Then the superintendent is held accountable for results by the board.
Schoeppey, who will leave D-49 June 30, declined an interview for this story.
Martin said most board members wanted to see something happen quickly. His concern was that if the plan was unveiled and the board didn’t lead the change, it would never move forward.
“I don’t want to compromise an inch,” he said.
Within days of that meeting, the three high school principals were told they would become innovation leaders/assistant superintendents under the plan, if they were agreeable to the concept.
Board decisions in January and February included the approval of a new structure and established a timeline for the innovation process.
Martin said Friday that people are more surprised by the fact that the district is moving forward with changes than the Innovation Initiative itself.
Innovation zones
• Falcon feeder pattern
Falcon High School
Falcon Middle School
Falcon Elementary School
Meridian Ranch International Elementary School
Woodmen Hills Elementary School
• Sand Creek feeder pattern
Sand Creek High School
Horizon Middle School
Evans International Elementary School
Remington Elementary School
Springs Ranch Elementary School
• Vista Ridge feeder pattern
Vista Ridge High School
Skyview Middle School
Odyssey Elementary School
Ridgeview Elementary School
Stetson Elementary School
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Contact the writer at 636-0162.
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