innovation zones...•access to sbb •selection of use for most funds directed through tiered...

INNOVATION ZONES

Board of Education Work Session

May 14, 2018

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STRATEGY #3 Flexibility

OBJECTIVES

ENGAGE in a discussion protocol regarding innovation zones in DPS.

DISCUSS questions raised by Board members last week, in relation to innovation zones (Budget & Finances, Zones with a Governance Innovation, Equitable Access & Culturally Responsive Practice and Process.)

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CONTEXT

1. First innovation zone – the Luminary Learning Network –opened in DPS in Fall 2016. It will be up for renewal next Fall. It includes Ashley Elementary, Cole Arts and Sciences Academy, C3 and the Denver Green School and is built around principles of school autonomy.

2. In June, the Board will hear from two groups of schools seeking to form their own unique innovation zones.

3. Our hopes for today are to:

a) Create a better understanding of why zones are being invited into our family of schools (beyond the legal requirement), and

b) Help Portfolio and the schools understand key issues the Board would like us to address in our June meetings.

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CRITICAL FRIENDS PROTOCOL

.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aZSITkOLOc

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aZSITkOLOc


CRITICAL FRIENDS PROTOCOLSeven Steps

1. Presentation

2. Clarification

3. Assessment

4. “I like …”

5. “I wonder …”

6. Presenter Reflection

7. “I have …”

Lauren will serve as our facilitator.

Jen will serve as our presenter.

The Board of Education will serve as the audience.

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THE KEY QUESTION ZONES EXPLORE

How might schools be best organized for shared learning

… so that leaders and teachers can access the conditions and supports they need to improve and strengthen their practice,

… so that students and families can be best served?

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ASSUMPTIONS

We all need to belong to something bigger than ourselves --150 different schools doing everything 150 different ways carries a lot of risk.

Studying different approaches to school organization may teach us all important lessons about how leaders and teachers can be best supported, the conditions they need to thrive, and thus serve students and families best.

The organization of schools is an area on which national research is decidedly mixed.

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CURRENT ORGANIZATION OF SCHOOLS

Central Team

Networks

Schools

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CURRENT ORGANIZATION OF SCHOOLS

Benefits of This Approach

+ Consistency

+ Economies of Scale

+ Drive Priorities and Need Areas at Scale

+

+

Risks of This Approach

- Difficulty in differentiation

- Feedback loops complicated

-

-

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Central Team

Networks

Schools


ZONE ORGANIZATION

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Schools

Zone

Supports

In zones, supports can

come from the DPS

central office or external

providers.


ZONE ORGANIZATION

Benefits of This Approach

+ Ability to differentiate -driven by needs of the specific set of schools

+ Leaders, teachers and other community representatives affirmatively choose to be part of the zone

+

+

Risks of this Approach

- Smaller economies of scale

- It’s new.

- Some risk for disconnection

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Schools

Zone

Supports


SHARED OVERSIGHTS FOR ALL DISTRICT SCHOOLS

English Language Acquisition

Special Education

Gifted & Talented

Unified Enrollment

Family Complaints/Constituency

Services

LEAP

LEAD

School Performance Framework

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Central Team

Networks

Schools

Schools

Zone

Supports


OVERSIGHTS FOR ZONES

English Language Acquisition

Special Education

Gifted & Talented

Unified Enrollment

Family Complaints/Constituency

Services

LEAP

LEAD

School Performance Framework

AND:

Zone authorizing

Zone monitoring

Zone renewal13

Schools

Zone

Supports


LEARNINGS SO FAR

For LLN (and more is available in their recent reports to the Board – January 2018 and February 2018):

Improved outcomes for students based on SPF

More time in building has been extremely valuable for some leaders

Being able to design shared PD across the schools has been extremely valuable for teachers

Family Council brings families from across the zone schools together

For DPS:

Improvements in authorizing practices, including monitoring and MOU template

Financial components are difficult

We are all watching closely what’s happening with zones in Memphis and Indianapolis and also recognize a need to strengthen touch points between our zones and DPS, so more shared learning can take shape.

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https://www.boarddocs.com/co/dpsk12/Board.nsf/files/AV9RQT6BA728/$file/LLN_Update_012218.pdf

https://www.boarddocs.com/co/dpsk12/Board.nsf/files/AVWUJ26EE028/$file/17_18 DPS LLN Board Update v6.pdf


CRITICAL FRIENDS PROTOCOLSeven Steps

1. Presentation

2. Clarification

3. Assessment

4. “I like …”

5. “I wonder …”

6. Presenter Reflection

7. “I have …”

Lauren will serve as our facilitator.

Jen will serve as our presenter.

The Board of Education will serve as the audience.

15


OBJECTIVES

ENGAGE in a critical friends protocol regarding innovation zones in DPS.

DISCUSS questions raised by Board members last week, in relation to innovation zones.

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QUESTIONS RAISEDThe Big Buckets

Budget & Finances

Zones with a Governance Innovation

Equitable Access & Culturally Responsive Practice

Process

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Budget & Finances

What is the impact of joining an innovation zone on a school budget?

What additional external resources can/do innovation zones receive from external organizations?

Does the more efficient use of dollars impact performance?



Process

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FLEXIBILITY AS “SCHOOL-BASED DECISION-MAKING” WITHIN THE DPS FAMILY OF SCHOOLS

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Direct-Run Schools

•Access to SBB

• Selection of use for most funds directed through Tiered Support Framework (TSF), as applicable

•Curriculum

•Assessments

•PD

Innovation Schools

•All flexibilities available to direct-run schools

•Option to budget on actuals

• Other areas available under the Innovation Schools Act, i.e. Human Resource waivers

Innovation Management Organizations

•All flexibilities available to direct-run and innovation schools

• Access to SBB+

• Ability to pool resources across school sites

• Use of executive principal

Innovation Zones

•All flexibilities available to direct-run and innovation schools and IMOs

• Innovations in organization of schools, i.e. support and oversight structures

Charter Schools

•All flexibilities available to other schools

•Access to per-pupil, with buy-backs of charter and SPED fees

• Other areas available under the Charter Schools Act

Earned through application & renewal processesUniversal


WHAT IS SBB+?Student-Based Budgeting Plus

SBB+ is a funding model which gives innovation school leaders in Innovation Zones and Innovation Management Organizations the opportunity to opt into or opt out of specific district services, beyond Universal Flexibilities, and receive the associated funds to use on related or other services to help them more fully meet their school vision and mission.

Discreet areas of certain central departments are flexible:

Curriculum and Instruction

Access, Competency and Engagement

Professional Learning

Communications

FACE

HR

CELT

Financial Services20


WHAT IS SBB+?Learnings & Looking Forward

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“Schools will be given a clear list of services

where they will have the ability to either

utilize District services or take the equivalent

dollars to use as they determine, including to

purchase services from third-party

providers. … If the District denies a request

for budget autonomy, it must demonstrate

how granting the request would: 1) have a

negative impact on the health and safety of

students; 2) result in non-compliance with

federal, state, or local law; or 3) negatively

impact the District’s ability to target the use

of funds to serve students with greater

needs.”

-- Board Policy ADE, “Innovation in

Education”


EXTERNAL SUPPORT

“In accordance with the innovation plan, the School may receive moneys and deposit such moneys into a school account.”

-- Typical waiver language for an innovation school for State statute 22-32-109 (1)(g)

“[The zone organization] may receive direct contributions from any source, and may engage in fundraising on its own behalf as well as on behalf of the zone and zone schools.”

-- Language from LLN zone application included as part of zone application for statute 22-32-109 (1)(g), applying to zones with the governance innovation

It is critical to note that DPS raises funds as well, in partnership with the DPS Foundation and on its own.

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IMPACT OF BUDGETARY FLEXIBILITIES

Although it’s difficult to conclude that budgetary flexibilities alone are driving gains with such a limited data set and given other conditions zones create, we have seen performance improvements at three of the four LLN schools so far:

For more information on LLN performance, see the January 2018 written update to the Board: https://www.boarddocs.com/co/dpsk12/Board.nsf/files/AV9RQT6BA728/$file/LLN_Update_012218.pdf

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https://www.boarddocs.com/co/dpsk12/Board.nsf/files/AV9RQT6BA728/$file/LLN_Update_012218.pdf



Budget & Finances


What does it mean to have a separate board of governance? What are their responsibilities?

Who is the board? How are they selected?

What is the role of the DPS Board of Education over a zone?


Process

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ZONES WITH A GOVERNANCE INNOVATIONWhat are potential benefits?

In the 2018 New Quality Innovation Zones Request for Proposals, DPS highlighted strengthened community ownership as a potential benefit of zones:

“The I-zone creation and renewal process requires stakeholders to have direct voice in oversight of the zone, thereby empowering local community members as official, ongoing partners in the effort. In addition, in the cases of a nonprofit board, there is additional opportunity for ongoing collaboration and community voice through board composition.”

A zone application defines how each nonprofit board is constituted.

A zone application also describes additional roles families and other community members have in ongoing oversight and support for the zone.

At formation and renewal, each school’s CSC must demonstrate support for the zone.

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ZONES WITH A GOVERNANCE INNOVATIONCore Duties of a Zone’s Nonprofit Board

Typical responsibilities of a zone’s nonprofit board include:

1. Serving as champions for the zone’s mission and vision, and for the missions and visions of each member school and for their innovation plans;

2. Monitoring performance of the zone and its member schools in areas of organizational health, culture and academic outcomes using disaggregated data;

3. Evaluating the zone’s staff – namely its executive director; and

4. Ensuring financial solvency.

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ZONES WITH A GOVERNANCE INNOVATIONRelationship to the Board of Education

Nonprofit boards of zones enter into an MOU directly with the DPS Board of Education, representing direct accountability to the DPS Board of Education.

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Budget & Finances



What about equity? Why are leaders of color not joining zones?

How can we ensure that white leaders in zones are being strong white allies?

Is the zone board trained in culturally responsive practices? How are they trained in our expectations?

Process

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EQUITABLE ACCESS

Portfolio issued the 2018 New Quality Innovation Zones Request for Proposals to all innovation principals.

Based on response, it’s clear this “all call” method of outreach is insufficient to create equitable access for innovation leaders of color.

Portfolio commits to identifying barriers to access, strengthening its practices, and sharing our learnings with the Board.

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CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE PRACTICE

Each innovation school must articulate in detail its supports for, and approach to, culturally responsive education as part of its innovation plan.

Each zone plan must articulate how the zone will:

1. Support and hold school leaders accountable for implementation of their individual school-level innovation plans;

2. Provide oversight of educational programming at the schools to ensure fidelity of implementation, including high-quality programming for special populations;

3. Support shared learning across schools; and

4. Ensure the nonprofit board has needed skills and expertise to provide effective oversight of the zone and schools.

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Budget & Finances



Process

What’s the process? What informs it?

Who reviews applications? What do they consider?

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BECOMING AN INNOVATION ZONEAccountability

Board Policy ADE (“Innovation in Education”) requires that schools seeking to form zones develop a written application: “An innovation plan or plan for creating an innovation school zone submitted to DPS should meet all applicable statutory requirements … ”

1. Description of results the schools can achieve working together, rather than alone.

2. Advantages the zone can attain through economies of scale

3. Demonstrations of support from teachers, administrators, and the community

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BECOMING AN INNOVATION ZONEAccountability

In DPS, zone plans also must articulate:

A root-cause analysis based in data and a description of how the formation of a zone will help accelerate student growth and achievement

Specific shared strategies or program elements related to teaching, leadership, the education program and/or culture that afford opportunities for shared learning and/or the benefit of economies of scale

A clearly articulated theory of action that defines decision-making rights and accountability between the schools, zone, and District leadership in a cohesive manner aligned with the vision of the zone

A clear strategy for supporting, cultivating and retaining strong leadership and teachers

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BECOMING AN INNOVATION ZONEAuthorizing Process Steps

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IMO Conversion

Timeline

New Zone Timeline

Application Materials Released January 25, 2018 January 25, 2018

Letters of Intent Due February 15, 2018 February 15, 2018

Application for District Sponsorship

Due (If Applicable-Internal Zones

Only)

February 15, 2018 February 15, 2018

Applications Due April 4, 2018 April 20, 2018

Application Review Process April 4-May 4, 2018 April 20-May 18, 2018

MOU Negotiation May 7-May 31, 2018 During Year 0 (2018-19)

Applicant Presentations and Staff

Recommendation to DPS Board

June 11, 2018 June 11, 2018

DPS Board Vote June 14, 2018 June 14, 2018

State Board Vote August 2018 August 2018

Begin Operations August 2018 August 2019


LOOKING AHEAD TO JUNE

Our hopes for today were to:

a) Create a better understanding of why zones are being invited into our family of schools (beyond the legal requirement), and

b) Help Portfolio and the schools understand key issues the Board would like us to address in our June meetings.

As we come to the end of our time together, what stands out for you?

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innovation zones...•access to sbb •selection of use for most funds directed through tiered...

Documents