DENVER – The grades are in, and Denver Public Schools have something to be excited about. A record number of DPS schools achieved top ratings on the School Performance Framework(SPF).
The report was released Friday and measures several aspects of a school’s performance– such as how satisfied students and parents are and year-to-year academic growth.
The report revealed 60 percent of DPS schools are now meeting or exceeding expectations. It’s a new record for the district since the first SPF was released in 2008. Holm Elementary in southeast Denver achieved the district’s highest rating on its overall SPF rating.
Despite the overall growth in school performance, 81 of the district’s 203 schools are not meeting expectations, and one school will be forced to close.
Cesar Chavez Academy, a charter school in Denver’s West Highland neighborhood, will close at the end of the 2017-18 school year after it failed to meet standards once again. The school has been struggling to meet Common Core State Standards for years.
Mary Ann Mahoney, the principal at Cesar Chavez Academy, told Denver7 back in May the school was on its way to the top of DPS’s rating system, but a recent shift in testing mythology killed the school’s upward momentum. Mahoney said teachers weren’t prepared for the change.
Cesar Chavez Academy reached out to Rocky Mountain Prep with a possible plan to have the Denver-area charter school network take over. Mahoney said this plan would ensure an easy transition for students since both charters share similar educational philosophies.
