DPS unveils plans for changes in schools

Denver Public Schools officials recommended sweeping changes Monday to some of the district's worst schools and a change in how charter schools operate.

District officials are testing the waters by recommending that three charter middle schools become "boundary schools," which means they must accept every child in the neighborhood the schools serve.

"Charter schools are public schools, and they must be public schools in every sense of the word," Superintendent Tom Boasberg said. "Effectively, there will be absolutely no distinction between charter schools and district schools."

If the recommendation is approved when the board votes Nov. 30, the change could silence criticism that charters serve only high-performing students.

The debate of charter schools versus neighborhood schools became a focus of campaigns during last week's school board elections.

The new rules would affect two new West Denver Preparatory charter schools that are expected to be located within district buildings, and Manny Martinez Middle School, which is operated by the EdisonLearning charter school company and located in West High School.

The district started housing charter schools within district buildings last year, and Monday's recommendation signals that the district wants to continue the trend of creating "shared campuses."

There are four other charters housed in DPS buildings, and those could be converted to boundary schools on a case-by-case basis, district spokesman Michael Vaughan said.

Charter schools are typically schools of choice. They are public schools that operate outside of many district and union rules.

Boasberg says that if the district provides the facilities, charters must be open to everyone. "They will equally be neighborhood schools," he said.

"It does make an enormous change in the argument about charter schools," said Chris Gibbons, head of West Denver Prep Charter School.

At his schools, Gibbons asks families to sign contracts agreeing to meet standards for attendance, classroom and school behavior, uniforms and appropriate language and addressing of peers and teachers.

Gibbons said that if the recommendation is approved, he and his team will go into the neighborhoods and talk with families whose students will be attending the schools.

If families don't like his program, Gibbons and his team will tell them about their other choices. "I think that's how it should be for all schools," he said.

At the meeting Monday, the district also revealed recommendations for the future of three DPS schools: Lake Middle School, Philips Elementary and Greenlee K-8; along with three charter schools that are up for renewal: Skyland Community Charter High School, Northeast Academy and P.S. 1 Charter School.

Among the turnaround schools, the most controversial plans have been created for Lake Middle School in northwest Denver — the third-worst performing school in DPS and the district's worst secondary school.

Community members have asked the district to allow the school's International Baccalaureate program to continue.

"The absolute focus here has to be what will produce the best outcomes for students. Sometimes, that will be exactly what the teachers are suggesting and what community groups are suggesting. Sometimes, it will not," Boasberg said.

The district presented three options for Lake but recommended only one that includes the continuation of Lake's IB program with a new principal, a new staff and a smaller group of students. The program would be halved to serve about 300 students.

West Denver Prep's middle school would share Lake's campus, also serving about 300 students. Lake's current enrollment boundary would be split between the new Lake and West Denver Prep.

Additionally, DPS's recommendations would close programs at Philips Elementary and Skyland Community High School.

DPS would give P.S. 1 Charter School one year to develop a high-quality program or face closure. And it would require Northeast Academy Charter School to find a management organization to help it improve its academic rigor.

"I am encouraged," said former Denver Mayor Federico Peña, chairman of the A-Plus Denver panel that advises DPS. "But we want to see the same kind of focus on the 30 or 40 other troubled schools in the district."

Jeremy P. Meyer: 303-954-1367 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com