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LETTER OF INTENT TO APPLY District-Sponsored Application to Restart Greenlee Elementary Restart School: Grade Configuration:
Greenlee Community School - “Home of the Stars, Heart of the City” Birth to Fifth Grade
Model or Focus:
Model: Birth to Fifth Grade Community School Vision: Student Agency Every Greenlee student will develop lifelong agency by becoming adaptable, wellbalanced individuals who envision possibility in all environments. Mission: Talent Development Greenlee Elementary identifies and develops student talents through a comprehensive birth through fifth-grade program of academics and enrichment.
Primary Contact:
Sheldon Reynolds 720-424-6800
[email protected]
Region and Neighborhood: Proposed Leader:
La Alma Lincoln Park, Greenlee Elementary Boundary Sheldon Reynolds
Replication:
Yes ☐ No ☒
Contract with ESP/EMO:
Yes ☐ No ☒
Enrollment Projections:
Grades
2018-19
2019-20
2020-21
2021-22
ECE
55
55
55
55
55
Kindergarten
55
55
55
55
55
1st Grade
50
55
55
55
55
2nd Grade
50
50
55
55
55
3rd Grade
50
50
50
55
55
4th Grade
50
50
50
50
55
5th Grade
50
50
50
50
50
Total # of Students
360
365
370
375
380
Student Demographics
2022-23
FRL %
SWD %
ELL %
Direct Certified %
94%
13%
31%
70%
Mission ● ●
●
Model: Birth to Fifth Grade Community School Vision: Student Agency ○ Every Greenlee student will develop lifelong agency by becoming adaptable, well-balanced individuals who envision possibility in all environments. Mission: Talent Development ○ Greenlee Elementary identifies and develops student talents through a comprehensive birth through fifth-grade program of academics and enrichment.
Brief Overview of Our Education Program Building on our 2015-16 Success and New Leadership’s Track Record In an effort to significantly improve academic performance at Greenlee Elementary, DPS conducted a rigorous principal hiring process and selected me to lead the school transformation effort at Greenlee in the fall of 2015. I was selected to lead this important school improvement process based on several factors, including my commitment to community empowerment and track record as a highly successful principal who founded and led a high achieving school with similar student demographics, Lakewood Montessori Middle School, in Durham, NC. As the founding principal at Lakewood, I designed an innovative instructional and cultural system that fostered excellence. I ensured that high quality teachers continued to develop professionally, that parents were included in shaping the school, and that daily actions at the school were driven by our core values and standards-based instruction. As a result of these efforts, Lakewood earned national recognition with the “School of Excellence” designation in 2014 and 2015. For example, student growth measurements consistently met or exceeded expectations from 2012 through 2015. Student enrollment increased from 65 students to 300 students plus a wait list during this time. Additionally, staff retention rates were continually recognized as one of the highest in the district, which indicates a very positive school culture for teachers and for students. I applied many of these successful strategies during my first year as principal at Greenlee Elementary. After just one year, my first year at Greenlee Elementary, data shows significant improvements in both school culture and academic performance. In collaboration with staff leadership teams and the school community, I have been driving progress at Greenlee through the creation of the Possibility Plan, a new school plan designed specifically to meet the needs of our community and student population. Through this process in collaboration with parents, community members, and school staff, we identified targeted areas for school improvement and began implementing the major tenets of the Possibility Plan. This effort has resulted in exceptional one-year school improvement data in my first year as principal at Greenlee, as well as overwhelming support from the Greenlee school community. In 2015-16, my first year at Greenlee, the Greenlee team improved the school’s SPF performance dramatically.
Significant SPF Improvements The progress made at Greenlee in 2015-16 is not fully portrayed in the SPF, as that measure is based on the average of multiple years of data. Performance: 2014 - 2016 ● Greenlee received an SPF Rating higher than 35 schools on the Traditional SPF in 2016. ● Greenlee improved from an overall rating of Accredited on Probation (RED) to Accredited on Priority Watch (ORANGE). Greenlee was only 1.52 percent of points on the SPF away from Accredited on Watch (YELLOW). ● Greenlee improved key early indicators of success of MGP Reading from Does not Meet (RED) in 2013-14 to Approaching (YELLOW) in 2015-16. ● Greenlee experienced an improvement of 10 percent in SPF performance (28% in 2013-14 to 38% in 2015-16).
Performance: 2015-16 only Based on the 2015-16 SPF measures alone, Greenlee is no longer “persistently low-performing.” Based on one-year data in the SPF, Greenlee would have: moved from Red to Yellow (27.5% to 44.3% of SPF points) increased student growth from Red to Yellow (27% to 49% of SPF growth points) increased Parent and Student Engagement & Satisfaction from Red to Yellow (17% to 44% of SPF Satisfaction points) increased Literacy Median Growth Percentile from Red to Green increased student attendance from Red to Green increased student satisfaction from Yellow to Green
Our School Design Process is based on Best Practices for School Turnaround and Community Empowerment My team and I recognize that there is more work to be done. We need to radically improve the outcomes and opportunities for our students. We are relentless in our work to ensure our students, staff, families, and community are empowered to implement a school model that is grounded in best practices for school turnaround. By valuing community input, utilizing school turnaround expertise, and implementing research-based practices, we have already begun significant work leading to the development of a community-informed plan to turn around Greenlee. This process is being led by the Community Design Team, in collaboration with the school’s Culture Leadership Team, Instructional Leadership Team and School Leadership Team. Each of these teams are pushing the school to improve in target areas to create a holistic, rigorous learning environment that benefits all students and capitalizes on their array of talents and backgrounds. These teams will continue to meet biweekly as the application is developed, with extra community engagement opportunities hosted once a month to ensure the true voice of the neighborhood is authentically included in the school design. The turnaround strategy is also driven by identifying current areas of opportunity at the school. As part of the School Performance Compact process, SchoolWorks conducted an audit and root-cause analysis of the existing school in fall 2016. This audit identified areas for growth, which are currently receiving significant attention and redesign efforts.
Key Elements of the Greenlee Possibility Plan At Greenlee, my team and I develop student talents through strong programming in the humanities, arts, math and science, sports, and leadership, using proven practices from gifted education including acceleration, enrichment, creativity, and problem-based learning. We focus on identifying talents and pushing students to excel in these areas. We embrace our differences and nurture students’ strengths, encouraging them to stand out instead of to conform. A significant opportunity gap currently exists, where students of color and students living in poverty do not have adequate access to gifted and talented programming or advanced academics and enrichment opportunities. At Greenlee, we are closing this gap by developing the talents of every student. We are teaching our students how to learn together with students from different cultures, backgrounds, and talents. This approach is deeply rooted in research on best practices in school turnaround. Our pillars are the core values that describe who we are, how we work together, and what we want for our students. Student Pillars ● ● ●
Healthy, acquiring balance between mind and body to promote our growth as a person and inspire growth within the community Expressive, appropriately communicating and advocating for ourselves and others through the arts and other means of expression Enlightened, thinking critically and envisioning possibility when exposed to a variety of experiences that build awareness and a well-informed outlook on life
Educator and Parent Pillars ● ● ●
Consistent, constantly adhering to the same guiding principles, ensuring predictability for our students and each other Collaborative, leading, participating and supporting each other in order to continuously improve and grow as a community Strategic, critically designing, planning and making decisions that intentionally serve a particular purpose for our students
In support of both the design of our Possibility Plan and our current implementation efforts, I am participating in a cohort in collaboration with the University of Virginia’s Partnership for Leaders in Education, a national leader in school turnaround, to gain further expertise regarding high leverage strategies for school restart focused on: climate and culture, datadriven instruction, instructional delivery, observation and feedback, professional development, and interventions. These elements will continue to be the focus of the targeted work with the staff, parents, and community members as we continue to develop the Possibility Plan together. Based on the measurable successes we have already achieved since I began my principalship, we fundamentally believe that given more time to build out and implement the Possibility Plan, student growth and achievement will continue to flourish at Greenlee. On behalf of the Community Design Team, I am pleased to provide this letter of intent. We fully commit to an intentional school design process that authentically engages the school community and will submit our plan to the Denver Public Schools on April 3, 2017. Join us, or follow us on Facebook as we continue to design the best school for our students and school community! To connect with us, visit facebook.com/greenleestars. Respectfully,
Sheldon S. Reynolds, Principal
