Adams 14 prepares case for local control in advance of State Board hearing
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Loading... - Belle Rolland
- 12 Apr 2022
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Facing a hearing this week that could determine the fate of Adams 14 schools, district leaders plan to ask the state to trust local leaders to oversee their own plan to improve schools.
The state has threatened to dissolve the 6,100-student school district, which serves mostly working-class suburbs north of Denver and has received the state’s lowest ratings since 2010. Adams 14 leaders will argue that they have both the will and the skills to pull up the district themselves.
State Board of Education members have expressed concern about local leadership after the school board fired an external management company, MGT Consulting. A state panel of outside experts has recommended closing the main high school and reorganizing the district.
Thursday’s hearing will consist of two parts. In the morning, the State Board of Education will consider how to improve the district as a whole. Those orders could include changes at the high school, despite district leaders telling the community the high school’s future is not on the agenda.
In the afternoon, the State Board will hear recommendations for Central Elementary.
In both hearings, State Board members will consider information from education department staff, an external review panel’s report, the district’s own plan, and public feedback.
While the review panel’s recommendations have been public for some weeks, the district has been less open about its own plans.
Documents given to the state and recent public meetings give some insight.
Adams 14 leaders propose hiring a new external manager overseen by the district, instead of one that would have full authority over the district.
They propose turning Central Elementary into a community school with partners that would provide resources to address non-academic issues that could affect children’s abilities to learn.
The district, which refused to grant an interview, has not presented a plan specifically for the high school. It has publicly insisted that the state would not decide the school’s fate this month.
But a spokesperson for the state confirmed that the State Board can order changes to the high school, or any school, on Thursday. Read More...
