AURORA | A framework for how to move toward implementing Aurora Public Schools’ plan to turnaround long-struggling Central High School got initial support from the state board of education last week, but the loosely-defined “innovation” plan is raising some concerns.
The Colorado Board of Education voted 5-2 in favor of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with APS on how to craft a plan that Superintendent Rico Munn said will give school staff more flexibility to fix the struggling school and get the community more involved with the school.
But two board members — Pam Mazanec and Debora Scheffel — voted against the MOU, saying it lacked specifics.
Scheffel said that based on dozens of letters from community members, the situation at Central seems dire. But the plan APS is backing is short on specifics about how the district will improve the school.
“They are very vague, and I feel like they are intellectual documents,” she said of the plan.
When the APS Board of Education backed the MOU early this month, some there had similar reservations but the vote was still unanimous.
Munn has said while the plan being crafted seems vague now, that won’t be the case in the coming months after community members, school leaders, students and district officials draft specifics about what changes will be made at Central.
Munn said the district didn’t need the state board’s approval yet, but wanted to get initial approval — what he called “a gentleman’s agreement” — so they can begin that work before seeking the board’s formal approval later this year. Right now, questions about whether the state would back the eventual innovation plan lead to their own challenges, Munn said.
“We are going to start that work no matter what, but we would like to have a sense of settledness and stability,” he said.
Under state law, schools such as Aurora Central — once placed on a five-year “Priority Improvement Plan” — have to launch dramatic changes after the fifth year if they haven’t turned things around by the end of the fourth year. As of now, 30 other schools around the state are facing the same situation.
Munn has said the innovation model will allow Central staff some autonomy and give them the flexibility to improve student performance as they see fit. Plus, Munn said, the model requires cooperation between staff, community members, district leaders, state officials and others.