Performance And Pensions In Denver Schools

Performance And Pensions In Denver Schools

Summary: When thinking of Denver, Colorado, do you think of beautiful, snow-capped peaks soaring into the heavens? The Denver Schools system has goals that resemble high mountainsattainable yet challenging. The Denver Schools district has three overarching goals:

. Set high expectations for all students . Raise the overall achievement level . Close the achievement gap

To meet these goals, the district is focusing on six strategies, which include enhancing literacy a...

Denver Schools

Article Body: When thinking of Denver, Colorado, do you think of beautiful, snow-capped peaks soaring into the heavens? The Denver Schools system has goals that resemble high mountainsattainable yet challenging. The Denver Schools district has three overarching goals:

. Set high expectations for all students . Raise the overall achievement level . Close the achievement gap

To meet these goals, the district is focusing on six strategies, which include enhancing literacy and math skills, offering more after-school help, strengthening middle and high schools, improving professional development for principals and teachers, and increasing parental involvement.

The Denver Schools system is widely recognized as one of the best urban school systems in the country. Its roots can be traced to , when the city was founded. The Denver Schools district was officially created in when voters approved a constitutional amendment that created the City and County of Denver.

Denver Schools are made up of elementary schools, K- schools, middle schools, high schools, charter schools, other schools, and alternative schools. Student enrollment as of October , was ,. % of students are Hispanic, % are White, % are Black, % are Asian, and % is American Indian. % (or ,) of Denver Schools students are English Language Learners, and , students are Spanish speakers. Another , students speak one of other languages. Denver Schools offer an impressive array of foreign language classes. These include Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Lakota, Latin, Russian, and Spanish. , teachers are employed by the Denver Schools district, and the average teacher salary is $,. Denver Schools have a graduation rate of .%, and a dropout rate (which considers all students in grades through ) of .%.

Performance and statistics are not the only issues affecting the Denver Schools system. A proposal by Superintendent Michael Bennet to cut the districts pension plan is under heated discussion by board members and teachers alike. Bennets plan is to pay J.P. Morgan .% a year for the use of $ million. This would allow the district to use about $ million that would have gone into the pension and put it into the classroom instead. Of course, the Denver Schools system must ultimately fund the pension; any short-term losses would be their responsibility. The district asserts that it is committed to funding the pension plan, and is making all the contributions it has committed to. The pension board sees this plan differently. They fear that if the money doesnt earn .% each year, they will lose money in the deal. (.% is the sum of the .% and the districts withheld monies) Also according to the pension board, the proposal prepared by J.P. Morgan would have the pension fund borrow $ million at .% interest, using its $. billion in assets as collateral. Some see this as a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul. If, and its a big IF opponents argue, the fund returns .%, the district could use that percentage point difference (which would equal approximately $ million) in the classroom instead. The showdown between the Denver Schools and the pension board comes as the district is also considering closing schools as a way to cope with its deteriorating finances. In the past four years, Denver Schools have cut $. million dollars from its budget.