At the other end of the poverty – and fund-raising – spectrum is Johnson Elementary in southwest Denver, which reported fewer than $3,000 in private gifts in 2010-11.

If a donation of five or six figures came through the door of the school, where 96 percent of students are low-income, said Principal Robert Beam, “You’d be writing a story about a principal who is dancing in the streets all day long.”

The timing of the story is remarkable. Why? Yesterday substantial checks went out to 14 metro area public schools and 2 public charter management organizations (CMOs) serving high-poverty student populations, with awards totaling $500,000. And they didn’t just go out to schools based on need, but to schools with a proven record of serving their students well:

Award winners were selected based on a variety of factors, including academic performance and growth, percentage of students qualifying for the Federal free and reduced lunch benefit, school culture, leadership, and instructional effectiveness.

So states the media release from the benefactor Foundation For Great Schools, a coalition of five private Colorado foundations, including the Daniels Fund (which also helps support my Education Policy Center friends). When they cite “academic performance and growth,” they aren’t kidding. All 16 recipients earn an A or B from the new Colorado School Grades site:

• Montview Math and Science Elementary (Aurora)
• Tollgate Elementary (Aurora)
• South Elementary (Brighton)
• Ricardo Flores Magon Academy (Charter School Institute – Westminster)
• Community Leadership Academy middle school (Charter School Institute – Commerce City)
• Beach Court Elementary (Denver)
• Bryant Webster Dual Language K-8 middle school (Denver)
• Denver School of Science and Technology CMO (Denver)
• Girls Athletic Leadership School (Denver)
• Greenwood ECE-8 middle school (Denver)
• KIPP Sunshine Peak Academy (Denver)
• West Denver Prep CMO (Denver)
• Deane Elementary (Jeffco)
• Stein Elementary (Jeffco)
• East Elementary (Littleton)
• Valley View K-8 elementary school (Mapleton)

I haven’t seen any reports indicating increased street-dancing activity taking place near any of the above schools. Yet while various kinds of celebrations may take place at each of those centers of learning, I will study up on the definition of this great word philanthropy. Remember: You can find more information on Colorado schools and the open enrollment process at the fantastic, parent-friendly School Choice for Kids website.

The National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) is a four-year-old program (younger than me!) that has demonstrated successful results in increasing the number of students who pass Advanced Placement (AP) exams in math and science, particularly among underprivileged students. The Colorado Legacy Foundation has reported similar positive results here in our state for the seven schools who participated in a less-than-fully-vamped version of the program in 2010-11.

The news? The effective math and science program is expanding dramatically in Colorado:

But it’s still unclear how well the National Math and Science Initiative’s AP program could work in Colorado because some incentives — such as payments to students who get high scores — were dropped when Colorado didn’t get federal Race to the Top funds to fully implement the program in 2010-2011. Educators are waiting to hear whether grant money will be available to expand it in coming years.

The program, which originated in Dallas, aims to expand access to tough AP classes to lower-income students, Hispanics and African Americans, and to help them pass AP tests administered by the College Board. It uses a mix of teacher training, open enrollment in AP classes, and $100 for teachers and students for each passing score.

Sources assure me that $1.5 million has been raised from a number of generous private sources, ensuring a $15 million federal matching grant for the full-fledged program in 30 Colorado high schools representing 14 different districts–including Denver Public Schools, Mesa Valley 51 (Grand Junction), Cherry Creek, Littleton and Eagle County. Given the track records out there, this news is potentially a big thing.

Working very closely with NMSI is the nonprofit organization Laying the Foundation, which focuses on preparing middle and high school teachers to provide rigorous and engaging instruction that promotes student success in the AP program. This video from Ruston High School in Louisiana gives an example of the organization’s effective work. Also noteworthy: LTF’s chief executive officer is the same Dave Saba who once appeared in a former role on an iVoices podcast about alternative teacher licensure.

Small world, isn’t it? Just in case you’re concerned, I am resisting any and all urges to start singing the song that has made Disneyland famous. No need to cause a stir, when the news I’m sharing today should cause a much better kind of stir. Best wishes for success on the Advanced Placement Teacher Incentive Program to the Legacy Foundation, NMSI, LTF, and the Colorado teachers and students they reach.

Just like families make different choices based on their students’ educational needs, so many of their fallback scenarios will be different. FOX 31 News highlights one Castle Rock family:

Two of Becky Barnes’ kids were enrolled in the voucher program. Now unable to pay their private school tuition she is working hard to get them enrolled in public schools. Her first grader will go back to the neighborhood school.

Her 7th grader will attend cyber school. Other families are choosing to stay at their private school and pay the tuition.

Becky Barnes is one of three parents whose emergency education plans were documented today in an article by Karin Piper. Another parent was Diana Oakley, mother of Nate Oakley, for whom things seem to be working out at least for now:

Humanex [Academy], she said, had been so gracious to her and her family.

When she spoke with them yesterday the school leaders had agreed with her that she had done what was right for Nathaniel. This, Humanex said, was their goal too. They had told Diana that they would honor their agreement with her and hope that the $4,500 the school would stand to possibly lose, would somehow work out too. Nobody has the details or firm solutions, but Nate would not be feeling the consequences.

Diana is so grateful to Humanex and will continue supporting Douglas County School Board in their quest to overturn last week’s verdict.

Another good outcome in the short-term highlighted in Piper’s article appears to have worked out for Melissa Grissom and her son Ashton, who had found a great fit at Valor Christian:

Valor had sent out a letter telling the families they do not want anyone to feel like they have to leave. The pilot program had been a risk for the district, the families—and the private schools alike. While $4,500 multiplied by the significant number of students Valor has accepted with the scholarships is too much for Valor to absorb, they asked everyone to prayerfully consider contributing more. This is admittedly an offer that Valor cannot guarantee for every year, so there is still a level of risk involved.

Valor, like Humanex, does not want the children to leave.

As Head of School Kurt Unruh explained in his email to the school’s Choice Scholarship families, they are doing all they can to ensure these students can stay on board at Valor through the 2011-12 school year. After that, it’s up in the air.

While some scholarship families are finding relief and good outcomes in the wake of potentially devastating news from Denver District Court, that isn’t the case for all. A neat website called Mile High Mamas notes a couple examples of concern:

[Private school Woodlands Academy in Castle Rock] still has more than a week before classes begin, but students who must return to Douglas County schools will get a late start on an academic year that, at many schools, began Aug. 1.

What’s more, any student who gave up a spot in a charter school to participate in the voucher program may have trouble reclaiming that seat, as many have waiting lists.

On the other hand, Mile High Mamas also features the good news that the Institute for Justice will appeal the injunction ruling. There is some added reason for hope, given yesterday’s other good news that an Indiana judge denied an injunction request on a similar new program enacted by the state of Indiana. Concerned families still await the Douglas County School District’s decision on a possible appeal.

In 2007, after four years of operation, Life Skills was in danger of having its charter revoked and being shut down. The State Board intervened to save the school after the DPS board’s vote based on legitimate concerns with poor results that showed up on testing measures. As Denise at Colorado Charters noted back then, new principal Santiago Lopez had already taken steps to improve the school. And Alan at Ed News Colorado came around to seeing Life Skills as a “special case” that deserved to stay open:

If DPS had a viable alternative for these kids, one that was being drained by the existence of Life Skills, I’d favor shutting down the school. But these are kids DPS has given up on, and vice-versa. What possible harm is there in giving them another chance, even if it’s less than ideal?

This week’s visit to Life Skills demonstrated that the Denver charter remains on course with Lopez at the helm. State and district performance measures raise concerns. Yet students come in way behind, and most show average or better academic growth results. The attendance rate is only 53 percent, which represents a significant improvement from before the current principal’s tenure.

It goes to show a large part of the battle is getting these at-risk students — about three-fourths of whom come from all over the city, and the rest from surrounding districts — to show up and take responsibility for their success. And while some still slip through the cracks, the hard work and incentives used by Lopez and his staff are having an impact. Those who attend consistently are making up serious ground on their academic deficits, and many are graduating and taking a significantly improved change of course in life.

In particular, the success stories presented by recent and soon-to-be Life Skills graduates at the Wednesday event show that the school is making an unmistakeably profound impact on some of their students’ lives. All the best in the future to Chantelle and Regis and others who shared their compelling testimonials. What about the students who don’t cut it, in spite of all efforts, you say? Each case is sad, yet as Alan pointed out a few years ago, the system already had set them aside.

As a charter school, Life Skills has the freedom to restructure and redesign the learning experience in a way that gives otherwise discarded teens and young adults a better chance to succeed. That in itself is no magic formula. But a supportive and visionary board, strong school leadership, a capable and committed staff, and the tools to deliver an engaging curriculum thankfully means more success stories. As long as students continue to choose this alternative option and the school stays on its current trajectory, Life Skills will continue proving its worthy role in the metro Denver community.

The public charter sector in Denver is brimming with activity and opportunity for greater growth. Highly successful West Denver Prep and KIPP Sunshine Peak were among those proposing expansions to the board. Other proposals were two all-boys (Yippee!) charter schools — Miller-McCoy Academy and Sims-Fayola International Academy.

Now I can only imagine what that lady Diane Ravitch might have to say about these new educational opportunities for Denver students. Given her recent rude remarks about charter schools, you would think they came from someone of my tender age, not from someone of such (ahem) maturity. But I hope she opts to say nothing about Denver’s new prospective charter schools — that is, if she can’t say anything nice.

But I digress. Also presented to the DPS board were ideas for three new grassroots “performance schools”:

• Creativity Challenge Community Performance School
• School of Life Performance Middle School
• Generation Performance Secondary School

All in all, I think this may indicate little Eddie once again will need to get busy providing you with some more glimpses at new schools in Colorado.

First and foremost, the group Stand for Children Colorado yesterday announced well-deserved recognition, along with giving out $1,000 each, to 10 superhero teachers across the state:

At Stand for Children, we’ve seen the impact a great teacher can make. And after reading nearly 100 nominations for outstanding teachers across the state, we know you have, too. Please join us in celebrating the ten teachers listed below who have won $1,000 to recognize and reward their commitment.

The list includes teachers from Evans to Grand Junction and all along the Front Range, teachers who represent the elementary and middle and high school levels, as well as six neighborhood schools, three charters and an alternative school. Congratulations to each and every one of them! Read the entries to see what their nominations had to say about them.

Now for something mostly different. Matt Ladner this morning has accepted — on behalf of Lindsey Burke as well — a prestigious Bunkum Award from the “NEA’s ‘academic’ mouthpiece” for their Heritage Foundation analysis of Florida’s success in closing the racial achievement gap. Rich with irony, Ladner explains how their Think Tank Project critic actually published a table undermining her critique and how she ignored some earlier work he had done with Dan Lips, then of the Heritage Foundation.

Some of us out here in the hinterlands confess to being a little envious, but send out kudos for the important honor. I also am glad he chose not to use his acceptance “speech” to ramble on and thank all the little people. I say that, despite so often being considered a little person myself. Mom says I still have a lot of growing to do, you know.

The collaboration is focused on aligning academics and empowering parents — providing them with training, taking them to visit colleges, encouraging them to volunteer and getting them to attend parent-teacher conferences.

Not long ago, it was typical for only 100 parents to attend parent-teacher conferences at the high school. This year, an estimated 1,500 parents showed up.

Wow, that’s a huge improvement! No doubt parental involvement is an important contributing factor to student success. That includes the research-based findings that show students fare better when their parents actively choose the school their children attend. And even better if they make a well-informed choice. That’s one of the main reasons my Education Policy Center friends have created and maintain the very valuable School Choice for Kids website.

So yeah, my first instinct would be to hesitate at my mom and dad showing up at every parent-teacher conference. (Kind of like my hesitation at having to eat broccoli and other green vegetables for dinner.) But on the other hand, odds are that kind of interaction is only going to benefit my academic success in the long run. When parents choose a school, especially if they choose wisely, their involvement means that much more.

The big news, alas, isn’t news at all, which is that proficiency levels remain dreadfully low in both reading and math (worse in math), that gains have been tiny, that college readiness is nowhere near what it ought to be, that the achievement gap hasn’t narrowed by a micron….

Second, Education Sector’s Chad Aldeman observes that the headlines “are grim: reading scores are down a total of four points since 1992, while math scores are up from 2005, the only prior year of testing, and achievement gaps are relatively stagnant.”

Finally, two experts quoted in an Education Week story came to somewhat different conclusions:

“Yes, there have been gains [for 12th grade], and they’re significant, but overall, the results are still disappointing, especially in comparison to the big gains at 4th and 8th grade,” said Tom Loveless, a Brookings Institution senior fellow who follows NAEP trends.

And:

Michael W. Kirst, a Stanford University professor emeritus of education who focuses on college-readiness issues, saw the 12th grade NAEP scores as an encouraging sign that more students are building the skills necessary to succeed in postsecondary education. Mr. Kirst, who has examined the new math and reading frameworks in depth, said they are far more rigorous and demand skills much better matched to college than previous testing blueprints, so overall score gains of 2 and 3 points since 2005 are notable because they reflect progress on a tougher exam.

Also of interest, this release of 12th-grade NAEP scores was the first to include a state-by-state breakdown. But only 11 states volunteered to participate. Colorado was not among them.

While certainly some of the new schools I’ve highlighted will be eligible for funding, there’s another new school featured today in the Fort Collins Coloradoan:

Wednesday was the first day of classes for approximately 200 students at Liberty Common High, 2745 Minnesota Drive. The high school is an extension of Liberty Common School, a tuition-free charter school contracted through the Poudre School District.

For now, seventh- through 10th-grade students inhabit the building, a 27,000-square-foot facility with 14 classrooms, a library and a large space being used as the gym, auditorium and lunchroom, said Bob Schaffer, director of secondary schools for Liberty Common. The building, which formerly housed a now-defunct charter school, underwent some minor renovations during the summer to get it ready for students this fall, Schaffer said.

Liberty Common School will expand into a K-12 school by the fall of 2012, Schaffer said. Students in kindergarten through sixth grade will continue to attend classes at the other Liberty Common facility, 1725 Sharp Point Dr.

Yes, THAT Bob Schaffer — current chairman of the State Board of Education, among many other things.

I don’t know who wrote it, but you really have to read the news from Liberty Common High School. Entertaining, informative, encouraging, optimistic, compelling… all in one! On the surface at least, this looks like a successful school in the making (following in the tradition of Liberty Common K-8). Can’t wait to see the results!

This year, I’ve decided to get an earlier head start while we head for the mid-summer doldrums. To kick off the 2010-11 edition, it seems appropriate to highlight the offspring of some golden oldies. I’ve written before about West Denver Prep middle school and Denver School of Science and Technology (DSST) — both top-notch, “distinguished” charter schools.

The great news is that these schools won’t be contained, but rather are multiplying under successful models and sound leadership. The 2010-11 school year doubles the number of West Denver Prep campuses from two to four, with new sites shared at Lake Middle School (starting with 6th graders only) and Emerson Street School.

And DSST (the original campus in the Stapleton neighborhood contains both a middle school and a high school) will open a second campus in far northeast Denver’s Green Valley Ranch. If DSST II hits the same trajectory of getting 100 percent of students ready to succeed and complete four-year college, it will have done a great service.

For the sake of the students they serve, here’s wishing continued and growing success for two of Colorado’s most remarkable charter schools as they expand into the 2010-11 school year and beyond.