The Colorado Legacy Foundation believes that increased student achievement for all Colorado students requires effective leaders in every school, effective educators in every classroom, and healthy and engaged students who come to school ready to learn.

Table of Contents

Colorado Integration Project Overview

Overview of the Colorado Integration Districts

Integration Districts – Frequently Asked Questions

Videos and Presentations from June 20th Conference

Background Information

Videos and Presentations from June 20th Conference

Click below to view presentations from our June 20th conference.

Welcome, Introduction and CDE’s Key Initiatives by Robert Hammond, Commissioner of Education

Integration Grant Introduction by Helayne Jones, Colorado Legacy Foundation

I. Classroom Tools to Change Practice

Synopsis by Angela Norlander, Principal Consultant, CDE Office of Standards and Assessments

Literacy Design Collaborative by Susan Weston, Kentucky Education Consultant

Math Design Collaborative by Ann Shannon, Consultant, Ann Shannon & Associates

Instructional Tool – Math Design Collaborative by Laura Galchick, Craig Reinhart, and Jennifer Barret from Kenton County School District, Kentucky

Instructional Tool – Literacy Design Collaborative I by Kathy Thiebes, Centennial School District, Oregon

Instructional Tool – Literacy Design Collaborative II by Gary McCormick, Rachel McCormick, and Michelle Buroker from Kenton County School District, Kentucky

II. Tools to Improve Teacher Performance

Synopsis by Diana Sirko, Deputy Commissioner, CDE

Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) by Steve Cantrell, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

III. Tools for Capacity Building

Synopsis by Dan Domagala, Chief Information Officer, CDE

Strategic Data Project by Tracy Keenan, Strategic Data Fellow, Accountability Research and Evaluation, DPS and Connie Casson, Executive Director, Accountability Research and Evaluation, DPS

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Background Information

Integrate: To form, coordinate or blend into a functioning whole

 

Merriam Webster Dictionary

The Colorado Legacy Foundation (CLF), in partnership with the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) and thirteen local school districts (the Integration Districts), has launched a 3 year project designed to significantly improve the number and rate of students who graduate from Colorado high schools ready for college or work.  Two recently enacted state education reforms provide a strong framework for the proposed work:  the integration of the new Colorado Academic standards (including the Common Core Standards), with aligned instructional supports and Senate Bill 10-191, Colorado’s grounding-breaking legislation to establish a performance-based educator evaluation system statewide.

This Integration project is driven by a theory of change that builds upon 30 years of research and experience:  begin with clear, high standards of expected outcomes for students (the Colorado Academic Standards),  create accountability for growth toward attainment of those outcomes (the Colorado Growth Model and its representation through SchoolVIEW™), and fuel that growth by providing educators with the tools they need to be effective with all students (instructional models, strong formative practices and ongoing feedback).

The project activities therefore involve the integrated implementation of:

• New academic standards and aligned instructional materials to guide instruction.
• Professional development in formative practice to inform instruction.
• Regular performance evaluations that hold educators accountable for student growth and provide them feedback to improve instruction.

The integration of these elements produces a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts; one that can influence the alignment and focus of constituent elements to achieve higher levels of implementation quality and impact on student readiness for college and work than any single element could achieve in isolation.

The Integration project involves a dual emphasis on capacity building at the state level as well as the local level.  Such an emphasis is important in Colorado, a local control state, where the state sets academic standards and holds districts accountable for outcomes, but where local districts make many of the critical decisions about curriculum, instruction and programs, and professional development.

A number of districts in Colorado currently have some of the constituent elements in place, but none have yet integrated these elements in a systematic, systemic and sustainable manner.  Accordingly, the local-level work focuses on selecting and supporting four Integration Districts that will accelerate and integrate implementation of new educator performance evaluation systems and the Colorado Academic Standards using instructional tools aligned to those standards.

The state level work will be sequenced slightly behind the local level work to leverage lessons learned and exemplars and implementation strategies developed by the Integration Districts at the local level to build statewide capacity to implement strong performance evaluation systems that are aligned with instructional supports and the Colorado Academic Standards.   State-level work by CDE and CLF will involve:

• identification, collection and development of educator evaluation tools for use in new performance evaluations
• identification of measures of academic growth for use in performance evaluations;
• identification, collection and development of instructional tools and resources to support implementation of Colorado Academic Standards
• dissemination of these tools and materials statewide through an online resource bank, annual showcase conferences, and other mechanisms
• monitoring implementation by Integration Districts (and later other districts) and intervening when necessary
• business planning to sustain the work beyond the grant period

A central focus of each of the grant activities is the development of capacity at the local and state levels to sustain as well as expand the scope and reach of the work beyond the expiration of the grant period.

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If you would like materials from our June 20th conference, email Jean De la Mata at jdelamata@colegacy.org.