For information on innovation school renewal, click here.
For information on innovation school renewal, click here.
DPS is committed to providing great schools for every student in every neighborhood, and our work is grounded in the following beliefs.
Through our family of high quality, diverse, autonomous public schools, including district-run traditional, district-run innovation, innovative management organizations (IMOs), innovation zones (iZones) and charter schools, we work to make these beliefs a reality – ensuring equity in school choice and accountability. This family of schools, sometimes known as a “portfolio” of schools, replaces a one-size-fits-all approach to education.
DPS’ Authorizing & Accountability team (A&A) helps ensure all our schools, regardless of governance type, serve all students, have access to all district resources, and are held accountable in equitable ways. We refer to this commitment to equity across our family of schools as the “Three Equities” that are described below.
Equity of Responsibility and Access means that everyone in our family of schools must offer equitable and open access to all students regardless of socioeconomic status, disability, home language, or other status and share an equal obligation in District-wide responsibilities, such as:
Equity of Accountability refers to the shared accountability system that applies to all schools through the School Performance Framework and the School Performance Compact. This system ensures a common set of expectations for academic performance across our family of schools.
Equity of Opportunity means that the schools have equitable resources (most notably funding), support services from DPS and available facilities.
Read the report here.
Background: The state of Colorado Innovation Act allows schools to seek innovation status that provides autonomy in specific areas so schools can implement different approaches to serving students. In alignment to this statute, Denver Public Schools (DPS) adopted a Board policy in 2011 on innovation status that lays out a framework by which schools can create innovation plans and seek innovation status through specific waivers.
DPS Family of Schools
We offer diverse school models and programs across our more than 200 schools that promote school empowerment and family choice.
Learn about our family of schools »Giving Families Choice
We offer every DPS student and family the opportunity to choose the best school for them, and we create new schools as needed to ensure access to high-quality schools in every neighborhood.
Learn about SchoolChoice »Empowering Schools
We develop and manage systems and authorize processes that provide flexibility and empowerment to the DPS family of schools.
Learn how we empower schools »Assessing School Performance
Our schools are responsible for serving all students with excellence, so we track and measure school performance and hold each school accountable for its results.
Learn how we assess schools »