Innovating School

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Apr 1, 2016 - organizations throughout Colorado and beyond. The whole ... a lot of support,” says Jessica Goldstein, L
Innovating School A Denver high school’s journey towards personalized learning

CONTENTS 3

INTRODUCTION

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DESIGNING DSISD

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A LOOK INSIDE THE MODEL

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IMPLEMENTATION OPPORTUNITIES

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LOOKING AHEAD

April 2016

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To empower ALL students to own their learning, shape their dreams, and create a better world.

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INTRODUCTION

Vision of Denver School of Innovation and Sustainable Design

INTRODUCTION In Denver School of Innovation and Sustainable Design’s (DSISD) AP Human Geography class, Eric, a freshman student, checks off “Mastered” next to one set of competencies highlighted on a big poster board attached to the wall. He rings a loud bell before cheering and high-fiving his classmate, Lily, who is also tracking her mastery on the board. Down the hall, four students are working feverishly in Physics class to put the finishing touches on their eco-friendly, sustainable model home that they are wiring with real electricity. They divide the tasks, working together to decide what needs to get done and the questions they still have. One student steps away from the group for a few minutes to join another small group, led by a teacher, for a short lesson in electromagnetism. Across the hall, students are practicing sophisticated drawing skills as a baseline competency for engineering, using the support of their teacher and content delivered in playlists, online curricula that lets them move at their own pace and activate materials that are just right for them. Later in the day learners are practicing guitar, some are two miles away at a district elementary school tutoring first-graders in reading, while others are in the midst of a presentation on the new recycling program they are launching in the spring for the whole school. Each is traveling on their own personalized path, picking and moving through the learning experiences that work for them in order to master the skills and competencies necessary to excel in school, college, and the world beyond – and innovation and design is the beat that moves through it all. “I don’t learn just from reading a textbook, I have to do stuff,” says ninthgrader Robert when asked about why he chose DSISD for his high school experience. “DSISD is the perfect school for me.” Walking around DSISD, it’s clear doing is at the heart of DSISD, a new competencybased high school, the first of its kind, in Denver. And this “doing” that Robert is so psyched about is hands-on, authentic, in- and out- of the classroom learning all aimed at helping kids become innovators, change their worlds, and experience school in a way that’s personalized to their needs, learning styles, and pace.

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DESIGNING DSISD

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Watch this video to see how the DSISD team and partners went about designing their dream school.

DESIGNING DSISD

DESIGNING DSISD Principal Danny Medved, Lisa Simms, Dean of Curriculum and Instruction, and Matt Dodge, Dean of Personalization, all worked for years as teachers and leaders, so when the occasion presented itself to design their own school through Opportunity By Design with the Carnegie Corporation and Denver Public Schools’ (DPS) annual Call for New Quality Schools, they jumped at the chance. “When we came together we asked ourselves, ‘If we could build our dream school, what would it be?’” says Medved. “And one of the primary motivators we landed on was creating a place that put each student in the best possible position to shape and achieve their dreams.” To do that, the design team knew a competency-based learning model was the best fit — where students can move at their own pace, utilize a diverse set of learning opportunities to master content, and show what they know through a variety of means. “We wanted to focus more on student learning and mastery, rather than time,” says Medved. “To do that we needed to create a school and systems where kids can accelerate through the curriculum and move ahead, or if they need more time they can take it without consequence.” The flexibility and personalization of a competency-based model fit with the second part of these educators’ vision for their school — fueling young innovators. “The heart of our model was about creating innovators to make the world a better place,” says Simms. Many of their ideas came from the writings and research of Tony Wagner, who in his book Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World, interviews young people and identifies the qualities and habits that allow them to learn, be creative, generate solutions, and transform their lives and the world. The team took these qualities and used them as the starting place for the competencies that all learning would be based around at DSISD, calling them the Qualities and Competencies of Innovators.

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DSISD’S QUALITIES AND COMPETENCIES OF INNOVATORS

QUALITIES OF AN INNOVATOR: STUDENT COMPETENCIES DSISD’s Qualities and Competencies of Innovators emphasize that rigorous academics are essential, but also highlight the other elements that are indispensable for success in life, like investing in others, being healthy, effective communication and collaboration skills, and more. “DSISD incorporates the non-academic stuff of learning into the stuff of learning,” says Katherine Casey, Director of Ecosystem Innovation at the Imaginarium, Denver Public Schools’ innovation lab. “How kids care about their world and show up to their peers is as much a part of the learning experiences as geometry, algebra, and history.” It was also critical for the design team that this innovation lens was created with all types of learners and students in Denver in mind. “We want to create a community of students that are inclusive and accepting of each other,” says Otto Espinoza, Dean of Culture and Advisory. The final key piece of the design was creating a place where students were self-directed learners who truly owned their learning. “We knew that for our kids to get the most out of personalized learning experiences in and out of the classroom, they needed to have an enormous amount of agency,” says Medved. Giving kids choice to pursue their passions, while also providing relentless support and guidance for how to get there, was a critical component of how they designed the school. “As an adult when you engage in activities that you’re really passionate about or interested in, our learning takes on a whole new level,” says Dodge. “So we wanted to bring that to life in our school.” The team knew this level of passion was key to ensuring students bought into their learning experiences.

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“IF WE COULD BUILD OUR DREAM SCHOOL WHAT WOULD IT BE?” – DANNY MEDVED, PRINCIPAL

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LEARNING THROUGH DESIGN The DSISD design process stretched over a two-year period and was supported by the Imaginarium, along with a handful of other key partners (see page 10 for a full list). The design team learned a handful of lessons throughout the process.

DON’T GO TOO FAST – BUILD YOUR FOUNDATION.

“If you’re going to design a school, you likely have one crack at it,” says Medved. “So you want to really go in with the best game plan possible and go slow and do it well and intentionally.” For Medved that meant not rushing into design and instead taking an opportunity to serve as an assistant principal and complete a principal residency in strategic school design to really learn the key building blocks of creating and launching a school.

WORK TOGETHER TOWARDS YOUR VISION.

“You cannot do this alone,” says Medved. “It has to be a shared vision from the para-professional to the school leader.” The DSISD team used their vision as the lens in which all learning experiences and decisions were evaluated. “Does this choice help our kids own their learning, create and shape their dreams, and help make a better world?” says Medved. If not, the team knew it wasn’t worth pursuing. Plus, a shared vision helps the team stick together through the challenges that will undoubtedly occur. “There are going to be struggles since we’re all coming at it from different perspectives,” says Medved, “but our shared vision is what keeps us going.”

ESTABLISH NORMS.

As mentioned above, struggles are inevitable when you’re engaged in building something together, but having norms to talk through disagreements really proved crucial. The team had to be able to have robust dialogue with each other, and norms helped establish that culture.

BUILD FOR FOUR YEARS FROM NOW.

“A successful school is about the launch and the continuous action that goes along with it,” says Medved. While designing, DSISD was constantly thinking about the structures and processes that needed to be in place to ensure this is a long-game, a school that has longevity for its staff and is meeting the vision for all kids. The Imaginarium has been key in this, explains Medved, helping the team consider how to take their concepts and theories and really bring them to life. One method they utilize together is Plan-Do-Study-Act, a protocol that helps DSISD continuously monitor their model, assess and study what is working, and make adjustments and tweaks from there.

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A MIX OF OLD AND NEW.

Throughout the process, the design team visited schools locally and around the country to observe and study models that were working well. They collected their findings and used this to make decisions and build their school. “We got to spend a lot of time traveling the country and looking at different models, while also engaging in a design process that was really authentic to this city, to this neighborhood, and to the kids we’d serve. So that balance of old and new was an exciting creative opportunity,” says Casey. One example of where building on what already existed was a great design choice was on the technology front. DSISD knew technology was critical to making their competency-based, personalized vision come to life. For awhile they thought they would need to build their own system from scratch, until they saw Summit Public Schools’ open source personalized learning plan platform, explains Simms,which fit their needs more than anything else they had seen.

ASK KIDS.

While designing, the team interviewed dozens of middle schoolers from all around Denver, asking them what the best part of school had been for them so far and if they could design their own school, what would it look like? “We didn’t want to design a competency-based high school for one kind of student,” says Casey. “We wanted to design a school that was really for every type of learner.” The school has been built with this diversity of learners in mind, and its inaugural class is a true example of that — with young adults from every part of the city and a range of backgrounds and cultures, ensuring that the school is a place for all and helps close the opportunity gap.

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KEY DESIGN PARTNERS DSISD’s design and implementation has been supported through relationships with schools and organizations throughout Colorado and beyond. The whole DSISD team emphasized how both the design and launch of the school would not be possible without these partners and the support of the community, students, and families. “What excites me is we’re trying new things, but we’re doing it with a lot of support,” says Jessica Goldstein, Lead Science Teacher & Curriculum Coordinator during design. “Our families are right there by our side. We’re doing it with a lot of support from the district and from partners across the country. They all believe in us.”

“In order to prepare students to innovate and lead in the 21st century global society, DSISD provides personally empowering and culturally relevant learning experiences that foster the development of the whole child. Every DSISD student demonstrates growth toward mastering academic, interpersonal, creative and professional competencies. Through engaging in personalized learning experiences, real-world projects, and authentic service learning opportunities, students become innovators and design thinkers who will create a strong economic future and contribute to social and civic well-being, both locally and globally.” DSISD’S MISSION

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INSIDE THE MODEL

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Watch this video to see how DSISD approaches learning differently.

WHAT’S RADICALLY DIFFERENT

A LOOK INSIDE THE MODEL PERSONALIZED FOR YOU The competency-based, innovative-fueled model of DSISD means school looks different for each learner as they travel on their path. On a daily basis, this path includes projectbased learning — such as, building model homes, designing robotics, or solving design problems in career survey using research about different job sectors — small group instruction with teachers, and individual learning with playlists, curated sets of resources on personalized learning plans that help students master content. “The playlists are really a stepping-stone to get to the cognitive skills for projects,” says AP Human Geography Teacher Caitlin Ross. “And what’s really cool about the playlists is that kids can choose what they want to learn about. If we’re learning about development, some kids might get really into the resources about gender inequality in developing nations and others might want to learn something totally different, and they can because the resources are all there for them.” In all of the classes, and throughout the three modalities, this element of choice is there for learners along with the chance to move at their own pace. “I think it’s really cool learning at your own pace,” says ninth-grader Luis. “If you’re a fast learner you might get everything quickly. If you’re a slow learner you might need to take longer.”

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“I think what’s special about a competency-based environment is it’s so hopeful,” says Ross. “A student never reaches a point in the year where it’s not possible to be successful and they don’t have to wait for their peers to move onto the next thing. It accommodates students who are higher and students who are lower because speed doesn’t matter, it’s just the quality of your work.” All of the learning experiences are facilitated and managed through students’ personalized learning plan. Through what they call the PLP, the teenagers identify their goals, access their playlists, track their data of where they are excelling and where they need support, and map out their next learning needs. “The teacher isn’t the keeper of the data,” says Lead Math Teacher Molly Easley. “The students are the ones who get to look at their data and make a decision of what they need to know.”

THE CLASSROOM AND BEYOND

Watch this video for an inside look at what it’s like to be a student at DSISD.

DAY IN THE LIFE OF A DSISD STUDENT

Regardless of the pace, students demonstrate mastery in their core academic classes through cognitive skills assessed across all content areas. In addition to grades and cognitive skill mastery, students can demonstrate mastery on competencies through Reflective Justifications for competency badging. During Reflective Justifications, students reflect on experiences and artifacts, making connections to competencies as a method for showing evidence of learning.   “We can use an example of a project that we created to show a certain competency, like Scientific Investigation,” explains Robert, a student. Recently, for Robert that meant showing his teacher an electromagnet he built from scratch. “I learn best from drawing or taking notes or doing something, so in science class when we were talking about electromagnets I went home and built an electro-magnet myself. I came back to school the next day knowing everything I could know about the topic. It forced me to do the research and learn about it.” It also helped Robert move to the next level of learning, since he demonstrated he had mastered the material. 

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Grade 12

Social STEM-Engineering Entrepreneurship Capstone 1/2 Day at DSISD 1/2 Day at DSISD 1/2 Day at College 1/2 Day at College

Grade 11

Select Major and Begin Internships

Grade 10

Grade 9

Exploration of both STEM & Social Entrepreneurship

Another element that makes DSISD so special is how often kids learn outside the school walls while accessing college credits. The four-year trajectory for students (see graphic “Four Year Arc”) starts in ninth and tenth grade, with exposure to social entrepreneurship and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) during core academics, coupled with intensives. Intensives are two days during a semester where students and educators dive head first into their passions. “Kids get to go wherever they want, and learn about whatever they want,” says Simms. For example, a group of students who were passionate about animal rights spent their intensive visiting a local animal shelter to understand how animals were being protected in their city and they got to bring along a dog mascot. Other students went rock climbing; others hiking; a few created a mural. The opportunities are endless and designed by teachers with student interest in mind. In eleventh grade, students choose a major in STEM or social entrepreneurship and then pursue an internship in that field. By senior year they are spending half the day in concurrent enrollment classes on a college campus and half the day at school working on their Capstone projects. Each year they have access to a range of AP courses, which provides the chance to gain college credit letting them take advantage of Colorado’s Ascent Program, a national policy that lets students earn a year of college credit at no cost if they have earned a certain number of credits while still in high school.

“DSISD is a model for personalization in so many ways. It’s a school that’s truly designed around kids, what kids care about, how they need to learn, and acknowledges that kids have lots of different ways of learning and engaging with each other and content. It builds everything out from there.”

FOUR YEAR ARC This graphic shows the four-year trajectory of students at DSISD. In eleventh grade, students choose a major of either social entrepreneurship or STEM which helps map what their senior year will look like.

– KATHERINE CASEY, DIRECTOR OF ECOSYSTEM INNOVATION, DENVER PUBLIC SCHOOLS’ IMAGINARIUM 15

DSISD 4-YEAR COURSE OVERVIEW: A VISION DRIVEN COMMUNITY Here’s a look into the courses students take throughout their four years at DSISD. Each of these courses is focused on providing all DSISD students with high-value learning opportunities, in order to close the achievement gap and create opportunities that wouldn’t exist for many kids in more traditional schools. The classes and experience as a whole also ensures there are multiple on-ramps and skill supports for all types of learners. Like all elements of DSISD, the course plan brings to life the four levers of DSISD’s vision: Equity: ALL students have access to and success in high value learning opportunities Agency: Ownership of learning Relevance: Shaping your dreams and planning future for adult life Leadership: Creating a better world 

Grade 12

Language Arts

Honors Intro to Language and Composition AP Language & Composition

Honors Language and Composition AP Language & Composition

Honors American Literature ENG 121

AP Literature & Composition ENG 121 ENG 122

Social Studies

Honors Human Geography AP Human Geography

Honors Economics/Civics AP Government & Politics

Honors US History AP US History

World History AP World History College History Course

Science

Honors Physics

Honors Chemistry

Honors Biology AP Biology

AP Physics/ Chemistry/ Bio College Science Course Pre-Calculus AP Calculus/ AP Statistics Developmental Math

Math

Algebra 1/ Geometry

Geometry/ Algebra 2

Algebra 2/ Pre-Calculus College Algebra *MAT 121

Engineering

Intro to Engineering Design

AP Computer Science

Honors Env. Science AP Environmental Science

Engineering/STEM Capstone Project

Social Entrepreneurship

Career Survey AAA 109 Job Shadows AVID/ Agency 9th

Entrepreneurship/ Public Speaking or Graphic Design COM 115/220 Professional Mentoring

College Prep Seminar & Internship

Social Entrepreneurship Capstone Project

Electives/FLEX

PE/Health Intro. Business & Marketing

World Lang: Spanish AVID/ Agency 10th

World Lang: Spanish

World Lang: Spanish

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DSISD BELIEVES IN PROVIDING ACCESS TO HIGH-VALUE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL STUDENTS, SUCH AS:

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• • • •

Advanced Placement Coursework College Credit Courses: which may be taken on-site or at the Auraria Campus, ASCENT 5th year, Grade 13 STEM Work Experiences: Job Shadows, Professional Mentoring, Internships and Capstones

Students who earn 12 college credits and are on grade level for reading, writing, and math

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ASCENT YEAR

Grade 10

First Year of College Tuition Free

Grade 9

TECHNOLOGY’S ROLE

OWNERSHIP OF LEARNING

In addition to using Summit’s PLP to access playlists, take formative and summative assessments, demonstrate mastery, view grades, and explore data, students use a range of other technologies. In engineering and physics, there’s a laser cutter, a 3D printer, sophisticated modeling software, apps and other tools to support the learning. And although best-in-class technology is inherent in almost every classroom, it’s not the learning. “Technology is critical to our model, but it’s not what the model is about,” says Medved. “We know our students need to be adept at using technology. More importantly they need to be relational and they need to be able to work together to solve problems.”

All of the learning at DSISD is driven by an intense focus on ensuring kids are the drivers of their learning and the reasons for learning are clear. Each day starts with advisory where students have one-on-one time with their advisor who helps them map out their week and reflect on their larger learning goals. For example, during advisory a student, Alex, shared where she wanted to improve in math, what work needed to get done in Physics, and overall why what she was doing was important and aligned to her long-term goals. Advisory is also time to practice and learn the habits of successful people, like time management, self-awareness, being able to receive and give feedback, and so on. “If we’re asking kids to own their learning, we have to give students the tools they can use to actually do that. We can’t assume that they just know how to do it,” says Espinoza. “And without those skills it would be ridiculous to expect kids could own their learning.” This focus on ensuring the individual student is responsible for his or her learning experience is really intentional, since all of the DSISD staff knows that without practice students won’t be able to truly take advantage of the out-of-the-classroom learning experiences that are planned and even more importantly, be successful once they leave DSISD. “We have a really strong culture of going to college and achieving your dreams,” continues Espinoza, and DSISD’s goal isn’t just to get them there, but make sure they soar once they do.

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“Here if you don’t understand something, our teachers will try

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IMPLEMENTATION

something different, and they’ll keep finding options until you understand it. I don’t feel dumb anymore.” – WILLIAM, NINTH-GRADER

IMPLEMENTATION OPPORTUNITIES Implementing a new school is certainly not without challenges, but a growth mindset is how the DSISD team approaches it all. “The commitment we made before we launched was to view all challenges as opportunities,” says Medved. With that in mind, here are some of the opportunities that have risen to the surface during implementation.

TIRELESS EFFORT & MANAGING BURN OUT.

“The hardest part of designing a new school is you don’t get to rest. You have to be a mix of a rabbit and a turtle,” says Medved. “It has been incredibly hard, long, engaging, and challenging.” The leadership team is also incredibly conscious of managing for burn out, since they have all been at new starts where the schools’ cycle through staff at an alarming rate — which has a huge impact on student learning and culture. “I need our team to be in this for the long haul. This is a marathon,” says Medved. “You need passionate people to open a new school, but you want those people to stick around.” As a leader, Medved has set the norm that everyone is out of the building by 5 p.m. on most days.

LIVING INSIDE AMBIGUITY.

“The biggest challenge is being able to see ambiguity as an opportunity,” says Medved. In a given day, there are going to be 10 to 100 unanswered questions, but the team has to be comfortable with that and celebrate the progress and the small wins. “Success is about being on the right track rather than executing perfectly. We try to get better at execution every month.”

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LOOKING AHEAD

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LOOKING AHEAD As DSISD heads into the second half of its first year, the team is guided by three clear goals. First: Establish their culture of student self-direction and ownership of learning, where kids are comfortable making their own decisions and are aware of their own strengths and growth areas. Second, continue to refine a coherent and consistent instructional model that will allow for growth. And third, deliver high impact experiences that bring the school’s mission and vision alive. Each student and teacher is doing their part and the future looks inherently bright for the kids at DSISD. “When you think of the types of kids that would choose to start at a new school, they are already innovators,” says Simms. “We are all in this together and they are what makes me inspired to come to work everyday.” Colleague Goldstein agrees: “I’m really excited that in four years our students are going to be really different young adults and go out there and make a difference in their world.”

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Created by Denver Public Schools, DSISD 11.2

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