Durango School Talk

January 2009 Time flies and we have been on a temporary vacation as Dr. Keith Owen assumes leadership for the Durango 9-R District. Please check our blog for more up to date postings. As volunteers leading busy lives, we would steer you toward the Durango Herald and its education coverage. Unfortunately, fairly recent changes to the Herald's website have led to a disconnect with our links to Herald stories. Given changes in District leadership, we are keeping this site up and running mostly as an archive for now, and hope to resume its maintenance at a future date, to reconnect with our original goals of providing support for teachers, students and parents.

Link to official website Durango 9-R Schools

Keith Owen takes the reins at 9-R Chuck Slothower 7/1/08

Day One: July 1, 2008
Welcome to Durango , Mr. Owen!
Our community looks forward to getting to know you and sharing our hopes and ideas. Especially compelling is your commitment to learning who we really are and how we might come together to produce a Long Range Strategic Plan.

May 2008 - Wonderful news: Dr. Keith Owen has accepted the offer from our Durango School Board to become our new Durango School District superintendent effective July 1st. Congratulations are in order for Owen and appreciation for the board members and their steadfast commitment to including the public in the search process. Dr. Owen was well received at the recent public forum for his fresh ideas and abundant energy, his leadership as an elementary school principal and developer of a remarkable reading program , and most recently, as Chief Academic Officer for the Pueblo School District. More at the Durango School District website.

Small Schools As plans get underway to create the small learning communities at our large comprehensive high school, look back at a Durango Herald editorial from 2002. Let's hope that great ideas like "small schools" and research like Lindamood-Bell gain traction with Dr. Owen's arrival. Local special education advocate Anne Spence who successfully lobbied the Colorado Legislature to include dyslexia on its list of learning disabilities is one of many citizens who have pushed for public discussions at the local level. When Spence corresponded with Keith Owen about his reading program he sent videotapes for all the board members several years ago. How exciting for her that Owen will be our next superintendent. We think he will find many people ready to step up to the plate to work with teachers and administrators. Parents like Spence, and Mimi Thurston, local parent advocate recently appointed to the Colorado State Board of Education's Advisory Committee on Special Education, will welcome a seat at the table, and Dr. Owen can expect collaborative attitudes from those who have been waiting to be asked.

Hard not to be disappointed when superintendent finalist Shalee Cunningham suddenly withdrew her application and the superintendent search process resumed. We commend the board for including the public in meaningful ways, under not always ideal conditions. After union opposition and a flurry of angry letters, the Herald called for the board to address divisions within 9-R that are "deep, broad and exacerbated by a culture of secrecy." This board has clearly been asked by the community to do whatever it takes to reestablish trust and transparency. Their meetings look "messier" now than in prior years because they don't seem to mind being seen in public not always agreeing. We think that's healthy and we predict it will lead to the inclusion of a more diverse set of viewpoints. We elected these board members - now it's time to stand behind them. Get involved and informed directly. Sit in on board meetings, talk with board members during intermissions. Don't rely on heresay from a neighbor; watch meetings yourself. If you don't have cable, videotapes are posted on the District's website by the Friday after the Tuesday board meetings at http://www.durangoschools.org /board/videos.shtml . Look for live cablecasting on DCAT in the near future - a move toward the same transparency that regularly brings busy residents living close to City Hall into City Council meetings just in time to address topics that impact more than a single household.Contact Board Members by email.

Update on superintendent search process 3/22/08. This board could use encouragement, more than criticism as it works to change past culture.. Although City and County manager searches turned out very well, 9-R board members committed hundreds of hours over the past year making sure that citizens (not just students, teachers and parents) have had a say in the process - in articulating the leadership qualities needed by this next Superintendent. If you are interested in helping with the selection, committee applications are being accepted until Thursday Mar. 27 at 5pm. details Read HYA search firm's summary Leadership Profile based on interviews and focus groups that involved about 225 individuals last fall.

Background on 2007-08 Superintendent Search

District 9-R restarts search for superintendent candidates Hazard Young and Attea (HYA) will bring new candidates in early April. The Durango School Board contracted early last fall with HYA to guide a community wide process to replace outgoing Superintendent Mary Barter whose request to extend her contract was denied last spring during a particularly troubling time. Hazard, Young, Attea prepared a summary of community concerns that guided dialogue with candidates.The current search was begun with the intention of restructuring the district's relationships with the community. Over the past few years "Trust" has emerged as perhaps the primary issue. We encourage the board to work with the next leader to look for ways to restructure the current PR strategy to a two way public engagement plan. Give people who step up with ideas or concerns the space to come together, share their frustrations, and discover their common aspirations. 9-R's interpretation of "Policy Governance" must be looked at to make sure the board uses the whole model. Here's what its "inventor" - John Carver - says:

"A tightly reasoned paradigm, the model must be used in total to achieve its promise of greater accountability. Partial implementation sacrifices the model's benefits, for it is a complete, logical system, not merely tips for improvement.

The board's primary relationship is with those to whom it is accountable -- the general public, the "shareholders" of public education. The board is the public's purchasing agent for the educational product. The public-board relationship supersedes the board's relationship with everyone else

Our website was created in 2005 when Policy Governance had the board so focused on staff accounts of "ends" monitoring, that the public had to get in line waiting for those direct, broad, inclusive opportunities that keep "policy governance" boards up to speed with the public's values and aspirations. Carver sees the whole community as the "owners" of the system - and board members as continually refreshing and deepening their understanding of local values. Professional educators remain in charge of the educational process, but board members keep in touch with the public through frequent engagements - not just the three minutes at the microphone option that puts everyone at a disadvantage. In 2003, when citizens asked for Study Circles and two board members asked for "Sounding Boards" they were discouraged from undertaking anything without a reason. That time is over. More on Policy Governance here. After its adoption in late 1990's, successive boards began using information supplied by the superintendent to the exclusion of information from external sources - - e.g., students, parents, community and business interests. Gradually that led to members of these groups having to speak at the microphone out of context at board meetings to bring differing viewpoints to the board. The Public Information Office frequently chastized these individuals as "critics" and "naysayers." The PIO resigned abruptly in December 2007, citing the public with "rudeness and incivility and name-calling." It might be helpful for the next superintendent to look at connections between the "press release" communications strategy and the trust and communications problems that were frequently the main education story of the past couple years.

July 2007 9-R's "secret survey results" are no longer under wraps. "Survey results criticize, praise" Durango Herald, July 8, 2007 -- 9-R's Public Information officer Deborah Uroda claims the 662 respondents were not a "scientifically randomized sample" and thus, any conclusions would be "problematic." If 9-R administrators shed their current obsession with quantitative analyses, a reading of comments now labeled "irrelevant" might enlighten them on community efforts to create alternatives to 9-R. Instead, senior staff seem intent on viewing charter schools as money drains.

9-R ponders superintendent hire 6/20/07 What qualities do we need and want for our next superintendent? Stay tuned to Board's search for a firm to find Barter replacement.

9-R refused to release results of a survey that Board members requested in attempts to get information about culture and morale at Durango High School despite two FOIA requests . However, 1500 comments were subsequently obtained by Herald - mixed, they are all potentially useful for talking now about this formerly taboo topic - "problems at Durango High School."

"We seem to be intent on sucking the joy out of learning at DHS. I sure wouldn't want to be here if I was 15 years old.” -- DHS staff member
"... teachers "feel there will be retribution if they get out of line" with their administrators. -- DHS staff member
A parent of a 10th-grade student described Superintendent Mary Barter as "uninterested in opinions that differ from her own."

Background: "Barter and 9-R" 3/16/07
New schools coming, special education issues continue. 9-R loses exclusive charter authority 5/12/07 " Window opens for new charter school"
Animas High School 6/15/07 Durango Herald Editorial
"It makes sense to look into a well-researched, proven model for a charter school. Animas High School could be a successful addition to 9-R's high school offerings."
9-R Skeptical of Charter 6/13/07 "Animas High has already received more than 100 letters of intent to enroll and 39 offers from businesses to host student interns."t.
History of Durango's proposed alternatives:
Parents seek DHS alternative 4/4/07
Drafting a new school 4/10/07
Private school to tackle dyslexia 4/14/07
Durango mother requests waiver for dyslexic son
5/9/07 A request for waiver from District's new foreign language requirement makes sense. What's stopping superintendent from a decision requested months ago?

Fifth specialty school to form in region 5/5/07 To the list of specialty schools in Durango can be added Lutheran High School of Durango, which plans to open a faith-based, college-preparatory high school in August.

New Leadership on the way! DHS Welcomes Seattle area educator, Diane Lashinsky, experienced with small schools model. 9-R hires DHS chief May 5, 2007

Chronology of DHS survey results
9-R board, teachers clash over survey - Durango Herald 4/11/07. Audio of April 10 meeting - First 3 hours

Should public be allowed to read comments from a tax funded survey about 9-R leadership? We say "Yes!" We need better reasons for denying access than have been given to date - especially now that we have read the DHS Committee for Strategic Change report. Keeping problems under wraps is not a good way to solve them. We respect the Committee's hard work; just differ with their approach at this stage to limit information to staff and administration. The 9-R Board has been kept in the dark for years despite inquiries about leadership, climate and how NCLB and CSAP affect teaching and learning. Reading CSC report is eye opening. District should release contents of report along with survey comments.
April 26, 2007 9-R denies open-records request: Administration refuses to release verbatim survey comments

April 21, 2007 Herald files a request for 9-R survey:The Durango Herald filed an open-records request Friday in a bid to force Durango School District 9-R to release a survey of Durango High School parents, teachers and students. The Colorado Open Records Act gives recipients of such requests three working days to respond.
Herald files open records request to release DHS survey, staff, parent, student comments. District has three days to respond. April 21, 2007 Durango Herald
Barter: District won't release full survey text
"Durango School District 9-R will not release the full text of more than 1,500 comments submitted as part of a survey of Durango High School parents and teachers, Superintendent Mary Barter said Wednesday." Durango Herald 4/19/07
9-R board seeks lawyer's advice about making survey public April 18, 2007
9-R to consider releasing survey April 17, 2007

4/22/07: Last week, 9-R School Board members reversed their position that the public should have access to narrative comments from the Durango High School survey. This story began last fall as the board attempted to obtain information unfiltered by upper level administrative staff, particularly their "one employee" Mary Barter, under their Policy Governance system. An independent outside consultant was engaged to gather views of staff, parents and students on 9-R leadership. people who are delighted with our high school's program and people who aren't. As they were about to publish the comments online, a committee at DHS asked that this information be restricted for internal use.
While Durango School Talk contributors have been dismissed by the superintendent as "district critics, naysayers, and the 'usual suspects,'" a report released last week by the DHS Committee for Strategic Changenow confirms that we have been on the same page for years. Durango High School teachers identified issues and concerns identical to those we have brought to the Board from a lack of responsiveness by the central office to low morale resulting from the CSAP burdens. We plan to publish excerpts on our blog. Transparency is the only way to begin a dialogue. We support all 9-R teachers in having a safe, effective structure for teaching and look forward to the imminent transition to new, more transparent and effective 9-R leadership.

By January 2007, 9-R Superintendent Mary Barter had become uncomfortable about the use of survey results Read how "modes" were proposed as a way to positive messages

Iterested in definitions of public records?
Colorado Laws Concerning Public (Open) Records

Want to file your own Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request? Citizens can request public documents under the Freedom of Information Act.

Old issues simmer at 9-R School board hears public's complaints Durango Herald March 21, 2007
9-R to hold public forum
Durango Herald Opinion: Barter and 9-R : Stability needed along with policy changes
Barter wins reprieve, will stay at 9-R
School board members deny illegal actions
9-R board president Matheson resigns
Barter: ‘It appears I may leave'
9-R to create panel to find principal
DHS chief to leave in May

VIDEO: DHS PAAC asked Board to consider resignations of Superintendent and DHS principal.
NEW Parent Perspectives
"Time for a Change" Superintendent Mary Barter Moving On
"My Experiences at a Board Work Session" 9-R Superintendent Barter and Board divided on how to present data from DHS survey
Involved parent responds to Public Information Officer Deborah Uroda's email to District's "Key Communicators"
9-R casts Durango School Talk as villain in 9-R's Letter to Herald. Read it and be the judge. Let us know what you think. Are we off base? How can we improve?. Many visitors to our blog have posted as "anonymous." We encourage people to use their names, but currently accept reasons for some anonymity. Read more.
How things get out of hand : What started with a coach's firing quickly expanded to people talking in private instead of in public. A lack of meaningful contact with the board has stifled exchanges between board and public for years and numerous issues have gone unresolved. No one is happy when protests seem the best way to be heard. But simply claiming an "open door policy" is not enough.
Should public officials' evaluations be public? Kept in the dark, many community members believe at least a summary of superintendent evaluations should be released to assure the public that representatives are doing their job. Durango jurisdictions vary in how closely they guard evaluations of top executives. Durango City Manager Bob Ledger is no stranger to news stories about his peformance, but 9-R differs from city and county. A Durango Herald editorial suggests reasons why public officials need public scrutiny. "The city manager should be properly reviewed, and Durangoans should be told the results." We believe 9-R school superintendent, Mary Barter, is no different.
Cablecasting added scrutiny: A video posted on our blog ends argument that taping isn't possible in a 1916 building.

We welcome comments to our blog, whether you agree or disagree with us. Our goal is to create civil conversations that otherwise wouldn't happen. You can find board members email addresses at http://www.durangoschools.org/board/members.shtml

Key Communicator names are now online. Until the board adopts a more democratic way to hear from the public, "key communicators" could become our representatives. While they should feel flattered to be considered important in the community, using an invitation-only group as its main contact with the public isn't helping the Board stay on top of concerns.

Background on DHS PAAC story: What happened to last spring's highly acclaimed new way the Durango School District would include parents and community in athletics? Have the "wheels fallen off?" Some parents think so, saying that, administrators ignored the very policies they celebrated last spring when a spotlight shone on problems within the athletic program and a group of parents were recruited to smooth things over.
9-R policy addresses parent-coach conflict 5/11/06-
Shane Voss out as DHS head football coach 1/23/07
DHS football debated 1/25/07
Voss' dismissal angers parents 1/30/07
Parents, students confront 9-R board about Voss 1/31/07
School board backs removal of DHS coach Voss 2/1/07
Case closed? Or not? You decide. Email Board Members

What became of the 9-R "Consultant Report" of August 2005? Durango Herald : Consultant: 9-R lacks public's trust "Some district staff members perceive an atmosphere of fear and intimidation, " consultant Robert Tschirki told board members and Superintendent Mary Barter. "It's clear to me that you don't have the trust level that you would all like.” Althought no longer online, the District's public response ignored the trust issues Mr. Tschirki made.. Were those findings been addressed? If so, how? We're still waiting and we believe the 2007 situation has similarities to 2005.

What is Policy Governance? Does 9-R use all the pieces? : "Policy mis-Governance: District 9-R board disconnected from the community" Durango Herald - 3/13/2005
"Choosing Courses: Setting the boundaries of 9-R board" 3/3/2006
Superintendent desires change to board policy - 2/27/2006 District limits participation in committee meetings - 2/8/06
9-R faces $500,000 in cuts '07-'08 Jan 28 2006
9-R parents push for private tutors - Jan 25, 2006
Teacher: 9-R Career education woeful - Jan 11, 2006
Policy Governance: Our primer on John Carver and his governance model for boards that want to make a difference!
NCLB (No Child Left Behind)
Local education advocate Bill Bowlby testified in Denver to support a bill that would allow students to skip CSAPs 2/22/06 - 9-R Board to take a position on this bill. Most education analysts have questions about NCLB - how are test results used? Does it divert scarce resources away from teaching methods that promote “active engagement and critical thinking? [read more on opposition to NCLB] Is 9-R developing a position on NCLB and CSAP? Ask your Board. Read 9-R Superintendent Column "From an educator's perspective, the CSAPs are well worth the time and effort our students invest."

Budget: 9-R faces $500,000 in cuts '07-'08 Layoffs, Draconian program cuts unlikely, district officials say - Jan 28 2006
School board ok's budget Criticism, student achievement focus of meeting - Oct 12 2006
See summary of budget issues for 2005-06. With 9-R enrollment declines causing revenue losses, 9R went unsuccessfully to the voters for a transportation mill levy override in November 2005. Having projected steady growth in students, 9-R attributes the unexpected decline to the fires of 2002 and the dismal local economy.

Welcome to Durango 9-R School Talk!

Our goals are to: