District Accountability Committee

With the District's primary focus, currently, on testing I would like to share some helpful resources: Why are we testing and why does it matter? To help understand test results and answer many questions around it the Colorado Department of Education has created a helpful parent resource page. The data is a key element of the Unified Improvement planning (UIP), in which ALL Colorado schools are required to engage. The process in our district and the ways in which school communities are involved are explained in this newsletter.

The D11 board of education has tasked the district leadership to rework the committee meeting schedule and the DAC will discuss this at their April meeting. As we are recruiting for open DAC positions, we would love for you to apply, though we can not yet tell you when meetings will be in the upcoming 25/26 school year. If you are interested, click "YES" at the bottom of the D11/DAC website. Once we get your application, we will follow up with you. Being a part of your district accountability committee does not only give you a chance to learn about the district but also a chance to ask questions and share your perspective from your school community or experience and provide valuable input and feedback.

We ask every DAC member to be a part of a School Accountability Committee (SAC) because involvement in your community is the base to engagement. The DAC has worked hard this year to visit every school and every SAC. If we did not make it to your school, please let us know.

As we all start to think about the summer, and maybe even the new school year, please look into the resources of the latest SAC training on how to build community. The department of D11 Engagement has put together a great presentation with resources on how to support your school. Keep reading for more details.

I have to express an insane amount of gratitude to Velvet Stepanek, who is currently the Chair of the SAC training and support committee as well as the Charter school review committee. Velvet served as the DAC chair from 2019- 2023, she still volunteers at her kids elementary school even so her kids have long since moved on to highschool, where she is also involved. Velvet has not only served on the DAC, but also on school SACs, PTSAs, and so many other committees. She volunteers countless hours. Whatever the school needs, Velvet makes the time to be there. She is truly an inspirational human and I don't even know how to properly thank her for all she has done for the students and families of this district. As she is taking what I hope is only a break, but may be a permanent retirement from the DAC, I want to say: THANK YOU Velvet for being a part of DAC, you make a difference and we all appreciate you!

Please share this newsletter with your community in your own newsletters and with emails to your SAC members. Thank you!

Respectfully,

Marion Clawson

D11- DAC chair

As we head into the end of this school year, there are a few things I wanted to be sure you have on your radar for your SAC agendas!

Unified School Improvement Planning (USIP) for 2025-2026 school year

· April 21/22: On these dates, Principals will be reflecting on this school year’s Plan and what was successful, as well as what might need to be added or changed within the Plan. PRIOR TO these dates, your school community should have a conversation about what was successful this year, and what might not have been super successful. You can do this at a SAC meeting, a PTA meeting, or in the parking lot. Get creative! Your principal wants to know!

· May 5 Principals will be looking at Data and using the CDE dashboard to align their goals to continuous improvement cycles. In your May meeting, check in around what this looks like for your school, and give any input you might have!

· Yet to be determined date but likely in June (ish): Principals will be working on finalizing their USIPs and creating a calendar of action steps.

I am excited about the possibilities within this new process, but it is the first year so there will definitely be opportunities for growth!

Other things to put on your April and May agendas:

5E Data will be available for discussion after 4/22.

Spring Panorama Data will be available for discussion after 4/22

End of Year Benchmark (STAR) data will also be available after 4/22.

Happy Spring!

~Courtney Hertner
DAC Accreditation Chair

April (Theme: Assessment/planning for next school year)

Every month we intend to provide a reasonable flow of SAC agenda topics that meet the broad responsibilities of School District 11 SACs. This is just a reference tool, and individual SACs should tailor their agendas appropriate to their school needs and emphasis. The following are some of the topics recommended for the April SAC meeting:

· Review 5 Essentials Data (may not be available until May)

· Review Panorama Survey Data (may not be available until May)

· Find out applicable testing dates in April at your school.

· Elect/select SAC chair, secretary and other officers as appropriate for next school year.

Set SAC meeting calendar for next school year.

• Spring STAR District Benchmark (3rd-11th grade) – April 1-11
• DIBELS 8 (K-3) – April 21 – May 9 (schools choose a 2-week window)
• CMAS Tests – April 7-25
• CMAS Social Studies Tested Schools – 4th grade from Adams, Buena Vista, Edison, Fremont, Henry, Keller, King, Martinez, Penrose, Queen Palmer, Roosevelt, Scott, Spark, Steele, and Trailblazer
• 7th grade – Jenkins, North, Spark - PSAT/SAT Tests – April 14 -25
• Colorado Alternative (CoAlt) Tests – April 14-25

All USIPs need community input especially from the SAC. As a SAC you have been looking at the plan and data throughout the school year in your meetings. It is time to start working on 2025-26 plan at your SAC meetings. In April or May, the SAC should reflect on the USIP:

• What went well this year?
• What are areas of opportunity?

This reflection information will be used for the 2025-2026 USIP for each of your schools.

The last SAC Training of the school year happened on Thursday, April 3, 2025. The training concentrated on School Improvement Plan (USIP) work and also provided an update on the work of District 11 FSCP (Family School Community Partnership) Collaborative. Access the slides from the training here: https://www.d11.org/administration/dac/home/dac-meeting-handouts-notes/sac-training-hand-outs

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