What we can learn from Denver's lowest performing high school

Image retrieved from http://www.cpr.org/ on December 14th, 2014.

Manual High School has been closed twice due to poor performance, and it will be going through a complete restructuring again next year. The school itself isn't that bad - in fact, they do a lot of things that other schools could learn from. But Manual faces a significant hurdle each time it reopens: its utter lack of resources. How it continues to support its students despite its many obstacles is, in my mind, admirable. The following list is based off of a discussion with Pastor Vernon Jones, former assistant principal at Manual High School.

1. Utilization of community partners. Since reopening in 2007, Manual has taken many community members into its walls as teachers, club organizers, coaches, and more. Many of these positions are volunteer-based and have given students access to extracurriculars beyond academics. These community members come from the same neighborhood as students and not only fulfill staffing needs, but act as mentors and role models for students.

2. True college preparation. College readiness is one of DPS's largest struggles; many students graduate from high school only to realize that they are not prepared for college. According to data published by the Colorado Children's Campaign, 59% of DPS graduates required college remediation courses in 2010. This number is increasing. Vernon Jones says that college readiness is Manual's number one priority - not test scores. While we are seeing that tests such as the SAT and ACT are being questioned for their validity (they may not measure college readiness after all), other schools would certainly benefit from adopting Manual's mindset of college readiness as the highest priority.

3. Use of time. In Pastor Jones' own words, "When you put in the time, it's got to be good time" (Jones, 2014). Most schools in Colorado operate on seven-hour days, as Manual does. However, this doesn't mean that students are learning for seven hours every day. Many students in DPS lose learning time through free periods, long lunch times, and "filler classes." Manual focuses its energy in ensuring that as much of the school day as possible is utilized for learning.

4. Community engagement. Manual was successful on reopening in 2007 because it had support from the community. Today, we see schools flop in areas in which they are forced onto the community - the film The Lottery (2010) captures this as it traces the story of Harlem's Success Academy. Manual's community, however, wanted the school. This eliminated community challenges and increased the amount of support that went into reopening the school.

5. Faculty alignment with mission. When Manual reopened in 2007, it contained a faculty that truly believed in its mission and core values. In order for a school to be successful, the ones who exhibit the school's values on a day-to-day basis must believe in them.

Manual is not a successful school - it is about to be reorganized for the third time in its history. But when the school was performing well (in 2009 it met expectations for student growth and exceeded expectations for post-secondary readiness) (SPF, 2009), it was because of these five things. Schools that have access to larger budgets, community donations, and more resources overall don't need to do these things well in order to look good on paper. But these are the backbone of what makes a school successful - if you take away a school's funding, its demographics, and its resources, these are what remain. What can other schools learn from this?


Literature Cited

Colorado Children's Campaign. (2010). Start with the Facts: Strengthening Denver Public Schools’ Education Pipeline. Retrieved December 14th, 2014).

Denver Public Schools. (2009). Student Performance Framework. Retrieved December 14th, 2014.