Letter of Intent- District-Sponsored Redesign Plan for Henry World School
Proposed School Name: District-Sponsored Redesign Plan for Henry World School
The school’s name will be confirmed through the Community Design Team’s planning and outreach process.
th
th
Grade Configuration: 6 - 8 (three year phase in)
Model or Focus: Through an authentic community process led by the school’s principal and a
Community Design Team the school model is being developed based upon
research-based practices in turnaround and the individualized assets and
needs of the school community.
The Community Design Team intends to revive the International
Baccalaureate (IB) / Middle Years Program (MYP) and target the specific
needs of the school community including personalized learning (1:1
technology ratio) and bi-literacy support as core to the instructional model.
Through this approach we will ensure that every student has access to a
rigorous, inclusive, personalized education in preparation for a lifetime of
learning and success in college and career.
Primary Contact Person: Lindsay Meier
Phone: 330-353-0368
Email: Lindsay_Meier@dpsk12.org
Region / Neighborhood: Southwest Denver, Henry Middle School
Proposed Leader: Lindsay Meier
Replication: Yes No
Contract with ESP/EMO: Yes No
Enrollment Projections: Provide additional rows and columns if necessary.
GRADES
2016-17
2017-18
2018-19
2019-20
2020-21
th
6
150
150
150
150
150
7th
150
150
150
150
th
8
150
150
150
Total # students
150
300
450
450
450
Proposed
87% FRL
15% SPED
44% ELL
83%
5.8%
Demographics
Spanish speakers
ACCESS 1 & 2
Demographics reflect student enrollment at Henry World School as detailed in the Call for New Quality Schools.
Mission of
School:
Provide a brief
overview of the
education
program of the
proposed school:
The school’s mission is being collaboratively developed with the Community Design
Team consisting of over 30 parents, teachers, community members, and district
staff and other targeted community outreach.
Background on the Henry World School Turnaround Timeline:
- DPS identified Henry World School as a school requiring turnaround based
on chronically low performance, safety concerns and declining enrollment
as detailed in the districts Tiered Support Framework (November 2014;
April 2015).
- DPS conducted a rigorous principal hiring process with the Henry
community in the fall of 2014 and identified Lindsay Meier as the principal
assigned to develop a plan for turnaround at Henry Middle School.
- DPS released a supplement to the Call for New Quality Schools in May,
2015 requesting proposals to turnaround Henry Middle School beginning in
the fall of 2016.
Process for Developing a District-Sponsored Turnaround Plan: Denver Public
Schools is sponsoring Lindsay Meier, proposed principal, with developing a
turnaround plan for Henry World Middle School. Valuing community input, district
expertise, and research-based practices, Ms. Meier coordinated a Community
Design Team to develop a plan to turnaround Henry World School. This design
team meets weekly as a core team and bi-weekly with the extended school
community. The following process is underway to ensure a quality plan is ready for
district consideration by July 22nd.
Community Design Team consists of 30 volunteer community members, parents,
teachers, and district staff:
Images from Initial Community Design Team Meetings:
Engaging in Additional Community Outreach:
In addition to the Community Design Team, the Principal and members of the
community design team have met with and surveyed the school’s founding
students, current 4th grade students at each of Henry World Middle School’s feeder
elementary schools. With support from the district’s Family and Community
Engagement office, the school leader has held over 20 individual meet and greet
sessions with community members including discussions about the school’s
program with members of Padres y Jovenes Unidos, and the Bear Valley
Improvement Association.
Designing Based on the School’s Assets and Needs:
In order to effectively develop a school design the applicant commissioned
SchoolWorks to conduct an audit and root-cause analysis of the existing school
including an in-depth review of the school’s IB/MYP program implementation. This
audit found many areas for growth in school culture and climate, organized
instructional practices, and nearly a complete lack of implementation of IB/MYP
across the school.
In addition, the principal has held meet-and-greets and surveyed existing staff,
parents and students at Henry World School to expound upon the current
strengths and deficits of the school. Based on these meetings as well as a deep dive
into the school’s School Performance Framework ratings the principal and
Community Design Team identified targeted areas for school improvement and
grounded their planning in core values and a vision of academic success for all.
Guiding Principles of the Turnaround School Design:
Furthermore, the principal received targeted support from Public Impact, a
national leader in school turnaround and identified core areas for school
improvement within a reputable framework for school turnaround. The
Community Design Team is currently rooting their planning in these elements:
School Leadership, Effective Teaching, Extended Time, Rigorous Instruction, DataDriven Instruction, Culture and Climate, and Family and Community Engagement.
On behalf of the Community Design Team, I am pleased to provide this letter of
intent. We fully commit to an intentional school design that authentically engages
the school community and will submit our plan to the Denver Public Schools on July
22nd, 2015. As the founding school principal I am fully committed to implementing
our redesign plan and to creating a school culture in which all adults and students
are engaged with the school’s vision and mission.
The goal of our school community is to ensure that every students and the entire
school community have are engaged in a robust program rooted in the IB/MYP
Learner Profile. We expect every student will succeed and demonstrate significant
academic and personal growth necessary to prepare them to hit the ground
running as they enter high school and continue through college and career.
Join us, or follow us on Facebook as we continue to design the best school possible
for our students and school community!
https://www.facebook.com/southwestdenverphaseinmiddleschool
Respectfully,
Lindsay M. Meier
Founding Principal