(1)The general assembly finds that:
(a)Developing high-quality leadership for struggling schools has become a
clear priority nationwide to systematically improve academic performance among
low-achieving students;
(b)Leadership for low-performing schools is fundamentally different than
leadership for higher-performing schools. Extensive research shows that, to
achieve real turnaround and academic improvement, low-performing schools need
to experience significant and fundamental change in instructional practices as well
as in the school's climate and culture. Turnaround leadership requires dramatic and
transformative intervention in a culture of underperformance within a short amount
of time. The research further articulates the skills and competencies that school
leaders must
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(1) The general assembly finds that:
(a) Developing high-quality leadership for struggling schools has become a
clear priority nationwide to systematically improve academic performance among
low-achieving students;
(b) Leadership for low-performing schools is fundamentally different than
leadership for higher-performing schools. Extensive research shows that, to
achieve real turnaround and academic improvement, low-performing schools need
to experience significant and fundamental change in instructional practices as well
as in the school's climate and culture. Turnaround leadership requires dramatic and
transformative intervention in a culture of underperformance within a short amount
of time. The research further articulates the skills and competencies that school
leaders must have to produce this type of change in a school and that these skills
and competencies are dramatically different from those practiced by most school
leaders.
(c) There is also a significant amount of research and evidence around the
practices that are needed to train, recruit, incentivize, and sustain successful, high-quality school turnaround leaders;
(d) In addition to school principals, teacher leaders within schools and
district-level personnel who coordinate and support turnaround efforts for multiple
schools of a school district are crucial to achieving increased academic
performance within low-performing schools and must be included in programs to
train successful, high-quality school turnaround leaders;
(e) For the 2013-14 school year, one hundred nineteen public schools serving
fifty-five thousand eight hundred fourteen students in Colorado are accredited with
priority improvement plans, and forty-nine public schools serving seventeen
thousand three hundred eleven students are accredited with turnaround plans. For
the 2013-14 school year, fourteen school districts are accredited with priority
improvement plans, and two school districts are accredited with turnaround plans.
Given these levels of performance in the public schools, Colorado must address the
need to develop, nurture, and support aspiring and practicing school turnaround
leaders.
(f) There is a tremendous opportunity for the state to recruit, develop, and
facilitate new and existing leadership development programs that are specifically
focused on developing leaders to serve low-performing schools.
(1.5) The general assembly further finds that, while school leadership is a
crucial aspect of improving the performance of struggling schools, factors such as
school culture, teacher professional development, and the transformation of
instruction in the classroom are also necessary elements of the plan to transform a
public school and raise the academic performance of the students enrolled in the
school.
(2) The general assembly therefore finds that it is imperative and in the best
interests of the state to create the school transformation grant program within the
department to contract with providers and award grants to school districts
throughout the state to use in developing outstanding school leaders with the skills
and competencies required to turn around low-performing public schools in the
state and to provide grants to school districts, the institute, and charter schools to
support them in improving educator professional development and transforming
instruction, which may include planning for and implementing rigorous school
redesign strategies.
(3) The general assembly declares that, for purposes of section 17 of article
IX of the state constitution, the school transformation grant program is an
important element in implementing accountable programs to meet state academic
standards and may therefore receive funding from the state education fund created
in section 17 (4) of article IX of the state constitution.