Colorado Department of Education State Review Panelists needed for Winter/Spring 2019
As the designee of the Colorado Department of Education (CDE), SchoolWorks is recruiting panelists to participate on the Colorado State Review Panel (SRP) – the body assigned to critically evaluate improvement plans for schools and districts on the accountability clock, and to make recommendations to the State Board of Education on required actions when schools and districts fail to make progress. CDE and SchoolWorks is seeking experienced Colorado-based educators to serve as State Review Panelists for the 2018-19 academic year. Applicants with experience and expertise in alternative education, English Language Learning, and those with superintendent experience are especially encouraged to apply. Applicants will be expected to participate in an SRP orientation session and training workshop on February 5, 2018 in Parker, CO. Upon demonstrating proficiency in the activities associated with evidence collection and analysis, State Review Panelists will be assigned to teams tasked with reviewing school/district Unified Improvement Plans (UIPs) and other supporting documents and completing a site visit to a school/district. This year all reviews will be a document review and a site visit. There will not be any stand-alone document reviews. State Review Panelists will be charged with providing a critical evaluation of the UIP, including capacity of the school/district to engage in dramatic change. Panelists will then provide recommendations to the Commissioner and State Board of Education on potential actions when a school or district remains on the accountability clock consecutive years or earlier upon request.
Resources and procedures will be provided for panelists to support their examination of the six areas outlined in legislation:
- Whether the leadership is adequate to implement change to improve results;
- Whether the infrastructure is adequate to support school improvement;
- The readiness and apparent capacity of personnel to plan effectively and lead the implementation of appropriate actions to improve student academic performance within the school or district;
- The readiness and apparent capacity of personnel to engage productively with, and benefit from, the assistance provided by an external partner;
- The likelihood of positive returns on state investments of assistance and support to improve the performance within the current management structure and staffing; and
- The necessity that the school/district remain in operation to serve students.
Time Commitment and Compensation. In addition to the orientation session and training workshop, the estimated time commitment for the review process is approximately 8 hours per document review and 1.5 days on site for each site visit. In addition, following the site visit panelists will spend approximately 4-to-6 hours completing a written recommendation to be submitted to the Commissioner and State Board of Education. Reviews will take place from February through June. Compensation will be provided through an honorarium for each review completed, as well as travel reimbursements when overnight travel is required. Panelists will also be eligible to earn Continuing Education Credits from CDE for their time participating in the training and reviews.
Application Process. Applicants must be based in Colorado to be eligible for this work.
• Download the application and writing sample (first time applicants only). Complete both documents and save with your first and last name in the document file title.
• Submit the completed application, writing sample (first time applicants only), and resume to SRP@schoolworks.org by January 7, 2019.
Questions about this role or the application process can be directed to SRP@schoolworks.org.