DATA: Social Promotion on Trial

by Elisa Cohen |

A local charter school may turn around its discipline issues; it may address the academic rigor questions; it may live up to its name offering the arts and technology; but will it become the community’s school? That is the question Denver Arts and Technology Academy (DATA). Principal Ray Griffin is now asking as he faces a student shortfall he attributes to the negative publicity the school garnered during last year’s threatened shut down.

By adding band and choir, advanced honors courses and integrating technology into the program at school and at home, as well as addressing discipline issues, Griffin believes the school now truly lives up to its name, but as he faces a budget with 75 students missing from the roster, he says everything is on the table for the future of DATA.

Ending social promotion caused part of the student flight. Griffin’s dedication to reaching grade level proficiency through mandatory tutoring and the abolition of social promotion caused some families to withdraw their children from the local charter school. Social promotion is the act of passing a child up to the next grade despite the failure to master the content in his or her current grade. A systematic use of social promotion through many of the local elementary and middle schools create a group of children who enter North High School reading well below grade level. In many cases, students arrive at North reading at sixth grade proficiency. DATA’s decision to no longer engage in social promotion caused some of the families to leave.

Thad Dahl, the president of DATA’s board, as well as a parent of two children at DATA, says the positive effect of properly placing students in the appropriate grade for their level of achievement creates exciting classrooms where the academic culture can progress. The parents and students who have chosen to stay are thriving he says. “Parents are hungry for the truth. They want to know where their students are academically and DATA is not afraid to tell them.”

Dahl believes the changes put into place at DATA will transform it into one of the premiere schools in the Denver metro area. He says he joined DATA’s board to keep the school true to its name. He wanted technology and art for his children and by hiring Ray Griffin and aligning their policies to meet high academic expectations, Dahl says the board and Griffin has put in place a new academic culture in this tuition free charter school.

Griffin believed some families took their children out of DATA because they were not up for the work required to stay in.

Dahl added, “We have provided every opportunity for students to get where they want to be.” DATA provides free tutoring for students who are below grade level to catch up. By mandating placement tests, DATA is adding student accountability to the equation in public education. Charter schools are a part of the public school mix and their role in public education is to test models and provide innovation. DATA’s determination to place students in their proper grade level based on the students’ skill will be a model worth studying. DPS’s current policy is to move students through the grade levels without obtaining grade level proficiency. In DPS schools parents can demand that their children progress to the next grade without mastering the expected academic content.

The shortfall of students is causing economic hardship. Each Denver Public School student brings approximately $7,000 to the school. This means DATA is facing a $525,000 shortfall to its annual operating costs.

School volunteers have been canvassing the neighborhood with 30,000 flyers inviting community members to step inside the building to see for themselves. Linda Driscoll, a parent of a kindergartner, says she placed her child in the school because of its commitment to providing art. “As a former artist, I wanted a school that was dedicated to art and music. This school is a dream come true for me. I don’t understand why there isn’t a wait list,” she says as she shares with Griffin her day’s success registering new students who came in because of the flyers.

Sam Barnes, a local realtor with two children also in the kindergarten, agrees with Driscoll’s account of the quality at the school. “I am so enthused about the curriculum. Offering music and arts helps make for well-rounded people.” Barnes applauds the new policy that does not allow for social promotion. “DATA students have opportunities to succeed.”

Marketing takes many forms at DATA. A permanent banner announces Tuesday evening open houses at 6 pm. Email pitches have been made to Highlands Mommies. Griffin and fellow staff members even took to the stage at the recently held Sunnyside Music Festival to charm attendees and prove that music comes from the top down at DATA.

In addition to the traditional students, Griffin has actively solicited home-schooled students offering to enroll them in individual classes they seek in order to satisfy their academic needs while at the same time receiving a portion of their state funding.

Dahl says he and the board are working on options to keep the school moving forward with the changes they have put into place.

“We have options. I’m pretty confident we have ways to get through this adjustment.”

Denver Arts and Technology Academy
Open House
Every Tuesday Evening 6pm
3752 Tennyson St
(720) 855-7504

First published in the North Denver Tribune