Performance School Application 2012
for new schools to open in 2013-14 or thereafter
Office of School Reform and Innovation
Denver Center for Internationals Studies
Letter of Intent to Apply
DCIS at Fairmont
March 9, 2012
900 Grant Street, 4th Floor
Denver, CO 80203
Phone: (720) 423-2581
Appendix A: Letter of Intent
This letter of intent (LOI) will provide formal notice to the Office of School Reform and Innovation in Denver Public Schools regarding an applicant’s intention to submit a new school proposal for the 2013-2014 school year cycle.
The information presented in the LOI is non-binding.
Name of Proposed School: / Denver Center for International Studies at Fairmont (DCIS at Fairmont)Type of School: / Charter Performance X
Grade Configuration: / ECE through Grade 5
Model or Focus: / DCIS at Fairmont will be based on the design of the Denver Center for International Studies (DCIS) and the design matrix of the International Studies Schools Network.
Primary Contact Person:
Phone:
Email: / Irene Jordan, Principal, Fairmont
720-424-7621
Region: / Southwest
Proposed Leader (if known): / Candidate to be recommended from current search being conducted in DPS.
Replication: / Yes X No
Contract with ESP/EMO: / Yes No
Enrollment Projections: Provide additional rows and columns if necessary.
GRADE / 2013-14 / 2014-15 / 2015-16 / 2016-17 / 2017-185 / 50 / 60 / 60 / 60 / 60
4 / 50 / 60 / 60 / 60 / 60
3 / 50 / 60 / 60 / 60 / 60
2 / 50 / 75 / 75 / 75 / 75
1 / 50 / 75 / 75 / 75 / 75
K / 50 / 75 / 75 / 75 / 75
ECE
Total # students / 300 / 405 / 405 / 405 / 405
FRL % / SPED % / ELL %
Proposed Demographics / 80% / 15% / 50%
Mission of School: / The Denver Center for International Studies prepares students for college by developing multilingual, interculturally competent citizens who are actively involved in our rapidly changing world.
Provide a brief overview of the education program of the proposed school: / The Denver Center for International Studies (DCIS) at Fairmont will be developed as an elementary campus for Denver Center for International Studies. The current DCIS serves grades 6-12 and focuses on instruction and student applications of learning and service in international and intercultural affairs and world languages. DCIS at Fairmont will prepare its students in this focus through a curriculum that is developmentally appropriate for the elementary school levels, and planned backwards from the post-secondary readiness goals of both DPS and the specific global competency goals of DCIS. Enrollment diversity goals will intentionally support international/ intercultural learning. The school development will draw on successful national models included in the International Studies Schools Network to which DCIS belongs. This school will address the DPS priority of new high-performing middle schools in the long term by supporting higher achievement in the DCIS middle grades through intense preparation in this new elementary school specifically targeted for articulation with the DCIS middle grades. There will be a collaborative leadership team between DCIS and DCIS at Fairmont; as a result of working together with DCIS the Fairmont faculty will take responsibility, accountability, and the consequences of its work in the elementary grades in preparing the students for DCIS’s middle grades. The goal is to create a clear continuum of learning for DCIS students throughout their thirteen years as expressed in the mission statement above without the traumatic transitions between separate elementary, middle and high schools. This continuity in DCIS will be a powerful opportunity for its students and will enable them to achieve levels of international and intercultural competence that will be truly astounding. The economic and logistic advantages of shared resources for the whole school complex, such as transportation and language teachers, are important additional factors that will support the development of DCIS at Fairmont.
Fairmont Elementary School first expressed interest in this plan in 2008. Since that time several community meetings have been held, and the School Leadership Teams from both schools met together to consider how this plan might be developed. During this year conversations about this plan have been conducted with the Fairmont teachers and interest for the vision has grown among them. An enthusiastic teacher proposal advisory team representing faculties from both schools has already been active, several supportive community meetings have been held, and other community meetings for a variety of the schools’ constituencies are planned.
Performance School Application Guide for schools to open 2013-14