Budgetary Shortfalls Births an Irving Village

"Why close our schools?" Shock permeated the room. Weeping parents and students shared in disbelief as eight neighborhood schools were closed by the local board of education. They fell victim to budgetary shortfalls. The Irving Villiage Initiative led by Delia Armstrong Busby and other engaged community is born soon after the flurry of school shutdowns subsides.
The first wave of vocal participants in community meetings on school closure is teachers. Why did the school close? "We raised the test scores." "We strengthened instruction." Make the nonsensical make sense.
The next wave of meetings brought the ideas. "What about a vocational training center?" A hub if you will.
Pastor queried, what about a community garden? He suggested too, cradle to grave services in this "village- Irving Village.
Soon, a trek to the state capital in Denver bolstered the ideas for the village. Business leaders from the vocations-plumbing, electricity, construction ensue. Labor union leaders join the group as well. "Let's update the job preparations" they ask. Hence the word greening is introduced to the conversation. The talk turns to the environmental consciousness now leading the construction of wind driven energy sources. Now conversation turns to the needed preparation for green jobs.
In the spirit of true grassroots activism, the committee created an RFP for partnering with the school district to re purpose the now defunct middle school as a vocational hub with an inter generational center also to be housed on the campus. The plan visioned a regional vocational hub supporting a cradle to grave service center for the neighborhood community. A childcare center, non profit services and even a senior citizen's band could find a space in the Irving Village.
Recently, the school district's board of directors tasked the administration to start to incorporate the grassroots Irving Village initiative into a fully developed district plan for future implementation pending funding.
In the face of budget shortfalls, it is important for the community to stay engaged. Indeed, community can actively push the shifting paradigm to empower its own needs.
Weather the emotional waves fueled by change. Vision with fellow villagers to reconstitute the present for a new future. Remember the chaos precedes new social and economic norming. Each community can birth its own Irving Village Concept over time.
http://deliabusby.blogspot.com/2009/11/three-plans-one-goal-more-vocational.html

Close a school, open a village by Sue McMillin

Close a school, open a village
May 27th, 2009, 5:40 pm · Post a Comment · posted by Sue McMillin

Sometimes ideas blossom quickly. That seems to be the case with a group of citizens who have gathered a few times in recent weeks to talk about the fate of Irving Middle School after it closes this week. When many folks were relaxing over the Memorial holiday weekend, the stalwarts in the group were doing paperwork to establish the Irving Village nonprofit to create an intergenerational community center at the school on Murray Boulevard.

And they're thinking that part of the center would house a charter school, the Irving Village Career-Vocational Prep Academy that would serve students in sixth through 12th grades. The kids could get training/apprenticeships/vocational certifications, and even walk away with associates degrees, according to Delia Armstrong-Busby, one of the leaders of the effort. Those involved in recent meetings have said there's a huge need for vocational education in the region because students who aren't college-bound find the traditional high school offerings irrelevant to their lives.

Some of the folks and businesses who've joined this effort include attorney Pete Lee, Rick Johnson of Johnson Plumbing and Heating, Open Range Construction and Pikes Peak Workforce.

Busby said the group will seek a charter from D-11 or the state charter authority, and has already floated the idea to the League of Charter Schools, which found the idea innovative. Busby said those interested in the projects or in donating to the start-up can contact her at rubusy1@comcast.net
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DELIA ARMSTRONG-BUSBY 8/16/2004 4800.00. DELIA ARMSTRONG-BUSBY 8/31/2004 4800.00 ... DELIA ARMSTRONG-BUSBY 6/30/2005 4800.00. Total: 91419.24 ...

DELIA ARMSTRONG-BUSBY 8/16/2004 4800.00. DELIA ARMSTRONG-BUSBY 8/31/2004 4800.00 ... DELIA ARMSTRONG-BUSBY 6/30/2005 4800.00. Total: 91419.24 ...

Delia Armstrong Busby Consulting provides drop out intervention services to many districts over time. Delia Armstrong Busby created the Absence Addiction Approach which is a proven intervention for dropout intervention. The creation of this program assisted in award winning out comes for students.

The D-11 Fact Sheet Alliance for What?

The Alliance for Quality Public Schools was formed by Karen Teja, Jan Tanner, Tami Hasling, John Garten, as well as myself and numerous others in 2003.
It was used as a springboard to elect Tami Hasling to the School Board in 2005. I assisted with the appointment of Jan Tanner to the treasurer position through the intervention of then board president Sandy Shakes.
Through the efforts of the Alliance, a more moderate and less strident voice was established at the board level.
By 2007 Jan Tanner would be formally elected to the BOE where she was elected to a full term subsequent to her winning a recall election where she ran against Sandy Shakes

We Are Barak Hussein Obama

Delia Armstrong Busby was the first African American principal in Colorado Springs and the first to serve on the District 11 Board of Education.
Provided by: Delia Armstrong Busby


The inauguration of Barack Obama leads me to these reflections---

The people of Colorado Springs were poised for change when Barack Hussein Obama appeared on the electoral scene. My first wave of "what in the world is happening here?" occurred during the democratic caucus in our neighborhood which is near Wasson High School.

My husband (Ron) and I arrived at Audubon Elementary School to find the largest democratic turnout in30 years. The next eye-opener was the campaign field workers at the Obama Party the evening of the caucus.

As newly selected Obama caucus delegates, Ron and I were surprised when we entered the Party at Phantom Canyon, to find a room full of energetic 20-somethings with faces aglow with happy and voices bubbly with "Yes, we can". It quickly reminded me of my days of high school supervision when the highlight of the evening might be stopping some youthful PDA (public display of affection). But the only PDA I found at Phantom Canyon was a philosophical love affair for Barack Obama.

This is my first experience with impassioned, youthful, campaigners in large numbers. To me it signals the changing of the generational guard. I am impressed.

Since moving to Colorado Springs in 1969, I have always had a personal sense of what I can do. And within this community, I have had the professional and personal opportunity of many firsts. This includes being the first African American female to be appointed to a high school principalship. In 1999, I became the first African American female elected to the Colorado Springs District Eleven School Board in over 140 years. Because of these experiences, the election of Barack Obama never seemed out of reach to me.

I certainly have been at the forefront of educational change in Colorado Springs for nearly40 years. My conclusion is that the community is empowering based on its perception of your ability to make a meaningful contribution. Obama arrived on the scene of a community hip-deep in a desire for better. A community still wanting to believe that America can indeed renew itself with the best leadership. There was and is a strong feeling of "we can be better" and "we can do better." Further, there are still numbers of people willing to extend themselves to make it so.

Since his election, the Obama team has been in constant touch keeping the dream of a renewed America alive. A day of service is being encouraged this month. The push for all of us to better our community by acting to make improvement or to just make a personal contribution to the common good is inspiring. We are Barack Hussein Obama. We make him possible because we make dreams come true when we continue to say yes to change and to hope and to seeing the possibilities of the new reality that emerges on Tuesday January 20, 2009.



Currently listening to:
Yes We Can: Voices of a Grassroots Movement (Barack Obama)
Released on: November 11, 2008
By: Various Artists and Barack Obama

Children Engaged:AVisit To the Pikes Peak Urban League Child Development Center

Children Engaged: A Visit to the Pikes Peak Urban League Child Development Center
Smiling faces highlighted by hopeful, enthusiastic eyes helped to communicate the effectiveness of the Urban League Child Development Center run by Mrs. G. (Mildred Galbreath).
The Pikes Peak Urban League Child Development is partnered with Hope On Line Academy to create the educational setting which captures the learning energies of these children who are aged from kindergarten to second grade.
Research demonstrates that the years before the third grade are crucial. With this development center as a staging ground, young minds are being effectively prepared with literacy and mathematical curriculum. This rich curricular content is enhanced by a student-teacher ratio of about one to four. Add to this certified social worker support. With the assistance of a credentialed instructional coach, students have the equivalent of individual learning plans supervised by qualified instructional specialists.
What a wonderfully well executed design --- not only for at risk early learners---- but any early learners.
Hats off to Mrs. G and her children loving staff and the curricular/instructional assistance provided through Hope On Line Academy.
Observation completed by Delia Armstrong-Busby, Milken Educator, former School Board Director

Doubt:The Movie and Pedophilia in the Schoolhouse

Sister Aloyious, the catalytic character in the movie, Doubt; portrays the responsible educator confronted with the duty to act when faced with pedophilia in the schoolhouse.
My own experience with this duty to act was driven by the complaint raised by the boyfriend of a former student. The student still traumatized by the experience of the sexual betrayal at the hands of a trusted staff member. I was newly appointed to my position as a high school principal, yet I did take the responsiblity. At the time, the laws were different on one level, but the individual accountability for doing the "right thing" are always present. I initiated an investigation, talking to staff members who came forward with what they knew. It was a floodgate with yearbooks used to point out students who were victimized over time.
My investigation revealed that the staff member in question had seventeen years of complaints about inappropriate sexual relationships with male and female students.
After bringing this information to the superintendent, he then hired an investigator.
The investigator compiled an overwhelming body of evidence as a result of gathering signed statements from parents and students regarding the sexual acitivity with children in the school.
As the episode progresses, politics prevails. The individual in question is permitted to resign.
when he surfaces again it is as a staff member in an adjacent school district with a recommendation from a then member of the state board of education.
And parallel to the outcomes for the accused in the movie, the indiviual is left to repeat the behavior with a new audience of students.

Holding Back Young Students: Is Program a Gift or a Stigma?

Holding Back Young Students: Is Program a Gift or a Stigma?
This headline is taken from the June 26, 2008 edition of the New York Times. The answer to the question is that failure is always stigmatizing to students in school. This is true of all grade levels. The school district initiating the retention of 12% of its first graders is East Ramapo school district. If this school district is aware that twelve percent of its student population is deficient then why not have pre-first grade interventions that prevent rather than intervene? Certainly the pre-first grade prevention approach is most beneficial to all ---- especially the children being stigmatized by the choice of the district board and administration.
Points of reference on tracking
Academic Tracking the practice of grouping students according to ability and placing these students into separate curricula tracks or courses. The tracks cover distinctly different material, are binding across all academic subjects, and often lead to different destinations upon graduation from high school.
This quote is drawn from the definitions of terms phrase of a North Carolina standards document.
What federal law says?
Assignment to Classes
Schools may not segregate students on the basis of race, color, or national origin in making classroom assignments. Some schools offer courses of study that result in the assignment of students to classes with a substantially disproportionate number of minority or nonminority students. Schools must be able to demonstrate valid and nondiscriminatory reasons for such assignments. For example, valid educational reasons may exist when a class provides specially designed instruction to enable limited-English proficient students to acquire English language skills. Students may be assigned to such courses only when appropriate and nondiscriminatory evaluation, placement, and exiting criteria and procedures are followed.
This is taken from
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Prohibits Discrimination in Assigning Students to Schools, Classes or Courses of Study in Programs or Activities That Receive Federal Financial Assistance

The Magic of the Absence Addiction Approach

The Magic of the Absence Addiction Approach: A proven response to student engagement and retention

The Absence Addiction Approach is a proven response to meeting the needs for secondary student engagement. With the proper commitment of all in the school setting, all students can be linked to the pathways of their life journey. The teaching of readin and writing and rithmatic is conducted in a school context that can be enriched by adding school cultural adjustments that enhance the success factor of the students and the staff.

It is my deep belief that the biggest factor in the assisted completion of the high school curriculum or course of study is the affective relationship of the student intra-personally and extra -personally. My next deeply held belief is that every secondary school in the United States has the potential to assist the graduation of every student who enters its doors. Any high school staff or concerned parent group or central office staff that wants more “kids” to graduate has all of the ingredients for attaining that outcome already. Each school setting must create the culture essential to the student outcomes it professes for all of its children.

“The Absence Addiction Approach (AAA) is a proven response to meeting the needs for secondary student engagement. “ This statement is repeated to bridge to the creation of an award winning conceptualization for the purpose of empowering students to take control of their success factor in the school setting. Using this process for student re-engagement, the measurable retention rate for students at risk of discontinuing from the high school setting rose to one of the highest reported in the state of Colorado. This retention growth was verified by the Colorado Department of Education and Denver Post reporter Bernie Morrison.

The content for the change in the curricular instruction for targeted students is driven by de-briefing students about their school behavior patterns in ways that permitted them to objectify rather than personalize past successes or failures in the school setting.
Next, brief lessons in the repetition of behavioral patterns are given as information. This imparting of information about personal choice assists the eagle’s view or balcony approach. This is energizing because it frees the energy being sapped by the student remaining equal to her least effective school performance. Next of course is the goal-setting. It is impossible for students to set meaningful goals with inhibiting barriers intruding on the success tract. Inherent in this educational approach is that both the staff and student can change to create new academic outcomes.
The third significant step in the AAA is the establishment of means to support the students and staff in managing change. In one case, this may mean some type of weekly or daily re-enforcement for change in the academic achievement gulf for targeted students. It may also mean some type of initially frequent re-enforcement for appropriate staff members. It is important that the majority of the staff involved is certificated elders in the instructional village also known as a school.
The fourth step is frequent assessment of the attainment of staff and student change goals. And in between practice, practice, practice.

The process above assisted in my selection for the National Educational Leadership Award given by the Milken Foundation and the Colorado Governor’s Award as Outstanding Individual

Has No Child Left Behind Failed?

An educator's response to Claudia Wallis.
Ms. Wallis, I recently read your article on Time.com regarding Dr. Neuman and No Child Left Behind.
I am most drawn to the article statement which shares that the "Economic Policy Institute,... is releasing a document entitled "A Broader Bolder Approach to Education" which "lays out an expansive vision for leveling the
playing for low income kids, one that looks toward new policies in
child health and support for parents and communities."
To me, the crux of the statement by the Economic Policy Institute, a think tank, is the approximately 25 billion dollar budget allocation to
Title One. The figure regarding the budgetary allocation is sourced by the Democratic staff committee on Education and Labor, US House of Representatives, February 5, 2007.
The Economic Policy Institute statement -proposal is intended to influence the dollars currently allocated to instruction under the current Title One parameters.
Under the current title one guidelines additional vendors
outside of the instructional realm are not the primary recipients of these monies.
Title One dollars do not necessarily flow directly into the hands of social interventionists or developmental theorists.
Yet, if the representatives of the Broader,Bolder, Approach attain political leverage, then the amended allocation guidelines can reflect their political influence.

Why Small High Schools Movement Alone Will Not Improve Student Achievement

David H. Hoff writes in Ed Week that high schools funded for "smaller learning communities" cannot definitively say that ,to paraphrase, student achievement is improving in the funded small high school setting
The report, released by the US Department of Education, finds "no significant trends
in achievement on state tests or college entrance exams"
In my mind, growth in student achievement and assessment is driven by instructional competence and quality. Engaged students learn best. Heightened assessment performance is driven by leveraging the quality of instruction and maximum student focus on the learning task at hand.
In closing, one on one instruction fails if the quality of instructional competence and student engagement is low. So no, a smaller high school is not guarantee of greater student achievement.

The Robin Hood Effect of NCLB?

Sam Dillon, writer for the New York Times, writes the following in Wednesday's New York Times, June 18, 2008
" A new study argues that the nation's focus on helping students who are furtherest behind may have provided a Robin Hood Effect, yielding steady academic gain for low achieving students in recent years at the expense of top students"
What? One wonders why the research dots are connected so that the above conclusion might be reached?
On one level, lets take the high schools. Top students tend to have highly qualified teachers. These teachers meet the standards in some cases for teaching advanced placement classes. Such teachers, because of their qualifications, may not maintain a teaching schedule that includes academically underachieving students.
On another level, lets look at lesson planning. Are we saying that classroom teachers do no planning for any students but the low achieving? Thus, the improvement in scores for that demographic? Really? My reality is such that the high achieving student requires the most extensive planning to address the depth of curriculum content that their intellect and cumulative knowledge requires.
Hmmmmmm-more to come on this topic