Denver+Public+Schools

Denver Public Schools
Contact: Mike Clem (720) 424-8290 []
 * Program Descriptions: **
 * Program 1: Denver Public Schools – APEX Learning Credit Recovery **

This Denver Public Schools provides a credit recovery program to students in all of their high schools using APEX Learning for curriculum. The student is expected to carry a full traditional course load in addition to any credit recovery courses. Credit recovery courses are intended to allow students to catch up on missed or failed courses and allow the student to proceed to graduation and a DPS diploma.

The Credit Recovery (CR) courses are self-paced and completed at the student’s assigned high school. These APEX Learning courses are primarily text-based, but may include flash animations, audio and, in some cases, video. Most courses have graphics, similar to a textbook, to support the content.

In all cases, the student is supported and monitored in a DPS High School computer lab by licensed DPS teachers.

At this time, nearly 1,000 students participate in the DPS credit recovery program.

“A World of Learning at Your Fingertips” Contact: Mike Clem (720) 424-8290
 * Program 2: Denver Public Schools Online High School – Full-Time Online Learning Program **

This program provides students with a full-time option to traditional classroom learning experience. The program serves various groups of students including home-schooled students, elite athletes, and learners with medical and other needs that cannot be met in the standard high school program. A full curriculum is available to high school students and provides a path to graduation and a DPS diploma.

The core online curriculum for grades 9-11 is a mixture of courses developed by DPS for its own use and those purchased from 3rd party vendors. The elective courses are delivered by Aventa and OdysseyWare. As with the CR program, these courses are primarily text-based, but also include textbook-like graphics, flash animations, audio and, in some cases, video to support the content. Denver Online uses hourly teachers that are fully licensed and highly qualified for the subjects they teach. Teachers grade student work, provide feedback and participate in forum discussions with students. Also, the teachers currently use Elluminate for live instruction and tutoring.

Denver Online teachers are currently funded as a district department. Starting in the fall of 2011, they will be funded based on student count and state PPOR. DPS Online High School has over 250 students participating in the program as full-time, home school or supplemental students.

The student/parent is expected to provide workstation and Internet access. However, Denver Online High School has established a Learning Center where students can make use of the 30 computers on-site. Also, all of the teachers have an office at the Learning Center and are available for tutoring or other assistance during defined office hours.

Denver Online High School provides its courses from a DPS server using the Moodle learning management system. The Apex, Aventa, and Odysseyware courses are provided by the 3rd party vendors over the Internet. In some cases, the Aventa courseware is modified and hosted on DPS Moodle server with DPS teachers guiding instruction. Odysseyware is provided on a site-license basis. DPS staff includes its director, a full-time counselor and secretary, 1 pro-tech, a part-time parent/student liaison, 2 full-time para-professionals and up to 10 adjunct instructors and tutors.


 * Program 3: Denver Public Schools Professional Development (PD) Program **

Contact: Michael Wacker (303) 204-4638

DPS operates online (as well as face-to-face) professional development programs. The programs are available to all of the nearly 7000 teachers and other professional staff in the DPS system. These programs are designed to help professionals to grow in their skills and capabilities, and come in both formal and informal structures. Within the formal offerings, teachers may choose between:
 * Full online courses for the learner who prefers to work independently;
 * Scheduled group programs where the professional works with online resources and interacts with a facilitator and with other professionals over the network; and
 * Blended learning courses, which are similar to the Scheduled group courses, but include a regular (every 3-4 weeks) classroom meeting in a learning center environment.

In addition to the formal programs, informal online learning is available from DPS, including:


 * Just-In-Time video and other learning resources available on the Internet; and
 * Learning Communities (to begin in the fall) where the professionals will be able to form professional learning communities using Web 2 blogging and other social networking tools (these tools have yet to be selected).

Teachers, in following their individual Professional Growth Plans, are expected to use the online courses (or they can use face-to-face resources) to advance their professional development. Teachers are expected to participate in these learning experiences after school or on their own time, and have been equipped with District-provided laptop computers to access these courses. These courses are hosted on a separate DPS server and are delivered using the Moodle (v 1.9+) learning management system. About half of the courses have been developed in-house by DPS, the other half come from Teach-Scape.

Presently, the program is staffed by teacher/facilitators who guide the individual courses. DPS has established a cadre of facilitators and mentors, who will, in the future, be able to lead classes and help fellow teachers and will include teachers endorsed by teaching and learning departments across all content areas.

More School Info Here