Crafting an Innovation School: Findings from Denver’s First Eight Innovation Schools

Beginning in 2010, The Evaluation Center in the School of Education and Human Development, at the University of Colorado Denver, was contracted through a collaborative effort by Denver Public Schools (DPS), Colorado Education Association (CEA), A+ Denver, and the Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA) to provide external evaluation services to study the Innovation schools in Denver.

This is the final report for year 1 of the evaluation, which covers the 2010-11 school year. The purpose of this report is to provide preliminary data about the Innovation schools that will help DPS and its partners understand the changes that have occurred since schools gained Innovation status, what is working well, and what challenges they are facing. The results are designed to be formative in nature, which will provide stakeholders with information that can be used to inform decision-making, and to help improve and support Innovation schools.