Our Mission

The mission of Get Smart Schools is to stimulate and support the creation of new high performing schools serving low-income students in kindergarten through twelfth grade in Colorado’s Front Range.

Get Smart Schools will:

  • Increase the number of effective school leaders by developing targeted leadership training programs.
  • Increase the resources available to new school developers, including financial resources and access to facilities.
  • Increase awareness of and demand for new high performing schools.
  • Relentlessly pursue quality improvements in our network of schools and ensure that only those schools which meet our high standards can carry the “Get Smart Schools” mark.
  • Serve as a coordinator and catalyst for the many organizations locally and regionally that are engaged in education reform.

Why is this a smart time for change?

We are facing incredible educational challenges at the local, state, and national level.  The time for action is now.

 
Denver/Front Range
  • Nearly half of the students in the urban core of Colorado’s Front Range fail to graduate from high school. Only 25% attend college.
  • 72% of Hispanic students in Denver drop out of school, the worst rate in the country.
  • Students currently enrolled in the ninth grade in Denver Public Schools have a 9% chance of graduating from college eight years from now.

Colorado

  • Colorado rates 31st worst in the nation in high school dropout rates. In 2008 alone, 16,640 students dropped out of school across the state.
  • Colorado ranks 32nd worst in the nation on the poverty achievement gap in reading and 43rd in math.
  • 30% of Colorado fourth graders scored below the basic reading level in 2007.
  • Fewer than 30% of students who are not currently proficient are making adequate growth to reach proficiency by 10th grade.
  • $5.2 billion would be added to the Colorado economy if minority children graduated at the same rate as whites by 2020. 

National

  • America’s high school graduation rate ranks 21st in the world.
  • Over two thirds of new jobs being created require college education or advanced training. 
  • For each additional year of school, the odds that a student will someday commit a crime like murder or assault are reduced by almost one-third.
  • Numerous indicators suggest that the creation of new schools is a more effective and efficient approach to education reform than attempting to transform existing schools. For example, in Chicago new schools rank in the top five in all but one category for the Chicago Public Schools High School Score Card and have a 15% higher graduation rate than traditional district schools.