CDE Field Trips -- 12/3/24: Bright Spot - KIPP Colorado Northeast Denver Middle School

KIPP NE Denver Middle School math teacher Madeline Plachy helps one of her students.

Principals and district leaders gathered recently at KIPP Northeast Denver Middle School to observe how the Montbello-area charter school has become one of the Denver metro area’s highest-performing middle schools.

The Bright Spot visit  – an initiative by CDE’s Transformation Network to spotlight successful educational programs throughout the state – highlighted KIPP Northeast Denver Middle School’s high-quality instructional materials, instructional coherence, grade-level instruction, and systems supporting electronics policies. 

Principals and district leaders from Adams 12 Five Star Schools, Adams 14, Aurora, Englewood, Fort Lupton, and Greeley-Evans school districts attended the recent Bright Spot visit to KIPP, which included visits to English language arts, math, and music class. Visitors also saw how the school prepares for the day with staff standup meetings and welcoming students.

Of particular interest was the school’s solid daily attendance average and chronic absenteeism rate, which is the best in the KIPP Denver charter school network. The school is already beating its end-of-the-year goal of a 92% average attendance rate. It also has set a goal of having 80% of students attending 90% or more of enrolled days.

The school creates a “joyful, safe, identity-affirming space” with uniforms, immediate response to hate language and racial slurs, and detailed expectations for hallway and transitions. 

Families and students understand the expectations of being in school daily, which is communicated regularly. Each student has a staff member who is their “champion” who checks in on them daily to ensure they are at school and content. If a student is absent, the staff will contact the home to understand why. Even Principal Stephani Olson has students she connects with during the day. 

“It provides a sense of belonging,” Olson said. “Students know they are part of our family, and that feeling of connectedness makes them want to be at school every day.”