School Overview ALLIES was founded in the Fall of 2017 after a pilot program by the name of LEx ''Literacy Excellence.'' Our 'school within a school' LEx had shown such great success and growth in reading data that it was decided that the district would expand this innovation program to the creation of an entire school. ALLIES opened in August with 87 students in grades 2, 3, 4 and 5. ALLIES began its seventh year in the fall of 2023 and now serves 120 students in grades 2, 3, 4 and 5. The missi…
on of ALLIES inspires students with language based learning difficulties and characteristics of Dyslexia to celebrate their strengths and overcome their struggles while preparing for a successful educational experience in middle school, high school and beyond. ALLIES consists of 7 Professors (2 ELA Professors, 2 Math Professors, 1 Innovation Professor, 1 Discovery Professor and 1 Special Education Professor). Our teachers are called Professors because of the depth of training they have received in the area of Dyslexia, it's co-morbidities and the accommodations needed for this difference in learning. ALLIES also employs 6 Certified Academic Language Therapists who deliver Take Flight Therapy. This is a comprehensive intervention program for students with Dyslexia, created by the Luke Waites Center for Dyslexia and Learning Disorders at Scottish Rite Hospital located in Dallas, Texas. This is an intense Orton-Gillingham based program that addresses all components of reading, including: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and basic comprehension. Students participate in a 3 year intervention: sessions are taught 50 minutes a day / 5 days a week by Certified Academic Language Therapists. The planning committee for the creation of ALLIES consisted of myself, the Director, and Dr. Pickering, the Zone Superintendent. All next steps and planning is shared with the SAC (School Accountability of ALLIES). All teachers have provided input in the planning phase of ALLIES and continue to provide input into the action steps needed to proceed with the implementation and improvement of ALLIES each year. Professors and Therapists have now provided input into this UIP and continue to support the actions of this UIP. The school's action plan is provided quarterly with parents at SAC meetings. Description of The Academy for Literacy, Learning and Innovation Excellence (ALLIES): The Academy is the first free and public school in Colorado to serve students with a profile for Dyslexia. This school was created based on District 49's belief that every child can learn and that District 49 is the best place to learn, work and lead. ALLIES is part of a Portfolio of Schools offered because the Board of Education understands that not every child learns in the same way at the same time. The Academy for Literacy, Learning and Innovation Excellence (ALLIES) is a unique school built to service students with a Profile of Dyslexia. This profile also includes the co-morbid factors of: Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia, working memory issues, ADD/ADHD and anxiety. Due to these factors ALLIES is staffed with various ratios including: 1:4 Therapist Ratio, 1:12 ELA & Math Professor ratio and a 1:24 Innovation, On-Line Learning and Discovery Professor ratio. Therapists at ALLIES utilize the Take Flight Therapy program with each student. Students each work through this program with varying speeds and degrees of success based on their level of Dyslexia (Dyslexia is held on a continuum of mild to severely blocked) and their level of attentional difficulties. Take Flight Therapist are held to a high standard of therapy service. They must: Fulfill a two year training requirement, hold a CALT (Certified Academic Language Therapist) license and be continually evaluated by a QI (Qualified Instructor). Dyslexia is a lifelong struggle. ALLIES and the Take Flight Therapy program will not cure Dyslexia, Dysgraphia or Dyscalculia for a child. Take Flight will give these students the skills and tools necessary to begin to break the code in reading and our Professors will give these students the accommodations necessary to level the playing field in the educational system. These students may always struggle to conquer the written word with the same fluency as their peers but they will have the ability to believe in themselves! Our students will come to understand that they are not dumb - they are brilliant - and that they learn in a different way (their brains are wired differently) and they will always have to work harder than others when it comes to literacy and math. They may not show their gifts when asked to take a written test but their gifts will shine in other areas of life. They will need perseverance and grit to be successful! To understand ALLIES and the tremendous work and passion of our Therapists and Professors, one must understand Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia and the co-morbidities that accompany each. For more information please go to www.BrightSolutions.US, www.learningally.org, and www.understood.org.
Accredited with Distinction - This is assigned to the highest performing districts. These districts are meeting or exceeding expectations on the majority of performance tasks.
Accredited - Districts with an overall rating of Accredited are meeting expectations on the majority of performance metrics.
Accredited with Improvement Plan - These districts are identified as lower performing. They may be meeting expectations on some performance metrics, but they are not meeting or are only approaching expectations on many.
Accredited with Priority Improvement Plan - These districts are identified as low performing. They are not meeting or are only approaching expectations on most performance metrics. The state will provide support and oversight to these districts until they improve.
Accredited with Turnaround Plan - These districts are identified as among the lowest performing districts in the state. They are not meeting or are only approaching expectations on most performance metrics. The state will provide support and oversight to these districts until they improve.
Accredited with Insufficient State Data - These districts are assigned this accreditation rating when the state does not have enough data to report publicly. To better understand why a district received an Insufficient State Data rating, all publicly reportable data are reflected in the performance framework report. More information about these ratings is available here.
School Ratings
Performance Plan - Schools with a Performance Plan are meeting expectations on the majority of performance metrics.
Improvement Plan - These schools are identified as lower performing. They may be meeting expectations on some performance metrics, but they are not meeting or are only approaching expectations on many.
Priority Improvement Plan - These schools are identified as low performing. They are not meeting or are only approaching expectations on most performance metrics. The state will provide support and oversight to these schools until they improve.
Turnaround Plan - These schools are identified as among the lowest performing schools in the state. They are not meeting or are only approaching expectations on most performance metrics. The state will provide support and oversight to these schools until they improve.
Insufficient State Data - These schools are assigned this plan type when the state does not have enough data to report publicly. To better understand why a school received an Insufficient State Data rating, all publicly reportable data are reflected in the performance framework report. More information about these ratings is available here.