Connect for Success

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Introduction

The Connect for Success (CFS) grant was the result of a 2014 Colorado Department of Education (CDE) study of five high achieving elementary schools identified based on their overall performance, as well as the performance of their student groups, specifically English Learners, students with disabilities, students experiencing poverty, and minority students. The study focused on how these schools are attaining higher academic achievement than other schools in the state. The school and LEA leadership, personnel, families, and students participated in surveys, focus groups, and interviews to help identify the factors contributing to the schools' success with the identified groups. The following High Achieving Schools (HAS) Study summarizes the study purpose and methods, overall findings highlighting effective strategies common across the five schools in the 2014 study, and effective strategies unique within each school: www.cde.state.co.us/fedprograms/dper/evalrpts.

In 2018, CDE added four new high achieving schools to the study: a rural elementary school, a middle school, a high school, and an alternative education campus (AEC). The same methodology was used to identify practices that are contributing to the success of the newly identified schools. Although three of the four schools were secondary schools, many of the same trends were noted across the second round of High Achieving Schools as has been evidenced in the first study. CDE is in the process updating the HAS study and historical and any new related reports will be posted on Federal Programs- Program Evaluations and Analyses website (www.cde.state.co.us/fedprograms/dper/evalrpts).

The CFS grant is an opportunity for eligible schools to connect with and learn from the HAS effective practices and strategies. Schools that participate in the Connect for Success grant receive a diagnostic visit and a report that includes recommendations from a CDE team based on the findings of the HAS study. After hearing a panel of HAS school leaders and connecting with them at a kickoff meeting, grantees visit one of the HAS to see the effective practices in person. Schools identify and/or hire an implementation coach who works with a CDE Implementation Manager to replicate HAS strategies as well as monitor the implementation of those practices.

Program Contact Information

Laura Meushaw
Supervisor of Program Implementation, Federal Programs & Supports
720-728-9023 | Meushaw_L@cde.state.co.us

Christina Adeboye Sullivan
Program Implementation Coordinator, Federal Programs & Supports
720-498-2252 | Adeboye-Sullivan_C@cde.state.co.us