The Littleton Public Schools (LPS) Board of Education (BoE) has responsibility for all aspects of the district's operation, including budget, communication, curriculum and assessment, facilities, instructional programs, personnel, and strategic planning. 

[JPG 538KB]  The Board usually meets at 6:30pm on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month at the LPS Education Services Center, 5776 South Crocker Street, Littleton, Colorado 80120, USA.  Board workshops and other special meetings are held as needed.  Information about future meeting agendas usually is available the prior week by telephone on the BoE information line at 303-347-3515.

The five members of the LPS BoE are elected at large and serve four-year terms without pay.  The current members are Sue Chandler, Bob Colwell (President), Renée Howell, Mary Nichols, and Lucie Standish.  The superintendent is Scott Murphy.

Board members and other LPS officials are very eager to provide a great deal of public recognition for a small number of students and staff who win awards for their outstanding accomplishments.  This tendency is typical of some school districts and other governmental organizations that depend upon public perceptions of performance.

A double-sided, tri-fold brochure [PDF 134KB], the Board Report, and some other meeting-specific handouts are available to the public at Board of Education meetings.  The "Citizens' Requests to Speak to the Board" time period, which is scheduled early in the meeting, provides an opportunity for members of the community to speak to the Board on items of interest or concern that do not appear elsewhere on the agenda:

•  Brochure statements: "We Want to Hear from You! ... We welcome your comments and questions!"
•  Sign-up card statements: "Your Comments are Welcome! ... The Board does not respond to questions or concerns during the meeting, but will respond in a timely manner."
•  Board Report statement: "It has been the practice of the Board not to respond during the current meeting to statements or questions presented during this segment of the agenda."

ICAN has been concerned about some LPS policies and practices which affect:

•  Student performance (particularly below-grade-level students).
•  Student assessment and evaluation program effectiveness.
•  District and school improvement planning.
•  These and other concerns have been noted on the BoE Meetings and other ICAN website pages.

After the term-limited departures of three incumbents and the election of three new members in November, 2005, the subsequent Board demonstrated in partnership with the superintendent and his staff both willingness and ability to address some of the above concerns stated on the ICAN LPS Performance Issues page.  However, that initial momentum diminished in 2007 and then continued at a lower level after the November, 2007 election of the current Board.

The one-page LPS Strategic Plan 2006-2011 [PDF 19KB] was approved unanimously by the previous Board of Education on September 28, 2006.  All five Board members had been actively engaged in its development during the previous February Board retreat and subsequent meetings.  At the September 14, 2006 workshop (see above picture) the Board also received and discussed an "Improving Student Achievement" presentation, which included this District Achievement Goal: "90% of all students will be on or above grade level in reading, math, writing, and science by 2011.  The achievement gap in student performance will be cut in half by 2009."  More information is available on the ICAN LPS Plans and other pages.

ICAN believes that there will be little or no reduction in the percentages of below-grade-level students until most of the LPS Board of Education members and the superintendent publicly declare their willingness to be held accountable for such specific, measurable objectives and then insist that lower-level officials do the same.  Otherwise, institutional inertia will maintain the status quo and continue to prevent significant increase in student academic achievement.  Unfortunately, neither the Board of Education minutes of Board meetings nor the district website provide evidence that Board of Education members and the superintendent publicly declare their willingness to be held accountable for the District Achievement Goal results.  Another significant public indication of lack of ownership for results is that very few schools even mention the District Achievement Goal on their school websites.  More information about accountability issues is available on the ICAN LPS Accountability page.

ICAN remains concerned about LPS public visibility of LPS student academic achievement progress.  Significant improvement of such public visibility is needed for Board of Education meetings, District Achievement Goal, School Improvement Plans (SIPs) and updates, advisory groups, progress reporting, publicity, objectionable tactics, and other opportunities.

Many current examples of Board unwillingness to respond to citizen requests for information are on the ICAN LPS Unanswered Questions page.

Last modified: 07/05/2008

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