Adams 12 staff report progress, persistent special‑education and graduation concerns at New America School Thornton renewal review

Adams 12 district staff and New America School Thornton leaders presented a renewal review to the Adams 12 Five Star Schools Board of Education on Jan. 15, 2025, showing steady gains in graduation and school climate but ongoing shortfalls in special‑education staffing and a persistently high dropout rate.

The presentation, led by Principal Myra Ramirez and Santiago Lopez, superintendent of NAS Colorado, detailed the school’s mission and student population, and Audrey Monaco and Kelly Ann Scott from Adams 12’s charter office summarized the district’s review and a recommendation that a renewal contract be shorter than the maximum and include enforceable provisions to address special education and post‑secondary outcomes.

New America School Thornton serves a high‑risk, multilingual student body and uses both a traditional diploma and a competency‑based (CB) diploma track. Ramirez and NAS leaders said the school had 174 students as of December and rose to about 185 after the holiday break. Ramirez and Santiago also highlighted program features including a newcomer program, evening classes and credit recovery options that the school uses to serve students who are overage or under‑credited. “The New America School empowers new immigrants, English language learners, and academically underserved students with the educational tools and support to maximize their potential and live the American dream,” Santiago said, reading the school’s mission.

Why it matters: the school educates students who the district says are at high risk of dropping out and has been federally identified under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) for low graduation rates. District officials said the school has shown measurable gains but remains below federal targets and needs stronger staffing and monitoring to sustain progress.

What the presentations showed - Demographics and programming: New America explained that 97% of its students have at least one state‑defined indicator of high dropout risk; 95% have a history of habitual truancy; 85% come from low socioeconomic backgrounds; and many are multilingual. The school described a CB diploma program and an expanded schedule intended to help students recover credits faster. - Academic measures: The school’s alternative education campus School Performance Framework (AAC SPF) score improved by 2.7 points over the contract term, and the school’s graduation rate rose to 40.8% in 2024 from 36% in 2022. District staff noted that the reintroduction of attendance and truancy measures changed the SPA composition and affected point totals. - Local review and DAC findings: Members of the District Accountability Committee (DAC) who participated in a site visit praised the school’s climate, small class sizes and mission alignment, and noted improvements in policies, hallways and handbooks. DAC members also recommended more marketing to recruit students who might benefit from the program and suggested clearer, more consistent communications with families.

District concerns and proposed contract provisions District reviewers and charter staff outlined two areas of continuing concern: special‑education services and post‑secondary/workforce readiness. Kelly Ann Scott and Audrey Monaco summarized a record that included: a notice of concern in November 2023 about staffing gaps; a breach of contract in February 2024 because a hired learning specialist had an expired credential and resulted in compensatory service obligations; and a December 2024 notice of concern that the school temporarily lacked an in‑person learning specialist.

Monaco said Adams 12 staff were satisfied that the school had taken corrective steps but recommended contractual conditions to reduce the risk of future gaps. The district’s recommended provisions (to be negotiated if the board approves a renewal) included requiring NAS Thornton to: hire and retain qualified ELD and special‑education teachers and service providers by the start of the school year and not allow more than a three‑week lapse in coverage if turnover occurs; retain an outside special‑education consultant for the charter term; and meet regularly with the district’s executive director for secondary options and innovation to support the CB diploma and graduation work. The district also asked the school to show measurable progress toward a 67% graduation target and to reduce its dropout rate toward a specified target by 2027.

New America leaders described operational progress the school says produced gains: a 64% increase in CB diploma enrollment, improved retention and a restructured special‑education team that the school said was fully staffed as of semester two. Dean Michelle Avila Quintero said 65% of continuously enrolled students within seven credits of graduation earned a diploma by the end of last year and that the school’s goal is 75% this school year.

Board questions and next steps Board members asked for more detailed data on special‑education caseloads, the number of students using the CB diploma track, truancy metrics and timeliness of IEP meetings. Director Battistelli asked for numbers on how many IEP meetings have taken place on time; school leaders said they did not have those counts at the meeting but agreed to provide them. Director Potter and others asked the board to submit any questions in writing to Audrey Monaco by close of business the Monday after the meeting so district and school staff could prepare responses ahead of the scheduled action.

No final decision was made at the Jan. 15 meeting. Audrey Monaco reminded the board that the item was informational at this session and that the board will consider action at the Feb. 5, 2025 meeting.

Ending District staff and DAC members characterized the review as a mix of measurable progress and open work: improvements in climate and the AAC SPF score, measurable gains in graduation rate year‑to‑year, but a need for stable, credentialed special‑education staffing and clearer, more granular data on outcomes. The board paused action to allow time for written follow‑up questions and for the district to specify enforceable contract provisions for the board’s consideration on Feb. 5.