Monitoring Report Responsible Citizens Board of Education Meeting July 15, 2008 Annette Fante, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Jed Bowman, Executive Director Rosanne Fulton, Assistant Director

Summary Points External Audit Revision of Interpretations Culture of Thinking Character Ethics Ethics and Content Learning Maintenance

1.0 Responsible Citizens All public neighborhood, alternative, charter and option students within the authority of Douglas County School District will acquire the essential skills (1.7) and core body of knowledge (1.8) so that they may consistently demonstrate critical thinking, ethical decision making, resourcefulness and motivation, application of learning, leadership and wellness to achieve a purpose or goal that positively impacts our school environments, our local, national and international communities.

Changes in Interpretation Inclusion of Hope Academy Eliminate one year enrollment requirement Maintain foundation of thinking and ethics Delete 1.3 and 1.4

Visual Representation See Appendix A (P. 21)

1.1 Critical Thinking Summary Reasonable Progress – Perception Data – Process Data – Student Learning Data Highlights – Action Research Teams 100% participation – K-6 – 7-8 – 9-12 See Figure 3 (Page 5)

Elementary School Paragraph The students generate ideas, share views, further explore thoughts and interact with others to clarify beliefs.

Middle School Paragraph We are absolutely committed to making sure this realignment to creating thinking cultures in our classrooms is systematic and purposeful.

High School Paragraph Our science teachers focused on critical thinking with students during a lesson about the function and main parts of the circulatory system.

1.1 - Critical Thinking: Staff

1.1 Critical Thinking: Students 2008 n% Elementary6,44012 Middle2,3505 High1,2753 Options4601 Total (N=51,946)10,52520

Ethics: Interpretation Revisions External Audit Character Development/Ethics Universal Ethical Principles

Ethics Revised Interpretation Students will conduct themselves according to commonly agreed upon standards. Minimally, these standards will include the ethical principles of: a.No harm: mental, emotional, physical b.Beneficence: help others; prevent others from being hurt; remove a harm c.Utility: choose the action that maximizes the good and minimizes the bad d.Justice: treat equal people equally and unequals unequally e.Autonomy: permit others the freedom to make and exercise decisions f.Personal/professional excellence: embody the ethical principles; model the principles Ultimately, our students will put the good of others before self and will consider the consequences of their actions on others before taking action.

1.2 Ethics Phase 1 Character Counts Positive Behavior Support District Core Values Phase 2 Curriculum Development Phase 3 Development of Staff

Subends Resourcefulness Application of Learning Leadership

Policy Recommendations Broaden the language of 1.1 to include creative and reflective thinking in addition to critical thinking Accept the language of the external auditors to ensure agreed upon understanding of the universal ethical principles Delete subends 1.3 and 1.4 as they do not represent disciplines of study parallel to that of thinking, ethics, leadership and wellness

DCSD Students acquire the knowledge and abilities to be responsible citizens who contribute to our society.