RESOLUTION NUMBER 19-005
BOARD OF EDUCATION
ADAMS COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT 14
COMMERCE CITY, COLORADO

RESOLUTION SELECTING MGT OF AMERICA CONSULTING, LLC AS LEAD
MANAGEMENT PARTNER
WHEREAS, on November 27, 2018, the Colorado State Board of Education (the “State Board”)
issued an Order extending its stay of the removal of the Adams Country School District 14’s (the
“District’s”) accreditation conditioned on the Board of Education (the “Board”) of the District
selecting a public or private entity to serve as lead partner with the Board in the management of
the District;
WHEREAS, on February 12, 2019 following reasonable public notice and the thorough
engagement of community stakeholders, the Board adopted Resolution No. 19-002, selecting
Mapleton Public Schools, legally known as Adams County School District No. 1 (“Mapleton”), to
serve as lead partner with the Board in the management of the District because it demonstrated
it can best meet the requirements of the Request for Qualifications/Proposal (“RFQ/P”) and the
State Board of Education’s Order, as recommended by the District community;
WHEREAS, on March 14, 2019, the State Board reviewed the Board’s selection and several
members of the State Board expressed concerns about Mapleton’s ability to meet all the
requirements of the November 27, 2018 Order without outside help;
WHEREAS, the State Board passed a motion “to continue [it]s consideration of this matter to a
future meeting” and “request[ed] that Adams County School District 14 work with Mapleton
Public Schools and/or others to strengthen its application by identifying additional partners with
whom they will work”;
WHEREAS, on March 19, 2019, Board President Connie Quintana sent a letter to the President
of the Mapleton Board of Education, asking whether Mapleton is willing to follow the State
Board’s request and strengthen its application by identifying additional partners;
WHEREAS, on March 25, 2019, the Board adopted Resolution No. 19-004, in which it stated its
willingness to work with Mapleton to strengthen its application by identifying MGT of America
Consulting, LLC, in association with the University of Virginia Darden/Curry Partnership for
Leaders in Education (“MGT/UVA”), which was widely regarded as the community's second
recommendation, as additional partners with whom it will work with the Board in the
management of the District;
WHEREAS, on April 8, 2019, representatives from Adams 14, Mapleton, and the Colorado
Department of Education (“CDE”), including Board President Quintana, Mapleton’s Board
President and Superintendent, and CDE’s Deputy Commissioner, met face-to-face to discuss
the State Board’s motion and next steps regarding the potential management partnership;
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 WHEREAS, by the end of the meeting, it was apparent that there would not be an amended
application, and Adams 14 and Mapleton were unlikely to complete a viable management
partnership that would meet the State Board’s approval;
WHEREAS, on April 11, 2019, the State Board rejected Mapleton’s selection, leaving the Board
14 days in which to select another entity to serve as lead partner in the management of the
District; during discussion, members of the State Board expressed concerns about the track
record and capacity of the community’s second recommendation, MGT/UVA, which it had just
approved as the management partner of schools in Adams-Arapahoe 28J School District and
Pueblo School District 60.
WHEREAS, immediately after the State Board’s action, District representatives began reaching
out to the remaining finalists evaluated by community stakeholders to explore continuing interest
in serving as lead management partner and ensure mutually acceptable terms could be reached
that would meet the State Board’s approval;
WHEREAS, the Board held study sessions to hear from MGT/UVA on April 16, 2019 and
Empower on April 22, 2019; the Board also heard from Schools Cubed during a data study
session on April 17, 2019;
WHEREAS, MGT/UVA demonstrated it has heard the State Board’s concerns and is bringing in
additional professionals with extensive experience improving struggling schools and school
districts with similar student populations;
WHEREAS, MGT/UVA is also actively engaged in including Schools Cubed as an additional
partner in the management of the District;
WHEREAS, the community identified the following specific strengths of MGT/UVA: 1)
“understand data and analysis”; 2) “large team with lots of resources” and “connections”; 3)
“leadership program has lots of choice”; 4) “understanding of the process of change and the
challenges”; and 5) “they have done work like this before”;
WHEREAS, the District administrators identified the following strengths of MGT/UVA: 1)
“consultants are local and have 45 years of experience with turnaround schools”; 2) “they have
the capacity (150 experts) to create transformational change in Adams 14” and “have done this
in districts throughout the United States and in Colorado”; and 3) they have “experience working
with the Office for Civil Rights”;
WHEREAS, District administrators spoke with representatives of Aurora Public Schools and
Caddo Parish Public Schools and received very positive information about those districts’
experiences working with MGT and UVA;

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 WHEREAS, the Board has concerns about Empower’s capacity to begin transformative work
once a management contract is signed, as Empower has indicated the extended selection
process has prejudiced its ability to obtain high quality school operators for the 2019–20 school
year, which was a major component of the split screen strategy described in its application;
WHEREAS, the Board is also concerned that Empower’s reliance on a community-based
management board will not be successful, given that it will require robust community
engagement, and among the finalists, Empower’s candidacy garnered the least amount of
support from community stakeholders;
WHEREAS, like the community, the Board is concerned that Empower has not elaborated on
numerous important details in its application despite several opportunities to provide
clarification; and
WHEREAS, the Board’s process of selecting a lead partner has now consumed four months,
and it is in the best interests of the District’s students, parents, employees, and community
move the selection process forward as required by the State Board’s November 27, 2018 Order.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Education of Adams County School
District 14 that it selects MGT of America Consulting, LLC, in association with the University of
Virginia Darden/Curry Partnership for Leaders in Education, as lead partner with the Board in
the management of the District, as follows:
1.
MGT/UVA has demonstrated it can best meet the requirements of the RFQ/P and
the State Board’s Order. For example, MGT uses research-based strategies and has an
impressive proven track record of success managing and working with school districts and
schools across the United States, including schools in Colorado, in systemic improvement and
turnaround work to address the achievement gap, rigorous attainment of learning standards,
teacher training, and leadership development. Initial results from MGT’s management of
Nocatee Elementary School in Florida and the Gary Community school district in Indiana, for
example, are promising, and instructional intervention in Madison and Hamilton County Public
Schools in Florida resulted in measurable improvement and higher school accountability grades
after just seven months. MGT itself has 45 years of experience, including professionals with 25
years of system leadership in Colorado, helping public school districts and schools achieve
success. MGT demonstrated that it understands data and analysis, as well as the components
of successful schools and a successful school system in a wide variety of communities,
including those similar to the District. MGT/UVA affirmed that it honors local control and works to
build trust and faith in the community, so it will support and be actively engaged in turnaround
efforts.
2.
With a staff of more than 110 experts, including an experienced former
Superintendent of a high-performing local school district as Colorado Project Manager, an
extended network of qualified subconsultants, and a strong background in academic, financial,
operations, governance, and community engagement work, MGT has demonstrated it has the
capacity to create transformational change in the District, meet the specific needs of all the
District’s students, including its minority, low income, non-native English speaking, and disabled
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 students, and improve the recruitment and retention of effective, highly qualified teachers and
leaders. MGT further demonstrated it can provide practical, proven, and collaborative
management by combining nationally recognized best practices with customized support that
will further the District’s mission of inspiring, educating, and empowering every student to
succeed in the 21st Century, in partnership with the community, all while building an equitable
and inclusive district-wide culture and climate free of bullying, discrimination, and harassment.
MGT also employs staff with many years of cumulative experience working with the U.S.
Department of Education Office of Civil Rights and is familiar with both overarching legal rights
and the requirements of the District’s resolution agreements. Unlike other EMO applicants, MGT
clearly indicated it is able to devote at least seven employees to work with the District on a fulltime basis. MGT also affirmed its willingness to team with existing District staff to achieve school
transformation and deliver an environment of continuous improvement that is ultimately
sustainable.
3.
MGT greatly complements its expertise and capacity by including UVA in its
management partnership. UVA empowers leaders to ignite system and school change by
building leadership capacity at both the district- and school-level to maximize efforts of others,
identify and solve problems, rethink organizational design, and define a pathway to
transformational student outcomes. UVA has 16 years of experience, with 8 years in Colorado,
and it offers a well-regarded school leadership development program that emphasizes
improving school system conditions through leadership, differentiated support and
accountability, talent management, and instructional infrastructure. Like MGT, UVA similarly has
a proven track record of success working with school districts and schools across the United
States, including those in Colorado. Recent results show 85% of schools working with UVA that
started below state average closed the gap, and 18% of participating schools closed the
average by over 20-points within two years. Of the 28 Colorado schools UVA has worked with
that have more than two years of results, 16 moved up at least one performance plan rating,
which for 12 schools meant exiting the accountability clock. Including Schools Cubed as an
additional partner would further enhance MGT’s capacity and expertise. The Chief Educational
Officer of Schools Cubed has 27 years as a special education teacher, principal at the
elementary and middle school levels as well as a district leader, and at the state department of
education. School Cubed is currently working with the District on improving early literacy, with
encouraging early results. It also has worked on transformative improvement in Colorado and
several other states, including a school in Missouri and statewide projects in Mississippi,
Arizona, and Utah.
AND, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Education of Adams County School
District 14 requests MGT of America Consulting, LLC, in association with the University of
Virginia Darden/Curry Partnership for Leaders in Education, collaborate with the Board, its
counsel, and District staff in further strengthening of its application, as may be appropriate,
beginning contract negotiations, and preparing to present the management partnership to the
Colorado State Board of Education at its regular meeting on May 8–9, 2019.
The reports and recommendations referenced above and in Resolution No. 19-002,
including the District’s turnaround plan, the submissions of all management partner applicants,
District administration and community feedback, and all records of public comment, are hereby
incorporated into this Resolution and made part of the official record.
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 ADOPTED AND APPROVED this 23rd day of April 2019.

________________________________
Connie Quintana
President, Board of Education

(District Seal)

ATTEST:

____________________________________
Harvest Thomas
Vice President/Secretary, Board of Education

DATE:

April 23, 2019

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