Aurora Public Schools — Policy Analysis 2026
Grand Total
71 / 106
67.0%
Base Score
64 / 96
Extra Credit
7 / 10
Score by Section
| Section | Score | Max | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Culturally Responsive Training | 3 | 8 | Notes |
| Clear & Consistent Policies | 6 | 8 | Notes |
| Restorative Justice Practices | 3 | 8 | Notes |
| Bias Awareness & Mitigation | 5 | 8 | Notes |
| Culturally Relevant Curriculum | 4 | 8 | Notes |
| Community Engagement & Collaboration | 8 | 8 | Notes |
| Professional Development on Equity & Inclusion | 4 | 8 | Notes |
| Mental Health & Trauma-Informed Practices | 6 | 8 | Notes |
| Data Collection & Analysis | 7 | 8 | Notes |
| Student Voice & Leadership | 4 | 8 | Notes |
| Equitable Access to Support Services | 8 | 8 | Notes |
| Continuous Evaluation & Improvement | 6 | 8 | Notes |
| Extra Credit | 7 | 10 | Notes |
Suggestions to Improve the Score
Every item below its maximum, worst gap first, with the reviewer's own notes as the rationale.
Show suggestions (26)
- 1.2 [Culturally Responsive Training]: Mentorship programs for culturally diverse staff — Currently: Not Implemented (0/2 pts). No public documentation found of a specific mentorship program targeted at culturally/racially diverse staff; only a general (non-diversity-specific) 'Retired Mentors for New Teachers' induction program was found.
- 1.4 [Culturally Responsive Training]: Regular feedback/measurement on training effectiveness — Currently: Not Implemented (0/2 pts). No public evidence found of a formal process measuring the effectiveness of cultural-competency or DEI training.
- 3.3 [Restorative Justice Practices]: Curriculum integrates conflict-resolution skills — Currently: Not Implemented (0/2 pts). No public documentation found confirming conflict-resolution skills are formally integrated into APS's academic curriculum.
- 3.4 [Restorative Justice Practices]: Peer mediation program — Currently: Not Implemented (0/2 pts). No public evidence found of a district-wide, student-led peer mediation program specific to APS.
- 5.4 [Culturally Relevant Curriculum]: Culturally specific courses/electives — Currently: Not Implemented (0/2 pts). No public evidence found of culturally specific elective courses (e.g., ethnic studies) offered district-wide in APS.
- 7.4 [Professional Development on Equity & Inclusion]: Participation in equity-focused conferences — Currently: Not Implemented (0/2 pts). No public evidence found regarding APS staff participation in external equity-focused conferences.
- 10.3 [Student Voice & Leadership]: Students facilitate restorative processes — Currently: Not Implemented (0/2 pts). No public evidence found that students (as opposed to staff restorative liaisons) formally facilitate restorative justice processes in APS.
- 10.4 [Student Voice & Leadership]: Student-led peer education — Currently: Not Implemented (0/2 pts). No public evidence of a formal, district-wide student-led peer education program was found for APS specifically.
- EC5 [Extra Credit]: Describe additional policy… — Currently: Not rated (0/2 pts). No rationale recorded.
- 1.1 [Culturally Responsive Training]: Mandatory cultural competency training for all staff — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). APS has a district DEI Framework and a Culture & Equity team that 'provides coaching and offers consulting for Aurora Public Schools staff members, schools and teams,' but no evidence found that cultural-competency training is mandatory for all staff district-wide.
- 2.2 [Clear & Consistent Policies]: Regular policy reviews/updates — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). Policies are maintained online with an official adoption/effective-date process, but no explicit evidence of a scheduled, recurring review cycle was found.
- 2.3 [Clear & Consistent Policies]: Staff training on consistent application — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). APS provides legal/discipline guidance documents and behavior-systems professional learning, but a 2023 school-board candidate noted that 'restorative justice practices have been implemented in schools, but not fully,' suggesting inconsistent application rather than confirmed uniform training.
- 3.2 [Restorative Justice Practices]: Staff training in restorative practices — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). Training exists (state course, district liaisons) but a 2023 board-candidate response indicated restorative practices 'have been implemented in schools, but not fully,' pointing to partial rather than universal staff training.
- 4.1 [Bias Awareness & Mitigation]: Implicit bias training for staff — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). A foundation-funded initiative brought bias-focused training (e.g., sessions with researcher Adeyemi Stembridge) to leadership teams at 13 schools, but this was a partnership-funded pilot, not confirmed as mandatory district-wide implicit-bias training.
- 4.3 [Bias Awareness & Mitigation]: Cultural competence checks in hiring — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). APS redesigned its principal hiring process explicitly 'to increase the quality of school leaders and remove bias,' and HR states commitment to 'recruiting, hiring and retaining a diverse, qualified workforce,' but no evidence of formal cultural-competence checks applied to all hiring district-wide.
- 4.4 [Bias Awareness & Mitigation]: Diverse perspectives & materials in curriculum — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). CLDE and World Language program materials emphasize cultural competency and diverse perspectives, but comprehensive evidence of diverse materials across all curricula district-wide was not found.
- 5.1 [Culturally Relevant Curriculum]: Curriculum materials reflect student backgrounds — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). APS's CLDE program states a commitment to 'respect their cultural legacies and linguistic skills,' and the World Language Program emphasizes cultural literacy, though full curriculum-wide alignment to student backgrounds is not confirmed.
- 5.2 [Culturally Relevant Curriculum]: Teacher PD on integrating diverse perspectives — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). The Culture & Equity team offers coaching/consulting to integrate DEI practices and CLDE provides instructional resources, but a formal, mandatory PD requirement on diverse perspectives was not confirmed.
- 7.1 [Professional Development on Equity & Inclusion]: Ongoing anti-bias/equity training — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). The DEI Framework and Culture & Equity coaching represent an ongoing institutional commitment to anti-bias/equity work, though mandatory recurring training for all staff was not confirmed.
- 7.3 [Professional Development on Equity & Inclusion]: Equity topics in staff meetings/PD — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). APS's Professional Learning and Culture & Equity teams integrate equity-related coaching into district PD structures, but explicit evidence that equity topics are a standing agenda item at all staff meetings was not found.
- 8.2 [Mental Health & Trauma-Informed Practices]: Safe, supportive spaces (mindfulness/sensory) — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). At least one APS school (Shelledy Elementary) has a dedicated 'Mindful Room' staffed by a behavioral interventionist as a calming/sensory space, but district-wide implementation across all schools was not confirmed.
- 8.3 [Mental Health & Trauma-Informed Practices]: Trauma-informed staff training — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). State-level trauma-informed frameworks apply to Colorado districts, and APS's MTSS/behavior-systems supports reference trauma-informed approaches, but explicit confirmation of mandatory trauma-informed staff training district-wide was not found.
- 9.3 [Data Collection & Analysis]: Data-informed interventions/adjustments — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). The shift toward restorative practices and MTSS behavior supports suggests data-informed adjustments, but a formal, documented feedback loop from data to specific policy changes was not confirmed.
- 12.1 [Continuous Evaluation & Improvement]: Standing committee/task force for discipline equity — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). APS has standing bodies like DAAC and a CEED department, but no evidence was found of a committee specifically and solely charged with discipline-equity oversight.
- 12.3 [Continuous Evaluation & Improvement]: Benchmarking vs. state/national comparators — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). State CDE data collection and the Colorado Disproportionate Discipline Task Force enable comparison against state benchmarks, but no evidence of APS formally benchmarking its own practices against state/national comparators was found.
- EC3 [Extra Credit]: HR 'Stay Interviews' program explicitly measuring 'Equity and Belonging' as one of its core purposes for retaining staff. — Currently: In-work (1/2 pts). An innovative HR retention practice with a built-in equity/inclusion feedback loop, though scope/mandate across all staff levels is unclear.