Congratulations Manual High School!

Posted December 14, 2023

Dear Manual Families and Community, 

It is with a great deal of excitement and joy that I write to inform you that after a formal appeal process, Manual High School’s 2023 Colorado School Performance Rating (SPF) has been adjusted from a preliminary rating of Priority Improvement (Orange) to a final rating of Improvement (Yellow). Although Manual is still officially on the State Accountability Clock, we are considered to be “Year 6 – On Watch,” meaning that with a rating of Improvement (Yellow) or Performance (Green) on the 2024 SPF, which reflects this school year, Manual will exit the accountability clock. 

Manual’s adjusted rating to Yellow on the 2023 SPF rating is a testament to the powerful and transformational work being done by Manual’s staff, students, families and broader community. 

In addition to this incredible news, it is essential to highlight that since the start of this school year, Manual has accomplished the following metrics: 

  • An adjustment of the school’s SPF from Orange to Yellow. 
  • The school’s highest enrollment since 2012 – 2013 at 370 students. 
  • Selected as a Distinguished Whole Child School for the 2023 – 2024 School Year. 
  • An increase in daily attendance by 8% from December of last year. 
  • A 30% decrease in F’s grades from Quarter 1 this year compared to Quarter 1 of 2022. 
  • A 25% decrease in Chronic Absenteeism from December of 2022. 

For our students, staff, community and alumni this information does mean that Manual is on the doorstep of a historic moment. With consistent effort and a collective focus we can rally behind our students and our staff to move Manual off of the Accountability Clock and into a new era of stability and health for our beloved school.

The reason this work has been so transformation is because it has been done with, for and because of our community. These accomplishments occurred because of a  collective belief that Manual and its students are intrinsically excellent and that we can do something remarkable when we come together with and for our children. But we are not done yet. We have just a few months to finish this work. To do something that many believed would not and could not happen at Manual. It must be done together and it must be done for our students, alumni and community who have always believed that when we come together we are capable of creating the conditions for our children to thrive.

In Community, 

Chris DeRemer

Principal