FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., August 3rd, 2026

Colorado Springs School District 11 Study Finds Double-Digit ELA and Math Gains Associated with Deeper Learning Instructional Model

Students taught by teachers verified in a student-led instructional model outperformed matched peers.

Colorado Springs School District 11 today announced results from a pilot study showing that students taught by teachers verified in the D11 AIM Framework, powered by Instructional Empowerment’s Model of Instruction for Deeper Learning® scored significantly higher in both English Language Arts and mathematics than matched comparison students in the same grade level and with the same curriculum.

The study was conducted in partnership with Instructional Empowerment's Applied Research Center using District 11’s assessment data from school year 2025-2026. It found that students of verified teachers scored 22.44 points higher on the STAR assessment in ELA and 18.24 points higher in Mathematics. The sample included 357 students across 18 ELA teacher-grade clusters and 449 students across 20 math teacher-grade clusters. The study used a rigorous analytic approach that accounted for students’ prior achievement, demographic characteristics (including race and ethnicity, gender, free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, disability status, gifted status, and English learner status), and the clustering of students within classrooms. A nationally certified What Works Clearinghouse reviewer conducted the analysis.

Verification in the instructional model required teachers to demonstrate the model's pedagogical competencies and provide evidence that students were developing agency skills, including collaboration, critical thinking, and self-direction. Comparison teachers may have participated in related professional development but were not yet verified in the model.

“When an instructional approach produces results this quickly and clearly, our responsibility is to bring that opportunity to every classroom,” said Michael Gaal, superintendent of Colorado Springs School District 11. “For the past three years, D11 has been building a shared model of instruction grounded in what students need to thrive. Our partnership with Instructional Empowerment accelerated and deepened that work, leading to the D11 AIM Framework we are now implementing across the system so every student has access to rigorous learning, meaningful collaboration, and greater ownership of their education.”

“We were grateful to partner with District 11 on this research study, one of the first of its kind to isolate the effect of the pedagogical competencies with rigorous verification on achievement,” said Michael Toth, Founder and CEO of Instructional Empowerment. “This is further evidence that when teachers develop deeper learning pedagogical skills and students develop the agency skills to engage in rigorous academic discourse and lead their own learning, achievement follows.” 

The findings add to a growing body of research on the Model of Instruction for Deeper Learning, which has previously been associated with achievement increases, improved attendance, and reduced teacher burnout. The full study will be published soon in Instructional Empowerment's research library. 

About Colorado Springs School District 11

Colorado Springs School District 11 is the public school district at the heart of Colorado Springs. Through a diverse portfolio of neighborhood, magnet, alternative, online, and charter schools, D11 is reshaping public education around three priorities: high-quality instruction, modern learning environments, and real-world opportunities. From preschool through postsecondary pathways, the district works to provide a school for every child and a plan for every future. Learn more at D11.org.

About Instructional Empowerment

Instructional Empowerment partners with schools and districts nationwide to implement rigorous Tier 1 instruction that ensures deeper learning for all students. The organization's Applied Research Center conducts ongoing research on instructional effectiveness, school improvement, and educator practice. Learn more at InstructionalEmpowerment.com.

Media Contact:

Jessica Wise, Colorado Springs School District 11

Jessica.wise@d11.org; 719-640-2883

Colorado Springs, CO — Step Springs has reached a major milestone in its first year of operation. Originally projected to serve 160 men annually, the program has already served 173 men in just eight months, surpassing expectations and underscoring the urgent need for addiction‑recovery housing and workforce‑development services in El Paso County.

As of today, Step Springs’ 50‑bed residential facility is full, its six‑bedroom sober living home is full, and four men are on a waiting list seeking immediate help. Several successful transitions are planned next week, and on August 8, six residents will move into Step Springs’ second sober living home, opening space for men currently waiting to enter the program.

Step Springs serves men ages 18 and older facing addiction, homelessness, unemployment, and severe instability. Through a four‑phase residential model blending sobriety, work, accountability, and community, residents secure full‑time employment, rebuild financial stability, and transition into safe, sober housing. Since opening on October 28, 2025, the program has become a critical bridge between crisis stabilization and long‑term restoration.

"Step's approach is unique and gives men the best chance at sustained recovery - because it takes more than sober living to rebuild a life," said Meghan Shay, Chief Executive Officer. "There was an urgent need for Step in Colorado Springs and our community met the moment. None of this would be possible without the people who continue to stand with these men, seeing their willingness, and generously providing them the opportunity.”

Step Springs is on track to impact 1,000 men and their families by 2030, strengthening the region’s workforce, reducing homelessness, and restoring families through sustained sobriety and stability.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

Ribbon cutting, student welcome and community tours planned for August 12

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Colorado Springs School District 11 will celebrate a new chapter for Jenkins Middle School with a grand ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, August 12, marking the return of all sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students to the Jenkins campus.

District leaders, Board of Education members, community partners and honored guests will join Jenkins students, families and staff to officially open the school. The ribbon will be cut at 8:15 a.m., followed by students entering the newly transformed building for the first day of the 2026–27 school year.

Guests will then gather in the new media center for a formal presentation and remarks celebrating the people and partnerships that made the project possible. Following the program, attendees and members of the media will be invited to tour the new academic wing, media center and other improved spaces throughout the school.

The project provides Jenkins students with modern, engaging learning environments designed to support collaboration, creativity and academic success for years to come.

Event Details

What: Jenkins Middle School Grand Ribbon Cutting
When: Wednesday, August 12, 2026, at 8:15 a.m.
Where: Jenkins Middle School
Schedule: Ribbon cutting and student welcome, followed by a formal program and tours

Members of the media are invited to attend.

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – The U.S. Air Force Academy is evolving its academic structure to maintain its academic programs’ relentless focus on mission through three operational priorities: Forging Warfighters to Win, Inspiring Leaders of Character and Quality, and Motivating Critical Thinkers to Adapt, and align the Academy’s structure, governance, and resources directly with the future needs of the Air Force and Space Force.

To achieve this, the Academy is executing several key changes. Beginning Aug. 5, the Dean of Faculty organization will be designated also as the Academic Wing. While the statutory “Dean of the Faculty” title will be retained in recognition of the position’s leadership of the Academy’s academic community, the position will also adopt the “Academic Wing Commander” title in recognition of its responsibility for the academic mission. In alignment with broader higher education standards, the senior academic leader will be authorized to concurrently use the title of “Provost.”

Additionally, the realignment, aimed at ensuring new officers are ready to lead in a complex, contested environment from Day One, structurally aligns the Academy’s academic enterprise with its military mission, establishing four interdisciplinary schools, including a School of Integrated General Studies to serve as the institutional home for the core curriculum. Under this framework, these schools will be led by Deans who will serve concurrently as Group Commanders with command authority.

The move is designed to intentionally and structurally connect the liberal arts, STEM, and warfighting instruction. This will be achieved through the four-school model: the School of Integrated General Studies, the School of Integrated Engineering Sciences, the School of Integrated Basic Sciences, and the School of Integrated Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.

“This evolution builds on a long-standing record of academic excellence,” said U.S. Air Force Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Tony D. Bauernfeind. “To ensure the Academy remains the nation’s premier military service academy and preeminent commissioning source for the Department of the Air Force, academic programs must have a relentless focus on the mission. USAFA is not moving away from the liberal arts or STEM; rather, the Academy is integrating them more deliberately to develop citizens, warfighters, leaders, and critical thinkers who understand what they are fighting for, who are technically literate in the tools of modern warfare, and who carry the moral seriousness the profession of arms demands.”

The new structure strengthens governance across 20 separate departments and empowers school-level leadership to better align resources, faculty development and curriculum with the Academy’s core priorities. This organizational realignment sets the table for potential future changes and forthcoming academic policies, establishing a structured path to achieve increased academic excellence across the enterprise.

“The demands of modern warfare are inherently multidisciplinary,” said Dean of the Faculty Brig. Gen. James Valpiani, who will serve as the institution’s future Academic Wing Commander. “Our graduates must be able to connect what they know across fields, to judge well under pressure, and to understand what they are fighting for. An education delivered in disconnected pieces will not form the judgment they need to deter conflict or, if necessary, to prevail in combat.”

“Coherence must be built on purpose; that is the objective of our realignment,” he continued. “It structures the academic enterprise so that what we teach is integrated by design, ordered toward the profession of arms and reflective citizenship, and held to an academic standard worthy of the Airmen and Guardians our graduates will lead.”

 Academy officials emphasized that the statutory role of the Dean of the Faculty remains and that the core of what makes a U.S. Air Force Academy education unique—its blend of military training, academic rigor, and highly competitive athletics—is only being strengthened by this evolution to ensure the Academy remains the preeminent commissioning source for the Department of the Air Force.