Students returning to five Denver schools on Monday found plenty of changes. Four schools were designated for "redesign," meaning new principals and new staffs, to improve low test scores. Also, the former Cole Middle School is no more:

• Brown Elementary: The northwest Denver school is now an International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program, the elementary-level beginning to the academically rigorous high school IB program.

• Bruce Randolph School: Changes at this north Denver school include a gradual switch to a grade six to 12 school, providing a high school option for the area.

• Martin Luther King Jr. Middle: The school in northeast Denver is reorganizing into an early college high school model with multiple career-path options.

• Mitchell K-8 School: The new program at the northeast Denver school includes home visits, full-day kindergarten and a training plan for all staff.

• Cole College Prep: State law required conversion to a charter school; state officials selected the Knowledge Is Power Program, or KIPP, national model. Changes include a longer school day and a longer school year.

Changes at Bruce Randolph

Staff at this north Denver middle school are attempting to prove that real change can happen within a regular school day and within a regular school budget. Among the changes this year:

• The principal of a high-performing middle school has taken over, bringing a hand-picked new staff.

• Teachers will work with three coaches — in literacy, math and science — to hone and enhance their skills.

• Expectations for students, from how they title their papers to what happens when they are tardy, are the same in every classroom.

• Students will meet quarterly with their teachers to set academic goals.

• Report cards will go home weekly.

• Teachers are piloting the proposed ProComp pay plan, including incentives to work in a challenging school.

• The principal reports directly to the superintendent.

• The school will gradually expand to serve grades six to 12 by 2010.