Commentary
Not all co-locations feel the same. Some create a sense of direct competition; others feel more complementary. That distinction matters because successful co-location requires more than operational efficiency. It requires trust, structure, and intentional partnership.
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Our guest for this episode is Pat Donovan, who has been a leading Denver public-education advocate for many years. He led the advocacy and funding organization RootED, held a top leadership position at its successor, Denver Families for Public Schools. He heads the board of Rocky Mountain Prep, one of Denver’s largest, homegrown charter school networks. He’s also a board member at the Colorado League of Charter Schools.
Donovan has a long perspective on a variety of trends in Denver Public Schools, including how well the district is preparing students for life after high school and the narrowing of school choice. We invited Pat on for a wide-ranging discussion on these and other DPS-related topics.
Boardhawk wanted former Denver school board member Scott Esserman on the podcast because we vigorously disagreed with him on a range of Denver Public Schools issues during his tenure, and wrote about him in a harshly critical tone on several occasions. At times the tone of those criticisms might have obscured the substantive differences in policy and philosophy that underlay them. Some of those disagreements include the performance of Superintendent Alex Marrero, whether DPS is headed n the right direction, Marrero’s contract extension, and school safety.
But while holding the right people accountable to the implementation of schooling is critical, a primary focus on accountability of implementation is incomplete. How excellent teachers and administrators navigate the conditions/systems of school, are a) are impacted by constraints of a system and b) have an impact on what we all want from school: results.Â
Marrero clearly wants to consolidate as many as schools as possible under his control, returning to the bad old days of large urban districts being run by a bloated, inefficient system. The district’s las innovation zone is a big thorn in his side for that reason.Â
A proposed expansion of the Luminary Learning Network, Denver’s lone remaining Innovation zone, is being strongly opposed by Superintendent Alex Marrero. LLN Executive Director joins us to discuss the zone, and repeated attempts to curb its autonomies. The consolidation of school control under Marrero has implications for everyone with a stake in DPS.
In this second installment of our occasional series on the implications for public education of artificial intelligence in classrooms and homes, we welcome Dr. Richard Charles, the chief information officer for Denver Public Schools. A mathematician by training and inclination, Dr. Charles has deep knowledge of AI, its promises and pitfalls. This thought-provoking conversation is well worth a listen.
The potentially deadly ineptitude of Denver Public Schools’ approach to safety under the current regime is laid bare in a searing ruling issued this week by a federal judge in the lawsuit of an East High School dean shot inside the school by a student three years ago.
Artificial intelligence is one of the hot topics in education right now, and we wanted to hear from someone who is both thinking deeply about it and leading in this space. That’s why Antonio Vigil is the ideal guest for this episode of the podcast.
50CAN, a national education advocacy organization, and Transform Education Now (TEN), its Colorado affiliate, recently released a report called The State of Educational Opportunity in Colorado, a survey of some 515 parents from across the state. ur guests for this podcast episode are Marc Porter Magee, the founder and CEO of 50CAN, and Nicholas Hernández, the co-founder and executive director of TEN. The Colorado report and national survey data are filled with fascinating insights that say a great deal about current attitudes toward public education, school choice, and parental engagement.
Co-location: a schoolhouse model worth considering
Not all co-locations feel the same. Some create a sense of direct competition; others feel more complementary. That distinction matters because successful co-location requires more than operational efficiency. It requires trust, structure, and intentional partnership.