Commentary
Last week Boardhawk editor Alan Gottlieb published an article about the dysfunctional leadership of the Denver School Board under President Xóchitl Gaytán. In this new podcast episode Gottlieb and co-host Alexis Menocal Harrigan delver mnore deeply into this issue, along with Cody Ostenson, Director of External Affairs for Denver Families for Public Schools. Ostenson is one of if not the closest observer of the board and Denver Public Schools. His insights into board dynamics and DPS generally are invaluable.
Three months into her second stint as president of the Denver Board of Education, it’s becoming clear that Xóchitl Gaytán’s leadership skills have not improved since her tumultuous first tenure, and that she bears sole responsibility for the strife that has begun plaguing this new board.
Last week, Boardhawk published a piece by educator and education researcher Peter Huidekoper Jr. about the baffling move by the Colorado Department of Education late last year to boost the state rating of Denver’s Abraham Lincoln High School despite a longstanding and ongoing record of failure to educate most of its students to anything approaching grade level proficiency. We asked Huidekoper onto the podcast to take a deeper dive into this issue.
Deeply troubling test score results. Remarkably high chronic absenteeism, truancy, and student attrition. The Colorado Department of Education needs to explain why it raised its rating of Denver’s Abraham Lincoln High School.
Right now, today, people are in the early stages of exploiting that some of us are afraid to speak up and some of us are not. You have just as valid of a reason to not speak up as those that didn’t speak up during Jim Crow. And though that might come off as direct, the gravity of what’s happening in your community, right now, is no less paramount.
Justice-driven systems do not rely on families to escape harm. They eliminate harm at its source. They do not measure success by averages or exceptions, but by whether the most marginalized students and their families experience stability, excellence, and opportunity — where they live and where they choose to learn.
Former Denver Mayor Federico Peña this week authored a provocative article in Westword advocating for merging Denver Public Schools, which he calls a “failing institution,” into Denver city government. He came on the podcast to explain his reasons, and how this might be made a reality down the road.
What struck me most in reading about Dr. Gladys West’s life was not only her brilliance, but her perseverance. A deep love of geometry sparked a career that unfolded in the face of profound racial and gender discrimination, in an era when Black women were systematically excluded from advanced mathematics and scientific fields. Her story raises an uncomfortable question closer to home. Are Denver’s public schools systematically cultivating the next generation of Gladys Wests, or are they leaving that talent unrealized?
Colorado public schools are experiencing sustained enrollment declines (Denver less than many other districts), and that’s reshaping everything — school funding, staffing, program offerings, district politics, and debates over school choice. This is more than a demographic story; it’s a governance and values story. Today we are joined by Brian Eschacher to unpack enrollment trends, how school choice fits into the picture, and what districts and policy makers should be paying attention to next.
Three Denver high school students spell out their aspirational dreams for our country, in the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in a very dark time.
Daily Round-Up
Today’s headlines include:
Proposed State Rules for Federal Tax Credit Scholarships Spark Policy Clash
Pueblo “Public Christian School” Authorizer Settles Special Education Lawsuit
CU Faculty and Students Push Back Against University-Controlled AI Rollout
Boardhawk podcast season 2, episode 7: The dysfunctional leadership of the Denver school board, with guest Cody Ostenson
Last week Boardhawk editor Alan Gottlieb published an article about the dysfunctional leadership of the Denver School Board under President Xóchitl Gaytán. In this new podcast episode Gottlieb and co-host Alexis Menocal Harrigan delver mnore deeply into this issue, along with Cody Ostenson, Director of External Affairs for Denver Families for Public Schools. Ostenson is one of if not the closest observer of the board and Denver Public Schools. His insights into board dynamics and DPS generally are invaluable.