Since Denver Public Schools Superintendent Alex Marrero arrived on the scene in 2020, school autonomy has steadily eroded as he has inexorably steered the district back to the old, top-down management style that is characteristic of urban school systems.
Innovation zones have taken the biggest hit. Two, the Northeast Denver Innovation Zone and the Beacon Network, have been dismantled. The third, and last zone standing is the Luminary Learning Network. LLN has held on and even thrived, despite unrelenting pressure that has forced the organization to surrender some of its original autonomies.
What are innovation schools and zones? As codified in Colorado’s Innovation Schools Act of 2008, offer district-run schools some measure of autonomy over how the schools are run, providing an opportunity to waive out of certain district and state policies and creating school or zone-customized policies in their place. The innovation plan containing those policies must be approved by at least 60 percent of a school’s staff. LLN has an extra layer of distancing from the district. It is its own non-profit organization, run by an independent board and led by Executive Director Bailey Holyfield.
Holyfield is our guest on this podcast episode, because LLN is again encountering headwinds, as Marrero tries to stop another school from joining the zone. LLN has faced a number of challenges this school year alone, and this is just the latest. We are posting this on April 15, and the DPS board will be discussing the expansion proposal at a work session this evening, with a vote likely later this month.
Because the stripping away of autonomy is a hallmark of Marrero’s leadership, this episode is relevant to everyone with an interest in DPS.
