Last week, Denver Public Schools Superintendent Alex Marrero presented to the school board a slide deck labeled Denver Thrives 2030: A Strategic Roadmap refresh. The deck was thin on just about everything, lacking strategy and a clear vision of what lays ahead and how to tackle challenges and opportunities over the next few years.
Marrero’s strategic roadmap is neither strategic nor a roadmap Read More »
In a sterling example of pretzel logic, a new Denver Post editorial argues that because Marrero wants to leave, and because the district has spent well over $100,000 on a (possibly corrupt) mentor and international travel to conferences (generally referred to as professional development), Marrero should be forced to stay through the end of his contract in 2028.
Shameful DenPost editorial says Marrero should stay for purely financial reasons Read More »
This DPS regime has shown minimal interest in deeply examining data and taking concrete steps to improve matters. It seems focused instead on making Marrero look good so he can slip out the door into a bigger job in a bigger city, with a bigger salary.
As Miami-Dade beckons, Marrero regime keeps spinning failure Read More »
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.
In Marrero’s DPS, the curtailing of school autonomy marches on Read More »
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.
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.
Gaytán’s dysfunctional board leadership is sowing discord, damaging DPS Read More »
As we enter a new moment in Denver Public Schools governance, I intend to remain hopeful that the bumpy days of the past several years could be behind us. I will observe the new board carefully (the name Boardhawk remains relevant), and with respect and goodwill.
Yet I’d be foolishly naïve if I were pretend that the ghosts of the recent past don’t threaten to haunt the board and its three new members. There has been a lot of acrimony, pettiness, and ideologically rooted foolishness that has hampered the board and district’s progress in recent years.
Here, then are a few hopes and worries I carry in my mind as the new DPS board settles in.
Hopes and worries as the new DPS board takes office Read More »
This is a perfect example of what is known as a star chamber investigation. A star chamber investigation” refers to an inquiry or legal proceeding that is seen as arbitrary, secretive, and grossly unfair—often conducted without transparency, due process, or the right for those accused to defend themselves. The term is used pejoratively to criticize procedures that lack openness and seem designed to persecute rather than fairly adjudicate.
The star chamber investigation of John Youngquist is a travesty Read More »
I’m sure it’s tough being any one of the three Denver school board incumbents right now, staring defeat in the face as they are. But that doesn’t excuse the desperate, dishonest drivel put out in a statement this week by candidate Scott Esserman, trying to tie four candidates to Donald Trump’s Project 2025.
DPS candidates respond to desperate smear by incumbent Esserman Read More »
The Denver school board majority’s newly revealed effort to hide deliberations about the superintendents contract extension could be about to backfire. It should.
Once again, the Denver school board’s shameless majority disrespects the public Read More »
