More than 200 parents, teachers and students staged a loud protest outside of McAuliffe International School early Tuesday amid fears that the district and outgoing school board will revoke McAuliffe’s reform-minded innovation status and fire several educators at Thursday’s board meeting.
With a week to go before the Denver school board election, spending to win three board seats is nearing $2 million in a multimedia blitz that ranges from personal attack mailers to high-priced TV commercials.
This election is more complicated than usual. The Nov. 7 vote is clouded by the anti-incumbent “Resign DPS Board” movement, safety concerns after the March shooting at East High School, ongoing board controversies, and tough decisions to come on declining enrollment.
With less than a week before ballots go to voters, sharp differences emerged Wednesday night in the competition for three Denver school board seats as challengers offered more specifics beyond the need for new leadership.
The controversy over discipline in DPS schools in part underscores how many students and parents are confused about discipline practices.
As the Denver Public Schools Board of Education election campaign season ramps up post-Labor Day, Boardhawk offers this summary of the three races now underway.
A request by Denver School Board Vice President Auon’tai Anderson to suspend a policy prohibiting board members from being employed by the district was pulled late Thursday after Anderson decided to wait until his term ends to seek DPS employment.
“Schools need to do more; they need to figure out how to meet the needs of all their students and not just push out the kids who they are scared of,” says school psychologist Erin Pier.
With so much attention now focused on the Denver school board, Boardhawk is providing this nuts-and-bolts primer on the board for people who might be new to issues of Denver Public School governance.
“The board is making decisions without us,” Claudia Carrillo said in an interview after her daughter and son testified during a three-hour public comment session about how their education has been harmed. “It’s like they are setting us up to fail,” she said.
