Commentary

I was deeply disappointed to learn that a time limit had been set for the DPS community to speak up because I knew that would limit me as a working mother from giving my perspective as a Hispanic/Latina/Mexican constituent. 

In 20 pages of glossy spin, it seems as if  the district is trying to convince us that DPS is a combination of Lake Wobegon and Barbie Land. Every day is perfect, the sun always shines, and all the children are, if not quite above average, trending in that direction.

Through intentional core social-emotional learning courses and access to mental health staff, we provide our students with the opportunity to access the skills, knowledge, self-awareness, self-efficacy and self-determination needed to succeed in life.

To ensure our democracy flourishes and captures the aspirations of all its citizens, we advocate an audacious yet informed step: Allow our 16 and 17-year-olds to cast their votes in Denver Public Schools elections.

It is sadly predictable that in the same week a bipartisan poll of likely voters showed widespread disaffection with the Denver school board, that same board decided to severely curtail the public’s one monthly opportunity to provide it with in-person feedback.

The Denver Education Vision Project left us with a sense of fulfillment, knowing that we were part of an initiative that truly cared about the community it was serving

Anyone who says they are a strong proponent of both neighborhood schools and integrated schools in a segregated city is either fooling themselves or trying to fool you.

For a district seemingly obsessed with power and control at the higher echelons, the safety plan is rather vague. There are no timelines for implementation or completion, no specific tasks to key leaders, no cadence of progress updates, no rollout timeline, no KPIs, no specifics on budgeting, and much of the language directs decision-making to principals.

Repeatedly using deliberately inflammatory language (incarceration room instead of de-escalation room, for example) and premeditated outrage, Denver school board Vice-president Auon'taiAnderson and his willing accomplices are destroying a man’s reputation long before all the facts are in and any investigation completed.

AEA is a cultural summer program that highlights the experiences of Black/African American, Latinx/Indigenous, & Asian American/Pacific Islander families, students, and educators.

Superintendent Alex Marrero apparently doesn’t want public scrutiny of how his employees view his leadership. Previous superintendents were far more transparent.

This excellent commentary on the illegal Denver school board executive session last March was written by Quentin Young, editor of Colorado Newsline, and first appeared on that website: https://coloradonewsline.com/

Moonshot aims to solve several interconnected problems. We address the achievement gap for students of color, which we believe is driven by the lack of diversity in leadership and the type of learning environments learners can access. Although 75% of students in Denver are students of color, 71% of the teaching force and 60% of school leaders are white.

I frankly am more worried about the state of public education than I was when I made the leap 15 years ago. But I still have hope for public education. Much of that hope lives through resilient students and committed teachers. 

While the district is trying to frame the firing as the removal of a principal who violated federal privacy law and meted out discipline disproportionately to kids of color, that sounds like putting a politically palatable veneer over a load of BS.