Commentary

East High shooting prods Denver school board into woefully belated action

As Wednesday’s shooting of two administrators at East High School demonstrates in the starkest possible terms, the decision by the Denver Board of Education to remove school resource officers from high schools in 2021 was a grave mistake, and one with tragic consequences. Not surprisingly, no one involved  is acknowledging this, at least not publicly. 

DPS power grab to dismantle the Beacon innovation zone is unwarranted

Why does DPS want to put an end to an organization that is showing promise? Power and control seem to be the answer.

Despite some positives, more troubling signs from DPS board

The school board might close three severely under-enrolled schools, and members are getting along, but they continue a drive toward less transparency.

Why is DPS undermining our innovation zone?

The DPS board and leadership seem more interested in imposing their will and reining in innovative practices than in focusing on what we at Beacon Network Schools are doing to serve our students.

Introducing the Denver Public Schools Debt Clock

The simple, straightforward Denver Public Schools Debt Clock website, debuting today, serves as a stark reminder that postponing important decisions for political reasons can be costly -– literally as well as figuratively.

Denver’s innovation schools await their fate

With Denver Public Schools innovation plan renewals coming up for votes over the next few months, we’ll be able to see in real time just how badly the school board has, with its meddling, damaged the concept of innovation.

Black boys and Black men don’t have space in education

Students, namely Black boys, are significantly more likely to graduate high school and enroll in college if they have a Black man as a teacher in elementary school. Black boys improve standardized test scores when they have Black men as teachers. Simply put, Black boys – and students more broadly – benefit from having Black men in the classroom.

More trivial time-wasting from a Denver school board member

Last week I came across the latest example of at least one Denver’s school board member focusing on the trivial in place of substance, while simultaneously trying to use board power to breathe down the neck of innovation schools.

Downtown Denver Expeditionary School fosters a nurturing environment

We love and support our students, and we encourage their interests and needs.

Highline Academy expansion reenvisions how schools serve students, families

The look and function of this space truly is the future, and is what we can expect to see more in schools going forward.

Eight steps to a better 2023 for DPS

Here’s hoping that 2023 shows at least some modest improvement in governance and administrative performance. Either way, three of seven seats on the board are up for election in November so the voters can exert influence, if they bother to get engaged.

National view: We need to prepare now for the school closures that are coming

Denver Public Schools recently provided a high-profile example of what not to do when it comes to unavoidable school closures.

Protecting and promoting a multifaceted view of social studies in Colorado schools

State Board of Education member Lisa Escárcega reflects on the fraught process involved in getting new state social studies standards adopted.

Why are DPS and school board ignoring new evidence that reform worked?

This is no fly-by-night research, led by ideologically-driven researchers. These are serious academic researchers, conducting rigorous studies. Their findings paint a far different picture than reform critics, some of whom serve on the Denver school board, want you to see.

What does education reform mean in Denver now? And where are its leaders?

The reality here in Denver is that the reformers over the decades have been varied in their outlooks, and have spanned all parts of the educational system. They have been teachers (sometimes even teacher union leaders), principals, central office administrators, and a series of three superintendents.

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