From The 74: Cherry Creek district accused of keeping kids In English learner program far too long
A federal complaint alleges that Cherry Creek School District is retaining students in its English learner program for far longer than it should
From The 74: Absenteeism Is a major problem. So why can’t schools agree on how to measure it?
Right now, in a time when public school absences remain stubbornly high since Covid closures five years ago, it seems amazing not that educators can’t fix this problem, because it is complicated and occurs for many reasons, but that they can’t even agree on how to count whether a student is absent or not.
Colorado and Denver’s low-income students aren’t ready for college. A few schools prove it doesn’t have to be that way.
DSST prepares its Hispanic, Black, and low-income students for college-level math at two to three times the district rate. Its low-income readiness in 2025 was 39.5%, about 2.6 times the state’s rate for the same students. Much of what makes Denver look better than the state turns out to be concentrated in a single charter school network.
Podcast season 2, episode 14: DPS board member Marlene De La Rosa on cellphone ban policy, contentious board votes
Marlene De La Rosa was elected to the Denver school board in November 2023, representing North Denver. She recently led the effort to develop a policy for the use of smartphones in Denver schools. We asked de la Rosa on to discuss that policy as well as how her perspective about the district has shifted since she first joined the board. De La Rosa worked in the federal immigration court system for more than 30 years. We invited De La Rosa on to discuss the cellphone policy as well her views on current board dynamics. We also asked her about some votes she has taken that have upset some of her original supporters, most notably a contract extension for Superintendent Alex Marrero and the censure of fellow board member John Youngquist.
New bill could help level charter school facilities funding playing field
SB 26-145 is designed to strengthen procedural requirements for how districts consult with charter schools and consider their facility needs when planning bond questions. At its core, the bill would require districts that are considering submitting ballot questions to voters to more actively solicit and consider charter school capital construction needs.
New bill could help level charter school facilities funding playing field Read More »
Podcast season 2 episode 4: After 50+ years, DPS may be about to dump Kaiser Permanente as a healthcare provider. How this could hurt 5,000 people
On December 8, health care provider Kaiser Permanente sent a letter to the roughly 3,400 Denver Public Schools employees who receive its services informing then that DPS was dropping Kaiser as a provider. Our guest today is Rob Gould, president of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association. We delve deeply into this issue with Gould, whose members stand to bear the brunt of the possible consequences.
Podcast season 2, episode 1: New Denver school board member Amy Klein Molk on her vision for DPS
We invited Amy on to discuss her very early impressions of board service, policy governance, board-staff relations and intra-board relations, and the most pressing issues facing the district.
Podcast episode 34: Denver school board member Kimberlee Sia on her hopes, vision for the next two years, and beyond
Kimberlee Sia was elected to the Denver Public Schools Board of Education in 2023, representing southeast Denver’s District 1. She has two years remaining in her first term. In her career, Sia has been both a teacher and a school leader, so she came to her board service with some subject-matter expertise. She served as board treasurer during her first two years. Sia joined the podcast to discuss her hopes and visions for the next two years, as the board, with three new members, hods its first work session, and a retreat, next week.
Marrero and the mess in Chicago: a view from the Windy City
Maureen Kelleher is a veteran Chicago education journalist, who now produces Board Rule, a deeply reported, weekly newsletter on Chicago Public Schools and its board. This article is from today’s edition of Board Rule. It focuses on the contentious search for a new CPS superintendent. Denver Public Schools Superintendent Alex Marrero was one of two finalists for the job before the search process imploded, thanks to the usual craziness of Chicago politics. It’s well worth a read. Boardhawk is reprinting it with Kelleher’s permission.
Marrero and the mess in Chicago: a view from the Windy City Read More »
Podcast episode 31: Former DPS Vice-President Auon’tai Anderson on board member censures, other topics
Former DPS board Vice-President Auon’tai Anderson reached out to Boardhawk editor Alan Gottlieb following two recent podcast episodes that mentioned Anderson’s own censure case while discussing the pending censure of board member John Youngquist. He asked to share his perspective on board censures. What followed was a wide-ranging conversation that should be of interest to listeners, regardless of their perceptions of and feelings about the outspoken former board member.