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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.

“I can promise you that I have done more to keep kids of color out of trouble, even when a school has wanted me to write them up with a citation. I know the potential impact this could have on their lives.”

“There is currently very little rigorous evaluative research on the effects — in terms of school safety — of having a police presence in schools,” one study says.

In a five-page memorandum sent Wednesday, board President Xóchitl Gaytán admonished Vice President Auon’tai Anderson for a dozen alleged violations of board policies during a press conference and appearance on a TV news program last Monday to discuss the issue of police officers in schools.

A federal judge has rejected Denver Public Schools’ request to delay his recent order that the district immediately lift restrictions against critic Brandon Pryor, criticizing DPS officials as sore losers in their legal case against Pryor.

Denver Public Schools officials said that the renewal plan was confusing. They said the schools did not specify well enough which waivers from the original 2018 innovation plan that they want to keep in the updated plan.

Many of the 17 mayoral candidates in attendance detailed their personal history as Denver school graduates and parents, asserting that the next city administration needs to be more involved in working with the Denver Public Schools administration and board to enhance after-school programs, high school internship and apprenticeship partnerships with local businesses, and to commit more resources for low-income families and students of color.

How two DSST literacy specialists are helping their middle school students regain reading proficiency after the disruptions of Covid.

DPS attorney Andrew Ringel goes far beyond Pryor to argue that Kane is interfering with the district’s independent oversight of schools and threatens school safety by usurping the district’s rules for school visitors and volunteers and encouraging others to harass district employees.