News

More than 200 people tuned in on Tuesday night to hear a conversation between the Colorado League of Charter Schools, the Aurora-based African Leadership Group, community members and 11 candidates for the Denver Public Schools board of education.

Twelve of the 13 candidates running for four spots on the seven-member Denver Public Schools board sat with representatives of the Colorado Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and local journalists Wednesday night to talk about their visions for public education in Denver communities, in a live-streamed event.

This is the fourth in a series of four posts featuring unedited videos of Denver Board of Education candidates answering questions posed to them by community members. This installment focuses on the at-large, citywide race.

This is the third in a series of four posts featuring unedited videos of Denver Board of Education candidates answering questions posed to them by community members. This installment focuses on SouthwestDenver's District 2.

This is the second in a series of four posts featuring unedited videos of Denver Board of Education candidates answering questions posed to them by community members. This installment focuses on Northeast Denver's District 4.

Boardhawk is launching its election coverage with these video interviews of board candidates. We encouraged community members to come up with questions on relevant issues, and to ask them on video. We also invited all candidates to be recorded offering their responses, and allowed them to answer at the length they felt was appropriate. This week: Central Denver District 3 candidates Carrie Olson and Mike DeGuire.

More than 50 parents of Denver Public Schools students and other education advocates brought a variety of concerns and suggestions o the district’s new superintendent, Alex Marrero, when he met and greeted them at the campus of Kepner Beacon Middle School earlier this week.

"This Board has conducted virtually no public discussion during this pivotal time on how the infusion of dollars will be spent. How can the district be strategic about spending this funding if we still don’t know how students are doing at each school across the city?"

Some districts, zones or individual schools, appear to be doing more with federal pandemic funding in the short term for students than others. Others plan to use funds to enhance school-year programs aimed at catching up students who have fallen behind.

The leaders of A+ Colorado, which closed its doors last month, are confident that its members will branch out and support other education advocacy organizations.

The Denver school board has spent more than $100,000 this spring hiring outside firms to help with communications challenges, bypassing the district’s own $3.8 million, 32-employee communications department.

Denver School of the Arts has long had a diversity problem, which could potentially be resolved as part of a pending expansion --- an early test for incoming Superintendent Alex Marrero.

Early conversations with Denver Public Schools parents and students participating in a research initiative point to the importance of individualized attention, regular communication, rigorous coursework, and strong mental health support as key elements of a high quality education.

Fewer parents of young children are participating this year in Denver Public Schools’ SchoolChoice system, raising questions about possible enrollment declines and an accompanying financial hit to the district.

Boardhawk interviewed Shakira Abney-Wisdom, founding principal of the Robert F. Smith STEAM Academy, the district-managed high school in Far Northeast Denver that will open later this year.