Commentary
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.
Based on my own experience and armed with research, I founded Students Cultivating Dignity (SCD) Enrichment Program in 2018 to support, recruit and retain BIPOC secondary students with gifted and advanced education.
Recent developments continue to demonstrate that the current Denver school board and leadership want to hide key matters from public scrutiny. Why?
More reversals are sure to come unless school leaders defend and perhaps even expand the policies that have given the city’s most vulnerable students an educational lifeline.
Despite our frustration, we accept the decision made and want to urge the board to use this opportunity to manage their sole employee with a more intentional focus on accountability, transparency, and community integration.
The key to comprehensive summer programs is that they offer a safe, consistent, and positive environment daily for approximately six hours and for six to eight weeks. While there are various options available for Denver youth in the summer, very few are comprehensive programs that meet the consistency needs of working families.
Denver Public Schools is facing declining enrollment across the district. Any serious school board candidate must have a vision to tackle this problem.
Judge cites DPS’ “shocking disregard” for school safety in East shootings. It remains a cause for concern today
The potentially deadly ineptitude of Denver Public Schools’ approach to safety under the current regime is laid bare in a searing ruling issued this week by a federal judge in the lawsuit of an East High School dean shot inside the school by a student three years ago.