Commentary
More than 2,200 new students have arrived since the start of the school year. DPS has been planning for slow, steady enrollment declines for the foreseeable future, and this throws planning into disarray. There’s no way to know how long the influx will continue, how many of the new arrivals will stay, or for how long.
In this inaugural piece by new Boardhawk columnist Alexis Menocal Harrigan, she argues that the Denver school board’s foot-dragging on drawing new director district essentially disenfranchises some voters.
Last Thursday’s unfortunate action by the holdover board members delays the return of meaningful accountability to the leadership of DPS. And, as usual, it is the city’s children who will pay the price.
What does Denver Public Schools tell us, in light of the achievement scores from year one? Has any district leader involved in the design and implementation come forth to acknowledge the bad news?
While it’s not unusual for newly elected officials to want to make a mark, in this case doing so is essential to begin restoring confidence in a school district that has lost the trust of its community.
“Mental health” counselors intend to alleviate the “trauma” students encounter in their daily lives. While the intention is noble, the practice is varied, with most students quickly realizing the power of victimhood in our society.
Educators should come together to solve issues for students. Currently, DPS leans on investigation rather than collaboration. This is not good for our students.
While the new board may remain deeply divided with the new board members in the minority, the momentum towards having a new board majority and agenda is strong and growing. The magnitude and pace of the board’s new agenda will depend entirely on who leads the board.
It has been a rough two years for DPS, led by an inept and dysfunctional school board that could not get out of its own way. The three new members who will be joining the board later this month – Kimberlee Sia, Marlene De La Rosa, and John Youngquist – bring a wealth of relevant experience and steady hands to a thankless job.
These two evaluations are starkly different for an obvious reason: The majority of the 2020 board was eager to nudge Cordova out the door. The current board seems desperate to hang onto Marrero, twice bestowing raises and contract extensions upon him for no apparent reason.
Podcast season 2, episode 20: The truth about Colorado’s national education ranking
Listen to cohosts Alexis Menocal Harrigan and Alan Gottlieb discuss with educator and advocate Van Schoales how new test score data calls into question Colorado’s bragging rights about being the number one state in the nation for public education. This post also includes a transcript of the conversation, for those of you who prefer reading to listening.