Commentary
Denver’s new school board got off to a bad start today by declining to livestream its first-ever meeting, a daylong retreat, despite positioning itself as the most community-responsive group of individuals ever to hold board seats.
Sharon’s life reflected a lifelong commitment to educational equity and quality education, particularly for African American students.
I will never forget Dr. Bailey’s dogged persistence advocating for an issue she deeply believed in, and the moral force of not only her arguments, but her mere presence in meetings.
Barbara’s varied professional accomplishments provide a template for others who aspire to a life of service, which Marian Wright Edelman described as “the very purpose of life, and not something you do in your spare time.”
When the new DPS board is sworn in next week, Tay Anderson, without question, will become the most powerful member of that body, and its ideological leader.
There was a lot of anxiety around social interaction when we returned to school. A lot of care and personal time and patience were necessary to make the students comfortable opening up and expressing themselves.
Why did people vote this way? Did they like what they saw from the current board, which has had moments of dysfunction and in-fighting, muddled through pandemic disruptions, and drove out a superintendent of color who had been a career district employee?
What’s clear about today’s election is that big money backing various candidates believes the stakes are high. Why else would campaign contributions to Denver candidates directly and through Independent Expenditure Committees this cycle be approaching $2 million, and will perhaps surpass the $2.28 million spent in 2019?
The stakes in the Denver Public School board elections have never been higher. he board must move from internal conflict and self-directed focus to a dedicated focus on the students.
A teachers union-backed Independent Expenditure Committee is going deeply negative in Denver school board races, with misleading claims and glaring factual errors.
Engaging parents in the absenteeism conversation
We knew the methods we were using to deal with poor attendance weren’t working. We theorized that part of the solution might not look linear. We had to put ourselves in the shoes of our parents and ask ourselves new questions. Why, on the hardest days and in the hardest situations, might I move mountains to get my student to school? And when might I not?