Commentary
I first started thinking about medicine around the time I was in middle school. My mom was pregnant and the closest clinic to us was 35-40 miles away.
As a society, it’s our obligation to dismantle these oppressive systems, and our first priority should be to end systemic racism in our schools. We can’t do that without the help of educators.
Our efforts at Rocky Mountain Prep to connect families to resources, and to help our scholars by meeting basic needs in the fastest manner possible gave rise to the Family Advocacy Support Team (FAST).
Nearly all families at DSA welcomed the idea of serving a more diverse student population, and I imagine few people anywhere would oppose this goal on its face. As with most things, however, it is much more complicated than it initially appears.
As a leader in the charter school community, I have observed one additional quality of effective governance: excellent school governance is rooted in good character.
Do Dr. Alex Marrero and Director Tay Anderson deserve the opportunity to respond to these claims? Yes, absolutely. Should those with valid claims be afraid or intimidated from seeking justice because of the public trust that Dr. Marrero and Director Anderson enjoy? No, absolutely not.
As a group of high school students from both urban and rural communities, we are banding together to make sure school systems prioritize our mental health. We have communicated that we need consistent mental health support, yet we are not receiving it.
Whatever the results of the DPS superintendent search, the district must do some serious self-analysis to determine why many educators are passing up the opportunity to lead the district.
There are already rumblings of dissatisfaction with the the three finalists to become Denver’s next schools superintendent. But it isn’t exactly a plum job at this moment in time.
With more than $1.1 billion in stimulus dollars flowing into Colorado school districts over the next year, the big question is: will the students in greatest need of support get it, and in what form?
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?