Commentary
Winning The Creator Award from Ednium is such an honor. Much of the work I do is for the community and to give my ancestors and spirits the platform to be seen and heard in certain spaces feels incredible. I feel proud to represent the ones who came before me and the ones who will come after me. It’s truly honoring this journey of my life.
Educators, we need to learn and learn quickly how to guide students to use social media in socially responsive, yet innovative ways. I know this is another job on our plate. I know that we can’t solve all of society’s ills. I also know that we can’t standby.
As the Denver school board seems poised to prematurely extend Superintendent Alex Marrero’s contract, Robin Pulliam has decided, after years of silence, that the time is right to tell her story — on this podcast. She paints a troubling picture of a senior leadership team that operates like a boy’s club, where sexist comments are laughed off and women’s input is brushed aside.
While we had always been taught to be present in meetings, listen to the speaker, and demonstrate with our body language that we were actively listening, these adults — elected officials — did not reflect this learning . Not only were the silent people in the room loud with unrest, the speakers were loud with disorder. Seemingly unprepared, they stuttered, lost documents and more. While students are drilled to be prepared for public speaking, these adults weren’t.
So many across education are simultaneously watching in shock, while also asking, “How do we move forward from here when critical systems and programs are being rolled back?” The answer lies in remaining laser-focused on an elegant, age-old objective in our schools: joy. As we face historic challenges, joy in our classrooms – for our teachers and students – matters more than ever.
You won’t want to miss this pointed conversation, with its references to Superintendent Alex Marrero’s “Trumpian authoritarianism,” and its strong critiques of the school board members who have the temerity to think a premature contract extension is a good idea.
Marrero is a polarizing figure, beloved by some and disliked by others. Extending his contract before an election that could shift the board’s position on his tenure would be a brazen move to tie a new board’s hands, making it difficult/expensive to remove him
I attribute much of my success to the foundation provided to me by DPS. The leadership skills, work ethic, and emphasis on community engagement instilled in me have shaped my career and personal life in profound ways.
In this episode, Alan Gottlieb and Alexis Menocal Harrigan debate the recent decision by the Denver school board to place stringent limits on monthly public comment sessions. Until public comment has been the most direct and effect means by which members of the public could address the school board. Until the fall of 2023, public comments had no time limits, other than a three-minute limit on individual speakers. Now, not only are speakers limited to two minutes, but other limits have been placed on topics that can be addressed and the amount of time devoted to each topic.
HB 25-1278 feels backwards. Alter the accountability structure, but don’t address what this structure is supposed to measure: student achievement and growth, specifically, in three disciplines: reading, writing, and math,
Boardhawk podcast season 2, episode 8: The state of educational opportunity in Colorado, with Nicholas Hernández and Marc Porter Magee
50CAN, a national education advocacy organization, and Transform Education Now (TEN), its Colorado affiliate, recently released a report called The State of Educational Opportunity in Colorado, a survey of some 515 parents from across the state. ur guests for this podcast episode are Marc Porter Magee, the founder and CEO of 50CAN, and Nicholas Hernández, the co-founder and executive director of TEN. The Colorado report and national survey data are filled with fascinating insights that say a great deal about current attitudes toward public education, school choice, and parental engagement.