Four years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling that said states can’t exclude faith-based schools from choice programs because they practice religion. Some Catholics in Colorado think their state has forgotten about that Maine case and similar decisions in favor of expanding religious freedom.
Denver voters have approved mill levy overrides before. DPS collected $369.6 million last year from seven voter-approved overrides dating to 1988. That history is exactly why voters deserve specifics. A district that has been trusted this many times should be able to say what the next dollars will do.
Three eventful years into his tenure on the Denver Public Schools Board of Education, board member John Youngquist discusses where the board’s focus should be as it emerges (we hope) from a period of tumult, in-fighting and dysfunction.
We asked Denver Classroom Teachers Association President Rob Gould, and Vernon Jones, a community advocate and executive director of FaithBridge, onto the show to discuss the mill levy, reasons voters should approve it, and to answer some questions about why maybe some voters should be skeptical that it’s a good idea. We also discussed board and district leadership and whether there need to be changes.
It is time for the board to call for new leadership of the body. A new officer election would give members an opportunity to reconsider that leadership and publicly articulate the expectations they have of those serving as president, vice president, and other offices.
Recently, I’ve heard people question whether Denver should make another investment in our schools because of the disagreements and challenges happening among adults in the district. As a student, that is hard for me to understand. Whatever concerns adults have about leadership, governance, or accountability, taking investment away from students because of adult behavior feels like punishing us for decisions we did not make.
The Denver school board on Thursday, October 8, censured Director Monica Hunter for allegedly making anti-Semitic statements about a fellow board member. The censure followed a quick investigation by an outside party, and while the findings of the investigation were inconclusive, the board decided on a 4-2 vote that there was enough evidence to merit the censure. Potential conflicts of interest with Hunter’s employment also contributed to the decision to censure her. In this episode, co-hosts Alexis Menocal Harrigan and Alan Gottlieb discuss the fallout.
Maybe it is time for all of us to say NO to the board’s request for a $44 million mill levy tax increase. I am torn. Denver’s teachers need to be paid more. But I do not see how Denver will ever do better by most of its students without a clear plan, transparency, honest discussion of progress, and real accountability for student success — none of which this board has offered.
Alleged antisemitic statements by Denver school board member Monica Hunter aimed at her colleague Amy Klein Molk are problematic. Equally troubling, however, is why the superintendent and board president sat on them for nine months until it became politically expedient to release them. In this episode, co-hosts Alexis Menocal Harrigan and Alan Gottlieb discuss whether board relationships and trust in board President Xóchitl Gaytán and Superintendent Alex Marrero are irreparably damaged, and if so, what should happen as a result.
The Denver school board on Thursday, Sept. 17 voted unanimously to launch an investigation into allegations that board Director Monica Hunter made anti-semitic comments about fellow board member Amy Klein Molk, who is Jewish. In this episode, co-hosts Alexis Menocal Harrigan and Alan Gottlieb discuss the meeting’s bizarre twists and turns, and impacts on Denver Public Schools students, with Nicholas Hernández, executive director of the advocacy group Transform Education Now.
Chalkbeat has an excellent update on the Know Justice Know Peace podcast dispute, after senior reporter Melanie Asmar viewed video of an August meeting between the four young women who created the podcast and senior Denver Public Schools officials. Chalkbeat, like Boardhawk, filed a Colorado Open Records Act Request for the video, which the district […]
I have not had a single parent, student, or taxpayer tell me that trademarking this name and stealing it from these young ladies is the right decision.
In threatening to sue four of its former students and an ex-principal over an alleged trademark violation for a racial justice-themed podcast the students created, DPS is violating its own professed principles and making itself look like a big, bad bully.
Students and community supporters Wednesday widened their fight to retain rights to “Know Justice, Know Peace” from their federal court lawsuit against Denver Public Schools to winning in the court of public opinion.
Denver Public Schools has threatened to sue the former principal of a Northeast Denver school along with several students to stop them from promoting the acclaimed “Know Justice, Know Peace” branded racial justice campaign that the students themselves created.
Last Friday’s letter to the community from Denver Public Schools Superintendent Marrero was a remarkable exemplar of what has become the norm these days for politicians of all stripes. Undermine data, ignore reality, and create a new narrative.
Alan Gottlieb’s recent commentary in Boardhawk criticizes Denver for asking the DAC to stop summarizing reviews with a decision to accept or deny charter school applications. Denver’s action is reasonable, is part of a larger effort by the district to solicit community input regarding chartering decisions, and aligns with many strong authorizers in the state.
Denver Public Schools appears poised to marginalize the state-mandated District Accountability Committee. It is the latest example of using Policy Governance to drive agendas and limit public scrutiny and accountability. It’s just the latest example of the district and board’s move away from transparency and public accountability.
Denver Public Schools’ new strategic roadmap seems content with improving student progress and addressing student needs at a leisurely pace.
Simply put: adolescents are experiencing an internal war perpetuated by technology.
Podcast season 2 episode 29: Heather Lamm on DPS board vacancy
Thirteen people have applied for a one-year vacancy on the Denver school board created by the resignation last month of central-Denver representative DJ Torres. On this podcast episode, longtime District 3 resident and DPS parent and advocate Heather Lamm discusses with co-hosts Alexis Menocal Harrigan and Alan Gottlieb the candidates and what the board needs in and from its new member.