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.
At the September 17 Denver Public Schools Board of Education public comment session, 14 people addressed the board and community about allegations leveled against two board members by the board President Xóchitl Gaytán, with an assist from Superintendent Alex Marrero. Two comments stood out, so we are publishing them here.
In its 2024–25 State of Charter Schools Report, the Colorado Department of Education concluded that charter schools had lower chronic absenteeism rates than non-charter schools in each of the previous three years.
In this episode, cohosts Alexis Menocal Harrigan and Alan Gottlieb discuss the latest Denver school board imbroglio, including potentially serious allegations, and its implications for Colorado’s largest school district.
Last week, Boardhawk published a detailed analysis of Denver Public Schools’ 2026 state test score (CMAS) data, as well as an evaluation of the state school performance framework rating of DPS. We invited the author of the piece, Cody Ostenson, on the podcast to discuss the findings.
We asked Boulder school board member Alex Medler on to discuss his district’s bell-to-bell cellphone restriction policy, which is gaining momentum across the country (DPS is just forming a community committee to study the issue and make recommendations). We also wanted to hear his provocative thoughts, as a long time charter school advocate and “ed reformer” on how his perspective has changed after two years as a school board member. He has strong opinions about where reformers, and the foundations that fund them, have gone astray.
From Boulder Valley School District board member Alex Medler: Last fall, the Boulder Valley School District board took that responsibility seriously and voted for a bell-to-bell phone-free policy across all grades and all school hours. Adopting this “away for the day” policy was, I believe, one of the most powerful and positive decisions our board has ever made for our children. And it is exactly the kind of decision school boards across the country should have the courage to make.
Editor’s note: The SHIFT Chronicles is a monthly feature dedicated to amplifying student voices, where those most impacted by the public education system share their thoughts, reflections, and experiences. In collaboration with FaithBridge SHIFT fellows, these commentaries offer a genuine glimpse into the challenges students are facing within our city’s schools. These students represent a diverse range […]
Kimberlee Sia was elected to the Denver Public Schools Board of Education in 2023, representing southeast Denver’s District 1. She has two years remaining in her first term. In her career, Sia has been both a teacher and a school leader, so she came to her board service with some subject-matter expertise. She served as board treasurer during her first two years. Sia joined the podcast to discuss her hopes and visions for the next two years, as the board, with three new members, hods its first work session, and a retreat, next week.
As we enter a new moment in Denver Public Schools governance, I intend to remain hopeful that the bumpy days of the past several years could be behind us. I will observe the new board carefully (the name Boardhawk remains relevant), and with respect and goodwill.
Yet I’d be foolishly naïve if I were pretend that the ghosts of the recent past don’t threaten to haunt the board and its three new members. There has been a lot of acrimony, pettiness, and ideologically rooted foolishness that has hampered the board and district’s progress in recent years.
Here, then are a few hopes and worries I carry in my mind as the new DPS board settles in.
In this current zeitgeist, are students afraid of entering college admitting to any doubts about what they hope to do? Have we limited their options before they have even begun to find out what might be possible? Are the costs so high they feel bound to “get with the program”? Have we persuaded them that, even at 18, they should seek guarantees—my family and I will spend (x) and take on a debt of (y) in order that I graduate with a job paying (z)?
Jennifer Holladay was a senior Denver Public Schools administrator from 2013-21. She oversaw the district’s portfolio of schools program until leaving the district in 2021. As a new school board with a union-backed majority takes power next month, we thought Jen would be an ideal guest to discuss how the new board could affect portfolio or reform values like accountability, choice, school supports, autonomy, and student-based budgeting.
Podcast co-hosts Alexis Menocal Harrigan and Alan Gottlieb discuss recent, election developments, including the ludicrous censure of Denver Public Schools Board of Education member John Youngquist, Superintendent Alex Marrero’s flirtation with Chicago Public Schools, and other current topics.
Maureen Kelleher is a veteran Chicago education journalist, who now produces Board Rule, a deeply reported, weekly newsletter on Chicago Public Schools and its board. This article is from today’s edition of Board Rule. It focuses on the contentious search for a new CPS superintendent. Denver Public Schools Superintendent Alex Marrero was one of two finalists for the job before the search process imploded, thanks to the usual craziness of Chicago politics. It’s well worth a read. Boardhawk is reprinting it with Kelleher’s permission.
Former DPS board Vice-President Auon’tai Anderson reached out to Boardhawk editor Alan Gottlieb following two recent podcast episodes that mentioned Anderson’s own censure case while discussing the pending censure of board member John Youngquist. He asked to share his perspective on board censures. What followed was a wide-ranging conversation that should be of interest to listeners, regardless of their perceptions of and feelings about the outspoken former board member.
The DPS board needs a leadership reset
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.