Commentary
In this piece, Colorado Mesa State University Trustee Alison Griffin offers a rebuttal to a recent column by Peter Huidekoper Jr. that argued that college students are being forced into career paths too quickly, at the expense of exploration and healthy uncertainty.
Boardhawk columnist Aaron Massey says the mass hooting last weekend at Brown University hit close to home. What, he asks, do teachers think about how to approach gun violence in American schools? “If you ask me, they are the ones that can make progress in solving gun violence.Teachers have a unique positionality in society in that they see children progress through the human developmental stages.”
For many education reformers, this moment marks not only the end of portfolio management in Denver but the end of any real hope for sustained academic improvement, particularly for low-income students and students of color. While I remain a strong proponent of portfolio management, that conclusion is too simplistic and ultimately too pessimistic. There is still reason for cautious optimism, even under a centralized governance model that many of the reformers of the last decade instinctively distrust. Traditional, centrally managed districts, when led well, can improve student outcomes.
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 […]
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.
In higher ed, transparency isn’t the enemy of exploration
In this piece, Colorado Mesa State University Trustee Alison Griffin offers a rebuttal to a recent column by Peter Huidekoper Jr. that argued that college students are being forced into career paths too quickly, at the expense of exploration and healthy uncertainty.