The Denver school board on Thursday, Sept. 17 voted unanimously to launch an investigation into allegations that board Director Monica Hunter made anti-smitic 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.
Last week, Denver Public Schools Superintendent Alex Marrero presented to the school board a slide deck labeled Denver Thrives 2030: A Strategic Roadmap refresh. The deck was thin on just about everything, lacking strategy and a clear vision of what lays ahead and how to tackle challenges and opportunities over the next few years.
In a sterling example of pretzel logic, a new Denver Post editorial argues that because Marrero wants to leave, and because the district has spent well over $100,000 on a (possibly corrupt) mentor and international travel to conferences (generally referred to as professional development), Marrero should be forced to stay through the end of his contract in 2028.
On our 250th, let’s hope political divisions won’t keep us from agreeing on one simple idea: that a democracy depends on students who are literate and who have a solid understanding of our history.
This DPS regime has shown minimal interest in deeply examining data and taking concrete steps to improve matters. It seems focused instead on making Marrero look good so he can slip out the door into a bigger job in a bigger city, with a bigger salary.
What I’ve come to learn is that effective school teams are not much different than effective basketball teams. That the decisions made in film sessions, player meetings, and the front office are similar in importance to school board meetings, professional developments, and the central office. And that if winning is our goal (i.e. getting results alongside students), you have to have a feel for the game AND understand analytics.
Podcast season 2, episode 22: The Denver school board drama drags on — investigation into alleged antisemitic comments OK’d
The Denver school board on Thursday, Sept. 17 voted unanimously to launch an investigation into allegations that board Director Monica Hunter made anti-smitic 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.