Blog posts are the opinions of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of A+ Colorado.
My summer vacation took me to Berlin, Germany for several weeks to better understand the culture, art and history of this remarkable city in late August. While I was focused on taking a break from education, I couldn’t help but reflect on how Berlin has been shaped by education while I enjoyed the art, music…
What does it mean to be counted? Gathering and analyzing data on people and the number of things we want to know about people (demographics, performance, health, etc.) is not an out-of-touch, elitist exercise, but rather a way to meaningfully include people, and work to improve their everyday lives. Theory, data, or (worse) both, seem…
Many on the right and left believe that the Janus Supreme Court decision will have a significant impact on reducing the teacher union role in public education and union political power in general. The decision overrules a former Supreme Court decision, Abood v. Detroit Board of Education, in 1977 that held that (primarily blue states) public…
“Choice, first and foremost, should be about having a great school in your neighborhood and making sure all of our schools serve all of our kids.” — Tom Boasberg NPR Ed, 2017 I’ve been an active observer of Denver Public Schools (DPS) for 20 years, through the vantage point of consultant, funder, researcher, charter school…
test When Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon and marched towards Rome, a (likely) apocryphal story had him saying: Alea iacta est. The die is cast. The phrase has marked for centuries momentous turnings of fate and deep uncertainty about what would come next. In Denver this past week, Superintendent Tom Boasberg announced he was rolling the…
By Guest Blogger: Elaine Menardi Are Students Ready for the Future? Rising graduation rates imply that high school educational achievement is the highest it has ever been in the United States. Educators at all levels have collectively concentrated their efforts to ensure as many graduates as possible earn the coveted credential that sets them on…
The decision of the DPS School Board to press “pause” on the School Performance Compact should cause concern and honest reflection from all education observers and advocates in the city. Community groups who engaged with the district on this policy over the last three years were taken by surprise by the sudden decision. This is…
Guest Blogger: Kristin Barnes I am the proud mama of three boys who attend our Northwest Denver neighborhood elementary school. When my oldest son started ECE there in the fall of 2012, I co-founded a PTO and immediately became more involved in the school. I later joined the Collaborative School Committee (CSC) and after that…
There has a been a good deal of discussion about whether it will be good or bad for Denver land the next headquarters for Amazon. How will it impact our already congested roads and growing housing costs? What will happen to the economy with a new big fish? There has been a…
DPS is promising more community engagement than ever before. Yet, by spinning this many plates at the same time, they create potential for overloading their ability to process the information and underwhelming community members with their inability to act on feedback or commitments. Last week, over 100 education advocates attended our launch event for our…