These posts are the opinions of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of A+ Colorado.
Last month, I had the pleasure of moderating a discussion on the “Teaching of Empathy” at the Denver Biennial of the Americas. It was a powerful reminder that the heart of teaching begins with empathy. The Biennial is a magical gathering of artists and activist leaders from across the Americas that happens in Denver every…
Discussions have been swirling at the state and district levels about school data and accountability over the last few months. Accountability, for those who may not know, is a term for measuring how well a school is doing and what should be done or celebrated about these rankings. These discussions cut to the core of…
Last month, I had the pleasure of participating in a debate on private school vouchers in Chicago. The state of Illinois recently made a $100 million dollar bet to improve the educational outcomes for low-income students by establishing a tax credit scholarship program, that acts like a voucher, for low-income families to attend a private…
As first appeared in Education Week as Education Reform as We Know It Is Over. What Have We Learned? on 4/25/2019. Reprinted with permission from the author. The education reform movement as we have known it is over. Top-down federal and state reforms along with big-city reforms have stalled. The political winds for education change…
Teachers, the teacher union, district leaders, the school board and community leaders are unanimous in calling for an effort to close our deplorable achievement gap yet the outcome of the current teacher compensation impasse (and possible strike) will likely determine what happens to the achievement gap. We need to think far bigger about how we…
In spite of the largest blue wave to hit Colorado in many decades, voters turned down Amendment 73, the tax measure to increase funding to public education. How can this be? Many school districts across the state are clearly struggling for funds. Few have full-day kindergarten for all students. Colorado currently has one of the…
Denver Public Schools (DPS) kept the promise made last winter to repair the mistakes made on the 2017 School Performance Framework (SPF) and to raise the bar for what makes a high quality school. We thank DPS for its leadership and willingness to make corrections to better reflect student learning across the district. DPS remedied…
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…
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…