These posts are the opinions of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of A+ Colorado.

Turkey, Mama Stamberg and Education Reform

Members and Friends, We are about to celebrate my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving, where we reflect, eat, and welcome others to our family table. As I was thinking about what new cranberry concoction to add to our family’s cranberry standards (we always have at least three: a basic freshly-cooked cranberry with sugar and orange, the gelatin…

Continue Reading …


New site, new digs, same goals

Hello Members and Friends, We have just launched our new website so you can get the latest news on A+ Denver and Denver Public Schools, check it out: www.apluscolorado.org. We will be updating it several times a week with news and resources related to our work.   If any of you are interested in regularly providing information…

Continue Reading …


Turnarounds, Technology and Tuning the Denver Plan

Hello Members and Friends, Please make sure you get your Denver ballot in by 7pm tonight. I know I’ll be happy to see this school board election season done. I want to give a warm congratulations to the three newly-elected DPS members. A+ members and I look forward to working with each of the new…

Continue Reading …


A national model and game-changer for Denver

Blog post by Van Schoales on Ed News Colorado, Oct. 24, 2011. Copyright © EdNewsColorado.org. View original post here. This week Denver Public Schools is rolling out “School Choice,” a new common enrollment process for all DPS schools, and a companion guide for families. It’s a bit surprising that there has not been more chatter about…

Continue Reading …


A critique of Brill’s “Class Warfare”

Blog post by Van Schoales on EdNewsColorado, Aug. 31, 2011. Copyright © EdNewsColorado.org. View original post here. It’s not often I would describe a book on education reform as a page-turner, but Steven Brill’s book Class Warfare kept me engaged late into the night. I thought “Wow, someone has finally described some of the political…

Continue Reading …


A+ Denver releases report- Denver School Performance by School Board Member Districts: Results and Trends.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Van Schoales Cell: 303.725.1151 Email: vschoales@gmail.com A+ Denver releases report- Denver School Performance by School Board Member Districts: Results and Trends. This A+ Denver report was developed in partnership with Padres Unidos, Get Smart Schools, Colorado Succeeds, Colorado League of Charter Schools and Metro Organization for People describes and shows the…

Continue Reading …


Candidates question A+ Survey

Originally posted on EdNewsColorado, Oct. 4, 2011. Copyright © EdNewsColorado.org. Read here. Written by Charlie Brennan. The A+ Denver education advocacy group has released results of a Denver Public Schools board candidate survey, but several candidates didn’t consider it a valid exercise. The lone incumbent on the Nov. 1 ballot, Arturo Jimenez, declined to respond to…

Continue Reading …


Denver school performance through a political lens

Originally posted on EdNewsColorado, Oct. 13, 2011. Copyright © EdNewsColorado.org. Read here. Written by Alexander Ooms. A+ Denver issued a new brief yesterday (and full disclosure – I helped crunch some of the numbers). It’s oddly not available (as of now) on their website, but it’s worth a look, so I’m posting here: SPF by…

Continue Reading …


Opinion: Schoales taking helm at A+ Denver

Originally post on EdNewsColorado, July 5, 2011. Copyright © EdNewsColorado.org. Read article here. The A+ Denver citizens committee is about to get a makeover, with longtime Denver education reformer Van Schoales taking the helm of the organization later this month. By hiring Schoales, the A+ board and its co-chairs, Terrance Carroll (former speaker of the…

Continue Reading …