I suppose Tom Boasberg is a successful “education reformer.” The policy resume (charters, accountability, innovation) certainly checks out. And Denver Public Schools invariably gets mentioned near the top of all the “best of” ed reform articles. But what strikes me as more noteworthy, especially in these times, is what Tom did during his near decade leading Denver’s schools to show…
Author: Mike Vaughn
Staying Centered on Education Issues in Dem Campaign for Governor
Colorado got some great news on the education front last week: the prestigious Broad Prize for the nation’s best charter school was awarded to DSST Public Schools—a network of eight (and growing) middle and high school campuses serving Denver and expanding soon to Aurora. It’s another example—along with statewide school choice, a groundbreaking funding model, and fairly strong accountability system—of…
Dem Delegates’ Hypocritical Message on Ed Reform: Toe the Union Line…or Keep Your Mouth Shut
“Folks are being pushed to the edges on the right and left on politics,” longtime Denver Public Schools Superintendent Tom Boasberg is quoted in Chalkbeat as saying at a Gates Family Foundation event held on Friday to discuss Denver’s successful model of education reform. “Part of what we’ve been able to do in Denver for some time is to reject the orthodoxy of the…
Taking the bus to Boston for creative transportation solutions
When it comes to bringing new thinking to public education, few places can beat Denver. It’s got a wide array of schools that break the traditional mold (both charter and district-run), a cutting-edge enrollment system that covers every different type of school in one application, and a boundary-busting attempt to increase integration by creating “enrollment zones” that give families priority…
DPS should put families first in tough call on school ratings
Everyone seems to agree that there’s a problem with some of this year’s elementary-school ratings in Denver. The disagreement comes over what to do about it. The Denver Public Schools uses its School Performance Framework (SPF) to rate the annual performance of all of its schools. Since DPS started using the SPF as a color-coded school scorecard in 2008, it’s…