When asked to describe a typical school day, many students will paint a familiar picture consisting of a core of English, math, social studies, and science courses, along with physical education, a foreign language, and perhaps a creative arts elective. After the final bell rings, they likely attend clubs or extra-curricular experiences that align with their interests and passions. Though…
Category: School Quality
Let’s add something extra special to the 4-day school week
Not long ago, I found a statistic that blew my mind: 104 of 178 school districts in Colorado operate on a four-day school week. My brain started to race in an effort to address two key questions: What could we do with that extra day? And how could we help districts and administrators do more for kids? I came up…
Families in my neighborhood are getting a new school option thanks to a charter network crossing the Denver divide
It’s been less than six months since I moved into Stapleton’s Bluff Lake neighborhood. My neighbors are warm and welcoming. The Bluff Lake Nature Center is the perfect city oasis for a runner like me, and the Stanley Marketplace is quickly becoming one of those places “where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came.” Oh, and there’s…
Tom Boasberg: A final farewell from a grateful leader
On Tom Boasberg’s final day as superintendent of Denver Public Schools, we wanted to share his final farewell to the Denver community. Dear DPS Community, “The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends towards justice,” observed abolitionist Theodore Parker in the mid-19th century and civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. a century later — both…
Getting in the zone in Northeast Denver
If you’ve ever played competitive sports, you’ve probably had at least one coach tell you to “get in the zone.” It’s that signal to get your head right and start mentally preparing for the opportunity in front of you. But what if you don’t know anything about the opportunity before you? What if you don’t really know what’s at stake,…