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New school or old school?Debate brews over whether DPS should encourage new schoolsPeter Marcus, DDN Staff WriterWednesday, March 3, 2010 | |
Public school advocates are calling a report released last week promoting an increase in charter schools pure “propaganda,” while new school advocates say it is time to encourage new, higher-performing schools in the district.
The report, released by the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, states that Denver children are unable to access high-performing schools in the Denver Public Schools system, and therefore there is a need for higher-performing schools, which can be accomplished through new schools such as charter schools.
Greg Richmond, president of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, said that while Denver Public Schools is in the midst of meaningful reform — pointing to plans that call for higher standards and better teachers — the district has much work to do to place students at better-performing schools.
“This report shows that DPS is only halfway to meeting the needs of their students and they can’t let up,” said Richmond. “They should keep creating new schools and continue to set high standards for all.”
Denver Public Schools is already answering the call, issuing a “call for quality schools,” a program which invites educators to submit proposals to start new, high-quality schools to serve Denver families, especially in low-income and minority neighborhoods.
“We have enormously talented educators in our district, and it is vital that we give them the same opportunity as charter operators to unleash their talents and realize their aspirations,” said DPS Superintendent Tom Boasberg.
DPS would need to approve charter applications that meet the requirements of state law. The program is using data to identify needs in each region of the city, based on demographic trends, school performance, growth data and facility utilization.
New school workshops are being held by education officials in Denver through March 9. Proposals to open new schools in Denver in 2011 are due by April 16. DPS is expected to make recommendations to the Board of Education in June.
But public school advocates say the report released by the National Association of Charter School Authorizers is flawed. They point specifically to a statistic in the report that states Denver needs to create 37,000 new seats in performing schools.
“This kind of report is, unfortunately, thinly researched crap,” said Guerin Lee Green, a Denver Public Schools parent and local businessman. “The core assumptions in the report are highly suspect.”
Green questions how the data was collected, pointing specifically to measures for parental involvement.
“Instead of looking at the rate of parent attendance at parent teacher conferences, the number of volunteer hours in the classroom, or even involvement in extracurricular activities … the (report) relies on the rate of survey returns — surveys that are not actionable and mean nothing to parents or students,” he said.
“In the end, this report is nothing but a sales brochure for the charter school industry, and ideological ammo for the most strident anti-teacher, anti-public education zealots,” Green continued.
New school advocates, however, point to both West Denver Prep and the Denver School of Science and Technology — the district’s highest-scoring middle and high schools on its so-called school performance framework. Both schools are opening new campuses in August.
Denver school officials and parents say new schools like the Math and Science Academy, a new teacher-led elementary school created by DPS educators that opened this school year, and the Denver Green School, a new performance school set to open this fall, helps parents find the school that’s the right fit for their children.
“The Denver Green School model excites me for a couple of reasons,” said Marlo Derksen, whose two children will be attending the new school this fall. “One is the focus on performance. I want my kids to have the opportunity to get the best education possible, so the fact that it will be held to a standard of excellence excites me. The other thing that excites me is the innovation of the program — the fact that it will have a service-learning component.”
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