Category Archives: Engagement

Board Member Overboard

Posted on December 11, 2012 by axooms

There is an extraordinary post today by sitting Denver school board member Jeanne Kaplan which should be required reading for anyone who still believes the DPS board has the possibility of rational agreement. Kaplan takes a Board decision with which … Continue reading →

Posted in Engagement, Politics | 1 Comment

SchoolChoice and the Marriage Problem

Posted on October 16, 2012 by axooms

One of the biggest changes last year in DPS was the implementation of the SchoolChoice program, which matches candidates with schools by using an efficient algorithm so that there are no two students who would trade places. That this was … Continue reading →

Posted in Engagement, Fiscal & Economic, Innovation, Whimsy | Leave a comment

Ghost alumnus

Posted on November 10, 2010 by axooms

Perhaps it is the proximity to Halloween, but what I find most troubling about the wrenching and difficult decision to close or transform schools are the ghosts: All of the kids who went through the school, received an education wholly … Continue reading →

Posted in Engagement, School Performance | Tagged | Leave a comment

Public schools aren’t all that

Posted on August 15, 2010 by axooms

This month in Denver, six new public schools open their doors. Both innovation and charter schools operating autonomously from certain district and union regulations, these programs offer novel approaches ranging from environmental sustainability to language immersion in Mandarin Chinese. Their … Continue reading →

Posted in Charter Schools, Engagement, Innovation, School Performance, Student Achievement | Tagged | Leave a comment

Neighborhood schools quiz (part two)

Posted on October 21, 2009 by axooms

I wrote a post last week on Neighborhood Schools, in no small part because I think the term is an open vessel in which people place widely divergent beliefs about what is important in public education. Every designed system has virtues and errors. … Continue reading →

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Pop quiz: Neighborhood schools

Posted on October 14, 2009 by axooms

Pop Quiz. Note that there may be multiple accurate responses. Readers are free to suggest answers in the comments and I’ll update the post with the right answers (just kidding) my thoughts later this week. Question One: Is a “neighborhood school”: a) … Continue reading →

Posted in Engagement, Whimsy | Leave a comment

Playing games to sneak kids into good schools

Posted on September 14, 2009 by axooms

Students across Denver have now put aside their summer games and trotted off to school. Where they head, however, is often decided by how well their parents play the games afforded by the public education system. The most egregious example … Continue reading →

Posted in Engagement, School Performance | 2 Comments