Category Archives: Poverty

The False Dawn of Denver’s School Performance

Posted on October 4, 2013 by axooms

Denver Public Schools has released their 2013 School Performance Framework (SPF). The summary is mixed — the distribution of performance has stretched, so there are more kids in both the highest-quality and the lowest-quality schools. When aggregated, the gains are … Continue reading →

Posted in Charter Schools, District Performance, Poverty, School Performance, Student Achievement | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Housing and Public Schools

Posted on June 10, 2013 by axooms

Imagine, for a moment, that the public school district of the city in which you live decided to start a program to charge families who wanted to send their kids to a specific school.  The price was pretty expensive — … Continue reading →

Posted in Engagement, Fiscal & Economic, Poverty | Tagged | 5 Comments

Does School Choice Increase Segregation?

Posted on May 15, 2013 by axooms

One of the arguments opponents of school choice — and particularly those who are anti charter schools — now make most frequently is that increased options and the ability for families to select schools rather than be assigned to them … Continue reading →

Posted in Charter Schools, Engagement, Poverty | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The Tragic Legacy of Rachel B. Noel

Posted on February 8, 2013 by axooms

This week marks the 40th anniversary of the landmark Keyes case, which was instrumental in desegregating the Denver school system. Colorado Public Radio’s enterprising Jenny Brundin has a brief but mesmerizing story that summarizes the case. Keyes was remarkable as it marked … Continue reading →

Posted in Engagement, Fiscal & Economic, Poverty, School Performance | Tagged | Leave a comment

DPS’s gifted and talented: separated or segregated?

Posted on February 4, 2013 by axooms

There was a terrific article a few weeks back in the New York Times about the demographic imbalance in the gifted and talented (G&T) programs within the public school system in New York City. The school system serves primarily students … Continue reading →

Posted in Engagement, Fiscal & Economic, Poverty | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Income, race and affirmative action

Posted on October 22, 2012 by axooms

An interesting and persuasive essay on affirmative action from the New York Times’s David Leonhardt makes an important point.  The guiding principle behind affirmative action was fairness. However, in applying the principle of fairness, affirmative action programs simply filtered candidates by … Continue reading →

Posted in Higher Education, Poverty | 1 Comment

The contortions of Arturo Jimenez

Posted on October 15, 2012 by axooms

DPS Board Member Arturo Jimenez contributed an Op-Ed to Sunday’s Denver Post in which he explained his rationale for opposing the upcoming Bond.  Mr. Jimenez stressed that the largest problem he sees in DPS is the chronic underachievement of Denver’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Charter Schools, District Performance, Fiscal & Economic, Poverty, School Performance | 2 Comments