Hundreds of Denver high school students are still struggling with what most of us consider basic survival skills, such as reading and writing.
That’s why it’s hard for us to join any sort of uproar over Denver schools superintendent Michael Bennet’s suggestion that some elective courses, such as art and music, may be sacrificed in order to focus more time and staff on the three Rs.
Arts, music and foreign language are vital elements of a well-rounded education, but the ability to read and write is a fundamental building block of society.
Denver can’t afford to give up on these teenagers, who, sadly, made their way through at least eight years of schooling without being able to read or write proficiently. This is about more than improving test scores.
That said, DPS also must walk a careful line.
Given today’s budget constraints, once an elective is cut, it’s gone indefinitely. So cuts must be done judiciously, and school officials must work to ensure a proper balance of electives for those students who aren’t lagging behind in reading and writing.
Denver high schools don’t need to give bright students another reason to think about attending a private or charter school.
Bennet’s plan calls for nearly doubling the amount of time spent on reading and writing for students who are performing below grade level. Because there’s no additional money for extra staff, teachers who teach electives such as physical education, music and art might be asked to teach a math or literacy class or could be asked to find work elsewhere.
It’s part of DPS’s overall Denver Plan to boost achievement. The school board is expected to vote on the plan next month.
Bennet understands it’s a balancing act.
“What this debate has yielded is the notion that kids who are proficient or excelling are somehow compromised by the extra work for kids who are falling behind,” Bennet said. “We have a moral obligation to do both.”
Denver voters in the past have said electives are important for schools, improving a mill-levy hike as recently as 2003 to put an art and/or music teacher in every DPS elementary school.
“Any cuts to arts and music, which there might be some, will be very, very minor,” Bennet said.
But it’s impossible to argue with what he sees as the bottom line: “I don’t want to be graduating people from this district who can’t read.”
