The students and community residents of North East Denver learned last month of yet another setback in the stockpile of disappointments at Manual High School with the resignation of principal Rob Stein. Just three years ago, Rob Stein, an alumni of Manual assumed the mantle of principal with a refreshing vision for the school and community which captivated the aspirations of students and the community. Rob was instrumental in having Manual be designated an innovation school with a mandate to do whatever it takes to turn the school around absent district and union prohibitions.
Three years later, the chain link locks on Manual continue to remind the community of promises broken. Some might bemoan Rob for throwing in the towel, but his resignation signals to us that no one person can interrupt the institutional inertia suffocating our public schools and by proximity our children. Rob’s efforts to swim up-stream is not unique but one in a series of false starts at Manual that have collectively decimated the campus and school culture. Perhaps it is time we recognize that this pattern of experimentation and so called reform is part of the problem. Under Rob’s leadership, Manual students have made considerable gains in student performance. Still over half the campus is vacant, classrooms that could be utilized to augment student and parent engagement remain inaccessible sending a clear message to the community. How can we expect Manual to become a vital resource in the education of our children when the building is closed more often than not? Whose school is it anyway?
Over the past year and in part through Rob Stein’s leadership a cadre of community residents, parents, service providers and educators has been convening at Manual to develop a Children’s Zone that would mirror Manual’s catchment area to provide a continuum of services and resources to children in the surrounding neighborhoods. The community is prepared to do whatever it takes for our children to succeed both in and out of the classroom. It is time we transform Manual from a concrete building into a beacon of opportunity providing whatever it takes for its students to excel.
This online-only column was not edited.
