I crawled out of bed one morning last week with the intention of going back to sleep, er, school.
There are still a few days of summer vacation left before my daughters will slip into already-planned outfits, strap on new backpacks and head off for the first day of classes in their Boulder Valley schools. But for students in a handful of schools in Denver, summer is already a memory.
With a cup of coffee in hand and my wallet left resting on the bathroom counter, I hit the road at 6:15 a.m. Wednesday in order to join kids in northeast Denver on the first day of school-turnaround efforts.
Students in 11 schools there are starting six days early. They’ll also be in class one hour more each day.
When I arrived in the Green Valley Ranch neighborhood near Denver International Airport, I wasn’t sure I was in the right place. The area looks more suburban than urban. Plenty of parking was still available. Students were nowhere to be seen.
The sign atop the entrance declared I was standing in front of “Rachel B. Noel Middle School.” But under terms of the Denver Public Schools turnaround plan approved last spring, I was really in front of three schools housed in a single building: Noel Community Arts School (for sixth-graders); KIPP Montbello College Prep at Noel; and the old school, which is being phased out.
As buses and cars started arriving, the picture became more clear. Students, mostly minority, were wearing shirts in one of three shades: white, black, and purple.
Teachers and support staff formed lines on either side of the schoolhouse doors and, waving purple and white pompoms, cheered kids as they commenced the new year at the new schools.
The challenge, of course, is not getting kids excited on the first day of school. It’s maintaining the excitement throughout the school year. It’s keeping them interested and enrolled until they graduate.
DPS superintendent Tom Boasberg acknowledged as much. He told the assemblage of parents, teachers, staff, media and students about the fight to bring school reform to northeast Denver.
He recalled parents who protested with signs that read, “Say ‘no’ to change.”
“We made the decision to say ‘yes’ to change, ‘yes’ to better schools, ‘yes’ to better opportunities, ‘yes’ to high school graduation, ‘yes’ to college enrollment, ‘yes’ to success for all of our students. That’s what we’re saying today.”
For those who haven’t been paying attention, DPS board elections this fall will very likely be about continuing to say “yes.” There are three seats available, and “reformers” currently hold a one-seat edge.Boasberg’s job is likely on the line.
A person who should know told me this week that there is little question that these elections will shatter the campaign fund-raising record from 2009, when candidates spent more than $500,000.
Board member Nate Easley Jr., considered to be the vote that has swung things reformers’ way, knows he’s in for a fight, but expects to win.
“I don’t think people are going to vote to reverse the direction that we’re moving in in terms of aggressive reforms to improve our schools,” he told me.
Mayor Michael Hancock, who stood up for change and then made the state of the city’s schools a compelling part of his campaign, says he will be endorsing candidates.
“I hope we can select the candidates who have the kids-first focus and that we’re going to do everything we can to turn failing schools around and give every part of this city an opportunity to have good schools and good programs,” he said.
The DPS board election is shaping up as a yes-or-no question. And, just like the end of summer, the answer will come sooner than we expect.
Editorial page editor Curtis Hubbard (chubbard@denverpost.com) writes each Sunday.
