The usually reliable Marc Ambinder from The Atlantic says Ken Salazar will not run for governor, which makes John Hickenlooper the D’s frontrunner. UPDATE: It’s true, and Salazar is backing Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper.
Popularity: 5% [?]
Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category
[UPDATED] BREAKING: Salazar says no, backs Hickenlooper
Thursday, January 7th, 2010
Questions in wake of Ritter bombshell
Wednesday, January 6th, 2010I find politics a baffling and depressing circus, so my questions may be naive or ignorant. But that’s never stopped me before. Now that Bill Ritter has announced he isn’t running for reelection, I wonder:
1. Does the lack of a Democrat incumbent help, hurt or have no effect on Colorado’s Race to the Top application?
2. Who would be more likely — Scott McInnis or a new Democrat governor (Hickenlooper, Salazar, Romanoff, etc) — to modify or dismantle the entire CAP4K edifice?
3. Which possible Democrat will be looked on most kindly by the Colorado Education Association? How influential will the CEA and other interest groups be in determining who gets the nod?
4. What does this portend for meaningful ed reform in Colorado?
It will be quite a spectacle, watching people under the dome jockeying for position.
Popularity: 10% [?]
21st Century school board politics
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010New Denver school board member Andrea Merida is tech savvy. She is using social media to promote her agenda in ways that are unprecedented in Denver.
Whether you think this is a good or bad thing probably depends on how you feel about Merida’s agenda. But in any case, it’s a fascinating development. Merida has a Facebook page, a blog, and she uses Twitter.
In the past few days she has questioned how DPS calculates graduation rates (“I’m not sure I buy the Superintendent’s explanation, so I’ve asked for the breakdown, because it doesn’t jibe in my mind…probably not in yours, either.”); blasted the district’s system of incentive pay for central administrators – bonuses — (“I’m having a lot of trouble justifying these bonuses in a district with a 48% graduation rate, with the impending likelihood that more than $30 million in cuts will need to be made in the DPS budget in the near future…Frankly, this just seems obscene to me. If this kind of performance happened in the business world, a 48% rate of return would have serious consequences.”)
So, readers, what do you think? Is this a new and effective form of accountability, and connecting with voters? Is it a not-so-subtle attempt to undermine the superintendent by a board member currently on the losing end of a 4-3 board? How do you feel about it?
My initial reaction is that while I disagree with Merida on key issues, this is the wave of the present and future, and other pubic officials would be wise to emulate what she’s doing.
Popularity: 35% [?]
Maybe it’s time for East Denver Prep
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009If I were West Denver Prep founder Chris Gibbons, about now I’d be wondering whether it’s worth the trouble to put one of my excellent schools in northwest Denver.
That area’s school board member, Arturo Jimenez, makes nice noises about the program, but his actions belie his words. He appears to want nothing to do with West Denver Prep in his district. He wants the Denver school board to reverse its Nov. 30 vote to place a campus inside Lake Middle School. Then he wants to ban any additional campuses from north of 6th Avenue or west of Interstate 25. If that doesn’t send a clear message, nothing will.
So, Chris, take your program, which has produced Denver’s best middle school, and open new campuses on the other side of town.
But wait. There is an unfortunate dynamic at work here, too little discussed. Parents in NW Denver want a strong International Baccalaureate program at Lake. They also want a strong program, similar to Hill Middle School’s, at Skinner Middle School. Worthy goals, to be sure. These parents worry that too many new schools mean too few students, depriving the Lake and Skinner programs of adequate funding. Legitimate concerns.
Has anyone done a detailed analysis of whether these programs would serve the area’s low-income kids well? I’m trying to get my hands on a recent analysis, not publicly released, that found no evidence that IB programs do well by low-income kids. You’ll see it as soon as I get it, if I get it.
West Denver Prep offers a highly structured program, which is not for everyone. It caters to low-income students who are ready for the challenge of structure and rigor that is sorely lacking in other DPS middle schools. Would IB and the Skinner program provide equivalent rigor and structure?
So, what we may be seeing in NW Denver is a well-intentioned group of organized and effective parents and community members, including some low-income parents, driving out a program that would benefit low-income kids, in favor of a couple of programs that may or may not serve low-income kids so well, but certainly will draw middle-class families back into area middle schools.
Is that a good tradeoff?
Popularity: 25% [?]
Clarifying lines of communication
Friday, December 11th, 2009Interesting memo to Denver principals Thursday from Superintendent Tom Boasberg. This apparently is an effort to create clear lines of communication and boundaries for school board members and principals
Popularity: 26% [?]
Save Lake IB Blog, anonymity and consistency
Friday, December 11th, 2009Earlier this week I wrote a blog post asking readers to weigh in on whether I should allow anonymous comments on this blog. I banned pseudonyms for bloggers more than a year ago, but have allowed people to comment anonymously, though few have chosen to do so.
My question was prompted in part by an unfortunate incident last weekend when an anonymous commenter turned out to be one of my regular bloggers, who, unbeknownst to me, decided to take on a harsher persona and a pseudonym to make some points he felt he couldn’t make under his real name. Sunday, with an assist from me, Janine Vanderburg discovered the commenter’s identity. To Alexander Ooms’ credit, he immediately owned up, and explained his actions.
Janine discusses this incident in a new post on her Save Lake IB Blog. While she has the outlines of the story right, there are inaccuracies I would like to correct. First of all, she takes a swipe at me for my “grandmotherly admonition to ‘be nice’” while allowing comments like some of “Horse With No Name’s” harsher missives. Perhaps she missed the play on KIPP’s slogan, “Work Hard. Be Nice.” But no matter. While Janine hints at hypocrisy, she has the chronology backwards. It was those same harsh, anonymous comments and my uneasiness about my decision to run them that prompted me to start thinking about banning anonymous comments, and to ask people to ‘be nice.’
Second, Janine refers to HWNN’s last comment, about her blog, as particularly virulent. Actually, it wasn’t. It was an aggressive critique of the role Janine’s Save Lake IB Blog has played in the Lake issue. There was one clause in one sentence that Janine objected to, and which I removed at her request. I thought the rest of the comment was a valid critique of the blog, well within the bounds of acceptable discourse. I removed the rest of the comment, and all of HWWN’s comments, after his identity was revealed, and after talking to him about it. Subsequently, he reposted his final comment, minus the offending clause, under his own name. Janine again asked me to remove it, which I told her I would not do.
One question that has troubled me from the start is that the Save Lake IB Blog has itself been penned anonymously. Only in the last day has Janine begun signing her posts, at the bottom, with a lowercase jv. Until then, only those in the know had any idea who was writing the posts. Perhaps other people wrote some of them, but Janine was the main person behind the blog. And it’s impossible to tell if others contributed, since all were unsigned. Some of the Save Lake posts were pretty harsh, certainly as harsh as anything written under the moniker Horse With No Name.
It’s also interesting to note that at least one post on the blog has been removed. That’s the one that featured photos of purported classrooms in the Lake Middle School basement. The photos of tiny, windowless spaces raised questions about the wisdom of DPS filling the building by moving a second school in there.
Then, at the Nov. 30 school board meeting, Superintendent Tom Boasberg discredited that blog post and its photos by presenting a brief slideshow of photos of the actual “basement” classrooms. Big windows, plenty of light. Ample room. He admonished the person or people who posted the photos for irresponsibly spreading false information. Shortly thereafter, the post came down, with nary an explanation, refutation or apology.
What I’m saying, I guess, is that people who live in glass houses, etc., etc.
Janine and I have worked together closely on issues over the years. I respect her as a tireless and passionate advocate and watchdog. She and I disagree on some aspects of the Lake issue, as well as tactics employed by both sides in the debate. I would hope that when the dust settles from the current flap, we will find ourselves once again agreeing more often than not.
Popularity: 28% [?]
In the community, time to work on healing
Monday, December 7th, 2009I got into a heated discussion with some close friends of mine over the weekend. We were at a party for my wife’s birthday, when the Lake Middle School/school board meeting came up.
The discussion ended poorly and I felt bad that we had ended the discussion curtly and abruptly. We’ve communicated since then and all is well. My friends and I share common beliefs and values, we just happened to disagree. Friends can do this—they can hug and move on, knowing that they still share and value their friendship.
What about communities who have been fractured by disagreements? They can’t shake hands and move on unless they make a concerted effort to do so. The school board just ended its“counseling” therapy session. It’s important for them to work together; after all they are the ones who make the decisions—but what about the community? The school board is divided because the community is divided.
We have some work to do–some hard conversations to take place. I’d like to see someone who is well respected by the entire community come in and facilitate a series of conversations in the community about the direction of our schools and how that process can be better structured.
I’ve also learned a thing or two about the power of blogging. What I have recently learned is that while blogging can put ideas out there, blogging cannot take the place of good, honest, face-to-face dialogue. Let’s remember the power and limits of blogging as “conversation.”
Popularity: 16% [?]
Reframing the DPS mess
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009I too grew up in Chicago during the Richard J. Daley Administration. I saw many a political maneuver used by those who were fighting the Boss’s Machine.
They were fighting because they were marginalized and disenfranchised from city politics. They used these ploys as a way to bring attention to their plight.
I am not comparing the machine politics of Chicago to the Denver school board. I am trying to reframe the issue with the recent school board hearing and Lake Middle School voting, from one that focuses on the intended results from the political maneuver to what I see as the more important issue: a lack of community voice in the reform movement in Denver.
Let’s use the recent events not as a moment to cry foul, but to look at the reason why people felt that they had to prematurely remove Michelle Moss from her seat. The issue is access to the process.
DPS knows it has work to do in bringing the community into the various conversations about reform. But what concerns me is that there is no formalized effort to monitor or set benchmarks to ensure that the community is involved.
DPS has established the Office of Community Engagement. Good step in the right direction. That Moss was unceremoniously removed from her seat should not cloud the real failure here. It truly was a failure to constructively engage the community.
Popularity: 36% [?]
A letter from Pastor Vernon Jones
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009Vernon writes:
To the Editor:
I sit at my desk and I consider all that has transpired over the last 90 days. Running for school board takes a lot. I am so grateful for my family and those within the Denver community who stood with me during the journey. What an exciting time it has been! We have completed an election cycle. The winners have been identified and sworn in to office. The DPS Board has elected new leadership. Dr. Easley will lead them for the next 2-years. Elections often bring change and this one from Election Day to November 30th has not disappointed. Leaders have changed but the goal should remain the same. We must deliver high quality education to all children so that they are prepared to be successful in college or career. That’s the bottom line and the only reason anyone should want to serve on the board of education.
I look forward with great expectations. I look at the elected leaders on our DPS Board and I have great expectations. I believe that when the dust settles they will lead well. If not, they will be held accountable by a community that is watching and expects better results and continued improvements for our children. I want to offer my unsolicited two cents to the new board, many of whom I was privileged to be on the campaign trail with. I share my thoughts as a former candidate for the board, as a community leader, and as a proud DPS parent.
LET GO – The personality issues and conflicts that have paralyzed in the past will not yield progress for our children. Let go. We just came out of a campaign season where folks said things and did things that they should apologize for because they weren’t done with the children in mind. People became more concerned about winning than about what was best for our children. Apologies are always in order when we wrong someone else. Forgiveness is also in order. I talked with multiple board members during the campaign who talked about the degraded relationships on the board. These relationships must be built up, not strategically, but genuinely. Not for personal gain but so that the children of DPS will not suffer at the hand of continued adult conflicts. Build trust again. Communicate honestly, directly, and respectfully. Let go of the territory and the power grabs and do what you were elected to do, together. It can be done no other way. I expect President Dr. Easley and our elected Board representatives to respectfully work together and act like adults who have been given too great a task for immature games and maneuverings. I expect that President Dr. Easley and all of our elected Board representatives will put aside their personal agendas and “next step” aspirations and relentlessly move our district forward for the good of all children.
LISTEN – People running for office always says that they will listen to the voice of the people but far too often that is the first thing that goes. I challenge you not to get lost in the board room. I challenge you to spend time in classrooms listening to teachers and students. I challenge you to hear the ideas and thoughts of our principals. I challenge you to proactively engage in dialogue with our community prior to decisions being made so that you are truly casting informed votes. Don’t tell us what you did for us if you never talked to us to determine what we needed. Each of you have made a commitment to me and I will hold you accountable to listen to the communities that you were elected to serve. I expect President Dr. Easley and all of our elected Board representatives to uphold their public pledges and promises; to be in engaged with the community and to proactively involve the community to yield better outcomes for our children.
LEARN – We have great minds within Denver and throughout Colorado, but there is still so much to learn. There are other districts around the country that are dealing with similar challenges and they are doing well. Continue to learn from them. Research best practices. Give room for teachers and leaders to be innovative and to utilize proven methods that will get better results for the children that they serve. Learn that insanity is doing things the same way and expecting different results. Learn the urgency of now and understand that each time we drag our feet on doing the right thing more children fall through the cracks. I expect that President Dr. Easley and all of our elected Board representatives will continue to learn so that they always act in the best interests of our children. They are the only special interest that counts.
LEAD – We elect leaders to lead. The challenges and the opportunities in front of us call for leaders; men and women that will not back down but will rise to the challenge. Lead honestly and increase the transparency of processes and responsibility for better stewardship of resources. (I never want to hear a board member say, “I don’t know where the money goes.” I elect you to know.) Lead boldly and ensure that our schools, no matter their designation, are freed to serve our students well and held accountable for results that prove otherwise. Lead strategically and build partnerships that will benefit our children; this work cannot be done by the board alone, the administration alone, or individual schools alone, it requires all of us. I expect that President Dr. Easley and all of our elected Board representatives will lead well always mindful of the great trust that has been placed in you by your fellow citizens. Lead.
Like many parents in DPS I long for better and like many parents in DPS I am not sitting back just waiting for it to happen. I am ready to continue the work with our new DPS Board to dramatically improve results for all children in Denver Public Schools. I have great expectations because I believe that together we can move beyond the rhetoric, beyond the divisive mentality of some, and work together to get better results for all children in Denver Public Schools. Now is the time. Let’s go to work!
Together we can,
Pastor Vernon Jones Jr.
DPS Parent & Former Candidate for the DPS Board of Education
Popularity: 18% [?]
Andrea Merida is not alone
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009Andrea Merida is coming under a lot of fire for what she did Monday night. Today, the Denver Post weighed in, making the unfortunate goof of calling her Angela.
But she has her allies too, as detailed in Janine Vanderburg’s Save Lake IB blog. But the “community support” that keeps “pouring in” looks an awful lot like the usual suspects to me.
Also, the rally held before Monday’s board meeting was sparsely attended, and I didn’t see many, if any, Lake parents there. I know that the board meeting was held at a time difficult for working people to attend, but still…
Popularity: 64% [?]
