For the academic school year 2009/2010, Denver Public Schools achieved a graduation rate of 51.8%, up by approximately 5% from the year before. Of course, when this apparent success was announced, DPS celebrated. But this celebration was probably misguided, as the numbers themselves tell a much starker story.

I think...

On Sunday night, two members of the Denver Public Schools Board of Education met to determine a path forward for receiving independent financial counsel related to $750 million in debt issued in 2008. (For more information about the 2008 transaction, see the New York Times story printed...

If you haven't been paying attention, it may surprise you to know that Denver faces one of the rarer political events in our democracy: recalling a representative from office. It will not surprise anyone that the recall effort is associated with another of Denver Public Schools Board of Education members....

On November 30 2010, the state of Colorado Department of Education (CDE) released ratings for Colorado's 178 school districts. Not surprisingly, Denver Public Schools' student performance was worse than any of the state's largest school districts, with DPS being rated as Accredited with Priority Improvement Plan.

The District's student...

Nate Easley cannot be an effective leader for Denver's school board. All doubt was removed by Easley's actions and behavior during the Denver Public Schools Board of Education work session held on November 15. During this session, it became clear that Easley is nothing but a self-aggrandizing education dilettante working...

Even if you live in Stapleton, it's easy to lose track of what is happening in far Northeast Denver's schools out there in Green Valley Ranch and Montebello. Case in point, did you know that Denver Public Schools has a plan for "transforming" the schools in Montebello and Green Valley...

On Oct. 7, The Washington Post published an op-ed piece titled "How to fix our schools: A manifesto by Joel Klein, Michelle Rhee and other education leaders." The piece was written by a host of reform-oriented school superintendents.

I always find these types of manifestos fascinating. Like...

For those who didn't see, a group of citizens are planning to attempt a recall of Denver school board member Andrea Merida. As a citizen of Denver and frequent critic of Denver Public Schools' leadership, I can say no member of the Board of Education who takes her...

September 3, 2010 Update: The Denver Post published an article yesterday exhorting the budgetary savings achieved by DPS this year. According to the story, DPS will hire 30 to 40 new teachers to help ease class size concerns across the District. DPS is committing $2.5 million to support...

On August 10th, the Colorado Department of Education released the Colorado Student Assessment Program, or CSAP, scores for the state's public schools. To most, the day CSAPs are released comes and goes like any other day. For the happy millions who know less about CSAPs than they know about Wall...

This is a story about teachers, their retirement, and the system supporting that retirement. It is a story about how the future of teachers' ability to retire could be impacted by the actions of a group of individuals, but by one individual in particular. In fact, these actions could jeopardize...

Those unfamiliar with Denver school board politics may not know Theresa Pena, the former Denver Public Schools school board president. Pena came to her seat after having been appointed in 2003. She then won a solid victory in 2007. She will serve through 2011.

Pena has used her seat on...

In a June 14th blog on the Huffington Post, Michael Bennet says he intends to lead public education into the new education labor market by introducing The Lead Act, aka Senate Bill 3469. Bennet thinks of himself as a visionary in the arena of education reform,...

On May 25th, CBS4 (aka Channel 4 here in Denver) investigative reporter Brian Maass ran a story about whether Colorado school district superintendents intended to take their annual bonuses this year. Superintendents interviewed by Maass have a variety of plans for addressing their bonus issues, with everything from...

On Saturday at the Democratic State Assembly, Michael Bennet left the Blues behind. Don't believe me? Check this out.

The picture is of Bennet's supporters and their signs at Saturday's Democratic State...

Today Nancy Mitchell of Ed News Colorado reports that three principals in Denver Public Schools have obtained legal counsel to evaluate what DPS is legally obligated to deliver to their schools under the School Innovations Act of 2008. (Mitchell's story can be read here.)

DPS had a...

In an article that ran on Sunday, The New York Times postulated that the Democrats "dreams of expansion [in Colorado] have given way to hopes for survival." The article, "Democrats See Hopes for West Dim in Colorado", goes on to state the real concerns of voters are "the "persistent...

In his most recent post, Alan Gottleib of EdNews Colorado writes --

In the past couple of months, however, I have sensed a shift in momentum on these big education questions. Until recently, people pushing school choice and the revamp of tenure and evaluation - the Obama-Duncan agenda -...

Amid the uproar surrounding its decision to ban employee travel to Arizona in protest of that state's new immigration enforcement law, Denver Public Schools faces a far greater issue: 3rd grade academic performance.

Yesterday, we learned that DPS' 3rd grade reading scores on the CSAP were flat, yet again....

If you haven't read it, check it out here: "Michael Bennet Listens to Coloradans Hurt by Wall Street Abuses."

According to this, "Last week, Michael helped advance a comprehensive financial reform package to clean up the mess on Wall Street -- the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010...