A Vote for Neighborhood Schools Is a Vote for Segregated Schools

There really is no way to sugar coat it.  Housing patterns as they are in Denver ensure that a public school system built on neighborhood schools will be economically and racially segregated.  And if you need to be reminded - segregated schools are inherently unequal.

Frankly, Denver elementary schools, for all practical purposes are "neighborhood schools." Almost all who attend these schools reside in the surrounding neighborhood.

Consequently, low-income neighborhoods with large populations of students of color have high enrollments of low income students of color in their elementary schools.  Likewise, neighborhoods with high income white families have elementary schools with students who are white and higher income.

The following graphs showing the attendance zones for Northeast Denver tell a pretty straightforward story.

As you can see, elementary schools with high percentages of students of color tend to attract even more students of color. Whereas  neighborhoods with low percentages of students of color tend to remain largely white.  This is important when you consider that the vast majority of students in the district are students of color.  The point is that even within the current choice system, the majority of students in the district - students of color - are increasingly segregated from white students.

It is the same story when you look at Free and Reduced Price Lunch Students in Northeast Denver.

Once again you can see that neighborhoods that have high percentages of free and reduced price lunch students tend to enroll even higher percentages of free and reduced price lunch students.

With the tendency of Denver Public Schools to further segregate themselves, we need to look at whether students in those schools are receiving a high quality education.   We looked at how Northeast Denver elementary schools performed in the DPS School Performance Framework.

While the differences among schools in Northeast Denver are not stark, they definitely indicate that higher income students and white students are far more likely to be in "Distinguished" or "Meeting Expectation Schools."

The differences in performance are even greater when you look at the district as a whole.  Currently there are 63 schools in Denver Public Schools that are either "Accredited on Probation," "Accredited on Priority Watch," or "Accredited on Watch."  The overwhelming majority of those schools have Free and Reduced Price Lunch rates that are at a minimum 70+% to many that are well over 90%.

Conversely, there are 25 schools that are categorized as "Distinguished." Of the distinguished schools that are district managed schools, the general percentage of students who are on FRL is between 3% and 35%.

The only exceptions to the equation of High FRL student enrollments = Lower Performing School are . . . wait for it. . . public charter schools or as some school candidates call "private corporate schools."
There are currently 9 public charter schools categorized as "Distinguished." Those schools have FRL rates that range from 52% to almost 99%.

As you consider DPS school board candidates that seek a return to neighborhood schools, you should consider how restricting choices for students who find themselves in low performing schools will impact their educational futures.

Eliminating or restricting the expansion of highly effective public charter schools would negatively impact the school district resulting in fewer options for all families and likely lower outcomes for students of color and low income families.

By the way, there are no private, corporate schools in the Denver Public Schools.  Charter schools are public schools that are authorized by the Denver Public Schools.   All Denver charter schools are accountable to the Denver Public Schools and the School Board.

Let me be clear.  The Denver Public Schools are far from perfect.  There are many things that need to be changed and improved, not the least of which are their approaches to community engagement.

However, at the end of the day you need to ask yourself whether a dramatic change away from providing options for all Denver families and returning to a policy of even more segregated public schools is the right direction for Denver students.

At a time when the issue of economic equity is at the forefront of our national dialogue, I encourage you to choose your representatives to the Denver Public Schools wisely.

DPS Board Elections Part 2: Think Achievement Gaps Are Growing? Think Again.

80238 is examining the arguments made by "anti-corporate reform" school board candidates that the achievement gaps in DPS are increasing.   In Part 1 80238 showed that Denver Public Schools is experiencing a widening income gap or equity gap between students of color and white students, with income levels of whites growing and incomes for African American and Hispanic students on the decline.  The growing equity gap could explain or even justify growing achievement gaps, if indeed they are growing.

No one will argue with the fact that achievement gaps between students of color and white students in DPS are unacceptably large.  Denver is not unique, achievement gaps have been the driving force behind education reform for the entire 21st century. The question is whether reform efforts have had any impact on those gaps.

Closing achievement gaps is a tricky business.  Education reforms can result in overall improvements in student performance, even improvements in performance for different economic or racial groups, and still see achievement gaps grow.  For example, we can see improvements in student success for Hispanic students, but greater improvements for white students.  Student achievement can rise, but achievement gaps can grow.

Even those critical of the district have to recognize that improvements in student learning have occurred.  Those critical of the district have referenced a Center for Reinventing Public Education report showing Denver as having one of the higher achievement gaps in the country.  The critics don't recognize that the same report revealed that Denver achieved some of the greatest improvements in student learning relative to their own state,.  So indeed achievement is improving, but are all student groups benefiting?

To provide some insight into this question 80238 looked at the performance of students of color and white students on the state TCAP/CSAP exams in two areas:  3rd grade reading and 10th grade math.

3rd Grade Reading: All Student Groups are Improving and Gaps Have Decreased
Third grade reading is an important benchmark for educators. Research has shown that students who are reading at grade level by 3rd grade have a much greater likelihood of succeeding in K-12 overall.

The good news in Denver is that 3rd grade reading scores are on the rise and achievement gaps are declining, despite growing economic inequity in Denver.

When you consider that almost 90% of Hispanic students are in low-income homes and 82% of African Americans are low-income, it is somewhat impressive that improvements in reading scores have kept pace with white students, who have seen their family incomes rise.  There is no question that the gaps remain too large, but in the end it is positive to see growth on this very important indicator of student achievement.

10th Grade Math:  Students of Color are Improving, White Students Are Improving More
10th grade math was chosen because access and success in higher education is highly correlated with success in college-level math.  Students placed in remedial math, rarely earn college degrees.

All student groups have shown improvements in 10th grade math. In particular, Hispanic students have doubled the percent who are proficient in math. You may not think that means much when the baseline is 7.1%, but voters must remember Hispanics are far and away the largest population of students in the district. The 7% improvement in student proficiency among Hispanics means that 205 more Hispanic students in 2014 are proficient in math, than would not have been in 2008.  Still not impressed, well the 14% improvement in proficiency rates for white students only amounts to additional 134 students scoring at proficient in 2014, when compared to 2008 success rates.

The achievement gap has increased between white students and Hispanic or African American students, but students of color have made progress.  Unfortunately, the percent who are proficient is still abysmally low.

Are the reforms made by DPS and the DPS School Board a failure?  Well it depends on how you measure success. Students of color, while seeing their incomes drop and white students' incomes rise, are holding their own with regard to improvements in achievement.  The problem is that the gap remains far too large.

Now the question turns to whether reforms proposed by those challenging the incumbents can actually do any better.  Next time 80238 will look at the call for neighborhood schools.

2015 DPS Board Elections. Part 1: Achievement Gap or Equity Gap

The Denver Public Schools School Board Elections offer voters clear choices between candidates supporting the current DPS agenda and those who want to take the district in a new direction.  Denver is a target of outside campaign funding from groups who are "pro-education reform" vs. those who categorize themselves as "anti-corporate reform."  "Education reformers" are supportive of choice in education, particularly charter schools, and have been largely supportive of the common core state standards and the new PARCC assessments for tracking student achievement. Education reformers largely support Denver's current agenda. "Anti-corporate reformers" are critical of what they call the "privatization of public education" through the growth in charter schools and the use of standardized tests. In Denver, "anti-corporate reformers argue for changes in school choice boundaries to more "neighborhood schools" vs. attendance zones that are drawn across neighborhoods for the purpose of providing broader choice for neighborhoods with high concentrations of low-income families and students of color.

Over the next several days 80238 will look closely at some of the issues in the election and the arguments being made by those wanting a change in direction.

A primary argument made by anti-corporate reform candidate the district maintains is that Denver has one of largest achievement gaps among urban districts.  The evidence cited by reformers is a recent report by the Center for Reinventing Public Education.  Some candidates have argued that the district's achievement gap has grown from 2005 to 2015 during the tenures of Michael Bennett and Tom Boasberg as DPS superintendent.

To understand achievement gaps, you need to understand equity gaps between students of color and white families.

Growth in Enrollments Driven by Hispanic Students and White Students

Over the past 10 years, the Denver Public Schools have seen dramatic increases in enrollment.  This is particularly noteworthy for Stapleton residents because of the significant growth among white students.  However, it is also important to notice that the district saw a much higher numeric increase in enrollments among Hispanic students.

Economic Equity Gaps Between Students of Color and White Families Are Growing

As enrollments have increased, the district has seen economic gaps widen. While the percent of students on Free and Reduced Price Lunch among white students has not changed, students of color are significantly poorer than they were 2005.

This graph does not begin to capture the gaps in income between students of color and white students.  We know that in Stapleton alone white families are among some of the highest income families in the country.   In addition, we know that 87% of the 51,000 Hispanic students are low income and 82% of African American families are low income.

Bottom line is that in the past 10 years the gaps in income equity have grown due to dropping incomes among families of color in the district and the rapid growth in the incomes among new white families that have moved into the district.

Those that argue that achievement gaps are growing should consider the unique challenge of having to deal with widening income gaps.  

These changes are challenging the district to meet the needs of the growing high income white population AND the increasingly poor minority populations.   This has manifested itself in the battles over attendance zones and the demands of white families to have high quality schools near their homes.  Later we will look at the arguments over neighborhood schools and whether it provides any solutions.

Next we take a hard look at achievement gaps in the district.

No Vacancy: Is it too Late for Stapleton to be Integrated?

The Stapleton Development Plan created a vision for Stapleton to be an integrated community and the affordable housing plan ordinance agreed to by Forest City provides a blueprint for achieving housing diversity consistent with that vision.  However, construction to date has been so far off of the goals of the affordable housing plan that it may be time to ask:  Is it even possible for Stapleton to fulfill its vision of an integrated community?

As we discussed in our last post, the City of Denver entered into a specific agreement with Stapleton's master developer, Forest City to achieve specific goals for ensuring a diversity of housing options in 80238.  The following graph shows the specific targets for housing in Stapleton outlined in that plan:

However, as of the end of 2014 the actual distribution looks like this:

It is pretty clear that Stapleton is well behind its projected goals for rental housing and affordable housing in the affordable housing plan. When you combine the current distribution of housing with the fact that over 60% of new construction of for sale units are for homes over $400,000, it is easy to see why Stapleton is in the top 1% of zipcodes in the nation in terms of education and median income. 

The market rate for sale vs. affordable and market rate rental housing distribution is important because it provides middle income and lower income families the opportunity to live in Stapleton.  

So why hasn't SDC and Forest City not kept up with the goals?  It's not because of a lack of demand for rental housing. The current rental vacancy rate in Denver is at near historic lows.  According to the Denver Post, Denver has a rental vacancy rate of only 3.9%.  Consequently, rents are shooting up with the average monthly rent at $1145.00.  At that rate, a household with an annual income of $50,000 per year will need to dedicate somewhere between 35% and 40% of their take home pay to housing.  

These numbers beg a pretty serious question - Can Stapleton even achieve the goals for rental housing and affordable housing?  One thing is for sure - if Stapleton is to reach the goals, new construction is going to have to change drastically. 

According to The Big Picture document on StapletonDenver.com the overall plan is for a grand total of 12,000 homes - both for sale and rental in Stapleton.  With a little over 7,000 homes completed, Stapleton is about 60% of the way to reaching their target. 

If Stapleton is to achieve the goals of the Affordable Housing Plan - future construction will need to look something like this:

56% of new construction has to be rental units and 33% market rate for sale if Stapleton is to achieve the housing diversity goals.  Given current trends, it is hard to believe that this is going to happen. 

There is clearly money to be made building apartments and it goes without saying that there is plenty of demand for affordable for sale and affordable rental.  So the question is, why hasn't SDC and Forest City worked to meet this demand? It may be time to ask if SDC and Forest City can achieve the vision for integrated housing in the Stapleton Development Plan or is it time to declare failure and consider a new goal? 

As always, 80238 welcomes your thoughts.  Also, feel free to follow our facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/80238blog or on Twitter: @80238blog

Best Laid Plans: How Stapleton Became the 1%

As our first two 80238 posts have pointed out, Stapleton is in the top 1% of zipcodes in the country with regard to income and education and that Stapleton's demographics are in stark contrast to the surrounding Northeast Denver neighborhoods. So how did this happen in a community that was specifically designed to retain middle income families in the city of Denver and be integrated into the fabric of Northeast Denver?

One thing is for sure, it didn't just happen.  While the Stapleton Development Plan was just a plan, the management of the plan was and still is the responsibility of two primary actors, Stapleton Development Corporation (SDC) and Forest City, Inc. It has been the responsibility of these two organizations, one a public entity created by the City of Denver and the other a private company to serve as master developer.   The primary mechanism for creating the diverse community called for in the Stapleton Development Plan is Stapleton Development Corporation's authority to sell land to Forest City, that in turn would be sold to housing developers to build the homes that all Stapleton residents live in today.  Consequently, the diversity (or lack thereof) of housing in Stapleton is a direct result of the selling of land by SDC to Forest City and the extent that these exchanges have achieved the goals set forth in the plan.

The first and most obvious way to assess whether these two entities have achieved the goals of the plan is to look at the market rate sales prices for new houses built in Stapleton since 2002. This data is readily available in a report generated by Forest City for the SDC called A Comprehensive Snapshot: Where Housing and Affordable Housing Stands At Stapleton.   The latest update of the report came out in October, 2014 (the link is to the July, 2014 report - October is not online).

The following graph points out the obvious - it's expensive to live in Stapleton.  However, what the graph also shows is that it wasn't always this way.  In the early days there was a very wide price range - with the vast majority of houses being built between $200,000 and $400,000.  However, as the housing bubble built, prices rose precipitously to the point that today the vast majority of houses today are priced over $400,000.00.  

This rise in prices has essentially priced middle income families out of the market.  To illustrate this point, I found a mortgage qualification calculator online and did some basic calculations.  

I defined middle-income using Median Family Income as outlined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which is used in the Stapleton Affordable Housing Plan. To create a modest range of income levels I looked at what families could afford who had incomes that were between the median family income for Denver and 80% of the median family income.   Why these numbers? Because in Denver City Ordinance 20010148, passed in February, 2001, Forest City and the City of Denver agreed that 10% of homes for sale would be made available for families that earn no more than 80% of median family income. 

Using these incomes, I entered what a family with good credit could afford with 10% down and an annual percentage interest rate of 4%, property taxes consistent with current rates in Stapleton and modest debt of about $500.00/month.  The results are as follows:

                                                        Family Income                 House Price

80% Median Family Income                $62,240.00                       $234,000.00

100% Median Family Income              $77,800.00                       $333,000.00             

The graph makes clear that the percent of homes put up for sale in this price range is quite small relative to all homes built in 2014.  In fact, The Comprehensive Snapshot Report reveals that the Stapleton Development Corporation (SDC) and Forest City are falling well below their agreed upon target of 10% of homes for sale qualifying as affordable with only 4.67% of homes for sale in the 3rd quarter of 2014 meeting this standard. In addition, only 7% of homes built in 2014 were priced between $200,000 and $300,000.  Meanwhile the percent of homes for sale that are priced above $400,000 has skyrocketed to 64%.  

With these current trends, we are pricing out many people who we all rely on everyday. Among them are people with the following jobs and average incomes according to Indeed.com:

                                            Average Income

Teacher                                  $53,000.00

Fire Fighter                             $43,000.00

Denver Police                          $63,000.00

Registered Nurse                     $63,000.00

Day Care Provider                   $53,000.00

Computer Programmer            $64,000.00

What is most striking is that it is completely within our power and SDC's authority to create more housing diversity in Stapleton.   This very topic was discussed at the last Housing Diversity subcommittee to the Citizen Advisory Board to SDC.  SDC could decide tomorrow to sell Forest City housing sites with smaller footprints, which would necessitate the construction of homes with lower square footage and consequently lower sale prices.  

Nowhere else in Denver does a community have the power to decide who can and can not afford a home in our neighborhood. Market forces rule the day in most of Denver. But because of the SDC, we can choose. Indeed Stapleton is Different.  

We always welcome your comments about this blog - the goal is a community conversation.  Thanks to everyone who as chimed in so far. 

Whole Foods and High Fences

So after one week of 80238 and our post on how Stapleton is in the top 1% of zip codes in income and education levels, I am proud to say that we have received close to 1,000 hits, but was disappointed that I only received two comments. However, of the two I did receive one from Christopher Gramkow caught my attention when he asked:

While the comment may have been tongue in cheek, it absolutely is a question that many in Stapleton have asked.  In fact, many in the neighborhood are beside themselves that plans for the new Eastbridge Town Center include a second King Soopers, rather than an upscale grocery like Whole Foods or a specialty grocery like Trader Joe's. 

Conversely, about a year ago if you took a stroll along 26th avenue, east of Westerly Creek and looked south you saw the old fence that divided Aurora and the airport with a sign asking a very different question:

There is actually one very plausible answer for both these questions, Stapleton is not only in the top 1% of zipcodes in the nation, it also borders zipcodes that are well below the national average in income and education. In fact, Stapleton might be one of the most socially and economically isolated zipcodes in the nation.

To help illustrate that point, let's go back to the Washington Post's Super Zip analysis and take a look at the zipcode on the other side of that fence - 80010.

You read it right, 80010 is in the bottom 10% of zipcodes in the nation with regard to education and income level.  Median income in 80010 is over $90K lower than 80238 and only 10% of adults have a college education.   While 80010 is an extreme example, the contrast with the bordering zips is still stark:

                                       Percentile 

Zipcode             Income and Education    Median Income     % Adults w/ College Degrees

80238                                 99%                   $122,817                          78%
80110                                 7%                     $31,248                            10%

80239                                 23%                   $44,597                            12%

80216                                 10%                   $31,073                            12%

80207                                 51%                   $51,347                            39%

80220                                 81%                   $63,207                            58%

The closest in percentile rank, 80220, has almost half the median income and 20% lower college degree rates than 80238, say nothing of the contrast with the other zips.   It is hard to argue with the statement that Stapleton is highly isolated from its neighbors, but as I said, it may be the most isolated zip among the top 1% of zips in the nation. 

For comparison sake, let's look at another super zip in the heart of the south, Birmingham, AL and zipcode 35223 where the income and education level are similar to Stapleton, placing it within the top 1%:

In Birmingham, the income and education levels in adjoining zipcodes to superzip 35223 are nowhere near as different as Stapleton and its neighbors:

                              Percentile

Zipcode         Income and Education       Median Income     % Adults w/College Degrees

35223                           99%                         $133,328                              79%
35213                           96%                         $94,302                                76%

35205                           44%                         $32,881                                41%

35209                           65%                         $47,544                                51%

35216                           70%                         $52,097                                52%

35243                           88%                         $71,779                                66%

35242                           93%                         $93,039                                59%

35210                           56%                         $53,136                                28%

In Alabama, one of the poorest states in our nation, the one and only 1% superzip has bordering zipcodes that are not much different than itself.   There is no question that there is severe poverty in Birmingham, but the people in 35223 don't see the contrast we see in the bordering neighborhoods of 80238.

I looked at other top 1% zipcodes in Minneapolis, St. Louis, New Jersey, Houston, etc. and none had as sharp a drop in incomes and education immediately outside its borders than 80238.

So, when we ask the question why we don't have a Whole Foods? It is probably because no one other than 80238ers can afford to shop there, making a Whole Foods in our neighborhood nonviable. Likewise, when we ask why the fence is still up between 80238 and 80010? Maybe it's because we feel more comfortable with it there. 

If the goal of the Green Book was to tear down fences and build a vibrant economy for Northeast Denver, we have to ask whether we are doing enough to that end.   Is it possible that the increasing economic vitality of our surrounding neighborhoods is in 80238's interest? Or do we believe that we need to build more fences to protect us from our neighbors?

80238 will begin to explore what we have done and are doing to realize the goal in the Green Book of an integrated community and what that might mean for Stapleton and Northeast Denver.

I encourage everyone who reads 80238 to chime in with your thoughts and comments.  I have removed the requirement that people register before commenting on the site in an effort to promote discussion.  So please tell me what you think and what other issues we should examine. You can follow the blog on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/80238blog or on Twitter @80238blog.

 . . .In case you were wondering, the 35223 zip in Birmingham, technically does not have a Whole Foods- but you can find one just down the road in 35243 in the Cahaba Village Plaza.  

Stapleton - We are the 1%

I will cut right to the chase. If the goal for Stapleton was to retain middle income families in Denver and have them contribute to the social fabric of Northeast Denver, an analysis conducted by the Washington Post examining education and income levels of the nation's zipcodes suggests that Stapleton may not have achieved that goal. In fact, Stapleton may be one of the most exclusive communities in the nation.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/local/2013/11/09/washington-a-world-apart/

When first considering these issues and this blog - this visual from the Washington Post's web page on "Super Zip Codes" definitely caught my eye. Super zip codes are the 650 zipcodes in the country that rank between the 95th and 99th percentile in median income and percent of adults with college degrees. The data are collected from the American Community Survey of the US Census. 

Stapleton, in fact, is one of approximately 130 zip codes that are in the 99th percentile or the top 1% of zip codes in the nation in terms of median income and education level. With a median household income of almost $123,000.00 per year and 78% of adults with a college degree, Stapleton is among some pretty elite company to include the likes of:

Zip___ City            _________                        Median Income____% College Grads 
94707   Berkeley, CA                                     $130,000                             83%
94129   San Francisco (near the Presidio)        $118,000                             82%
02110   Downtown Boston, MA                       $123,000                              78%
10069   Upper West Side of Manhattan            $165,000                              92%

By this measure (and indeed it is just one measure), Stapleton has become one of the most elite zip codes in the nation. A far cry from the original vision in the Green Book of creating a neighborhood that would retain middle income families in Denver.

Despite the best laid plans of the Green Book, we should ask whether having 80238 be one of the most economically and educationally advantaged zipcodes in the nation is necessarily a bad thing for Northeast Denver? Is it possible that the surrounding neighborhoods are benefiting from 80238 or does the contrast in education and income levels exacerbate the very problems Stapleton was designed to remedy?  These are the questions we will explore in this blog.

Next time, we will look beyond the boundaries of Stapleton to the zip codes that border 80238. We will consider how those neighborhoods compare with Stapleton and other similar communities throughout the nation. We will also examine whether the contrast in income and education levels between Stapleton and the surrounding community is common place around the country or an anomaly.

80238 - Looking at the issues of social and economic equity through the lens of one community

I have been contemplating a blog that looks at the issues of economic and racial equity through the lens of my own neighborhood and the neighborhoods surrounding it in Northeast Denver. After a tumultuous fall where the issues of racial and economic equity have taken on a new tone because of Ferguson, MO and New York, I am beginning in earnest.

The blog's title, 80238, is the zip code of my neighborhood, known as Stapleton in Denver, Colorado. Why is Stapleton an appropriate lens for looking at the issues of racial and economic equity in the US?  Stapleton is a very unique American community, located on the site of the old Stapleton International Airport in Denver - it represents one of the larger infill redevelopment projects in the nation.

Envisioned in the Stapleton Development Plan or "Green Book", as it is called by locals, Stapleton is to be a "place of economic, social and environmental innovation" that is intended to be a model of urban development. The plan is for Stapleton to be fully integrated into the surrounding community. The language in the development plan describes how "Stapleton has been a fenced and secured island for two-thirds of a century" . . . that, along with the Rocky Mountain Arsenal site to the north and the Lowry Air Force base to the south, "created enormous holes in the urban fabric of Northeast Denver." As a result the vision is to reunite Stapleton to the adjacent neighborhoods in Denver, Aurora and Commerce City.

A primary goal of the Green Book was for Stapleton to retain middle income families by ensuring a diversity of housing prices, strong schools and public amenities like parks and recreational facilities. Doing so would add to the tax base and revitalize public institutions.

Fifteen years since the release of the Green Book and 12 years since the first houses were occupied in Stapleton, it is time to may be time to ask:

• Has Stapleton achieved its vision to be integrated into the surrounding community and a place for middle income families to be retained in Denver?  
• How do we measure whether Stapleton has filled the hole in the urban fabric of Northeast Denver? 
• What has been achieved and how has it fallen short? 
• Is integration with the larger community still an important goal to the people of Stapleton?  
• If so, how can Stapleton realize the vision?
• If not, what does it say about Stapleton as a "model urban development" and the future of Northeast Denver?

While offering no absolute answers to these questions - I will explore them and invite those who read to offer their insights on the past, present and future of 80238.

I look forward to writing and encourage you to join in the discussion.  Feel free to comment on the blog and share your ideas on the issues in Stapleton and the larger issues we will explore here. In encourage you to follow the 80238 twitter feed @80238blog or the facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/80238blog.

I look forward to seeing what we learn.