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.

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.