“There ain’t no right way to do wrong.”
While watching and listening to the November 8th meeting of the DPS school board, I jotted a little note, accompanied by a sketch.
By this point, a group of women were sharing their concerns about the possible effects of transportation cuts on students who attend Gifted and Talented programs at distant magnet schools. One was mentioning how without that access, these students would “stagnate” in a traditional classroom, or in their neighborhood schools.
I paused to think about Race to Nowhere and reflect on the implications of the anxiety-inducing, high-pressure, achieve-at-all-costs mindset gripping so many American schools and communities. I then came back to where I was, in what was at times a very intense school board meeting, largely focused on the fate of children in historically low-performing schools.
Prior to those women, we heard many different views on how to address Denver’s achievement problems. We heard from advocates for KIPP’s expansion into the Far Northeast, who praised the uber-driven culture and extra hours that boost KIPPsters’ performance on standardized tests. We heard from the principal and some prospective parents at University Prep, where they believe