Best Thinking is New Practice

“If I say, here’s my best thinking to achieve the goals of quality, diversity and equity, folks will say, ‘His mind’s made up, what are we doing here?’”

Superintendent Tom Boasberg said this at the first meeting of the Greater Park Hill-Stapleton Community Engagement on area middle schools on February 6. Every recommendation proposed at that meeting has now been approved by the DPS Board.
FINAL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ON PARK HILL-STAPLETON MIDDLE SCHOOLS
The last of six Greater Park Hill-Stapleton community engagement meetings was held June 10 at Smiley Middle School, and followed by an ice cream social. There was much redundancy in these meetings that resulted in a high attrition rate compared to the early 2013 meetings of 200-plus parents and residents.
Park Hill residents expected to hear about “the McAuliffe International School Community & Culture Building Plan,” as the flyer advertised. However, little was said about this except for Principal Kurt Dennis stating his priorities to:
1. Create a relationship between McAuliffe and Smiley students;
2. Plan the physical move of McAuliffe to the Smiley building in 2014-15; and
3. Establish a good relationship with Venture Prep when both schools are co-located.
There was some discussion about the proposed new Denver School of Science and Technology (DSST) school but most of the discussion focused on the DPS senior staff proposal to co-locate the new High Tech Early College Elementary School in the Conservatory Green campus. Taken aback by the proposal, Stapleton residents had many questions.
BOARD VOTES FOR SHARED PARK HILL-STAPLETON MIDDLE SCHOOL BOUNDARY
Following the final community engagement meeting, the Board of Education unanimously approved the motion to create an enrollment zone for middle school that encompasses Park Hill and Stapleton on June 20.
The motion read: “The shared boundary will be for grades 6th through 8th and begin with 6th grade in 2014-15. It would include the following schools: 1.) Bill Roberts; 2.) McAuliffe (located at Smiley); 3.) DSST VI at Conservatory Green; 4.) DSST Stapleton; and 5.) the new middle school at Swigert-McAuliffe International School (SMIS).”
The Board voted 5 to 2 for the establishment of four new DSST schools (two middle and two high schools), including the one to be located at Conservatory Green. One of the proposed high schools is expected to align with the middle school at Conservatory Green. The Board also voted unanimously to approve a district run middle school for the new school to occupy the SMIS building.
CONCERNS FROM THE MEETINGS
There is still community concern over equity of accessibility for Park Hill students to both Bill Roberts and DSST Stapleton. Priority for rising 6th graders at Bill Roberts (a K-8 school) means that Park Hill residents will not have equal access to the school. DPS staff members have stated that there should be available seats for Park Hill students choosing Bill Roberts as their middle school option.
Moreover, DSST Stapleton currently has a contract with Forest City that prioritizes Stapleton residents for seats at that school. At the June 10th meeting, Shannon Fitzgerald, Director of the DPS Office of School Choice, said that the two entities had a verbal agreement to give equal access to Park Hill and Stapleton residents to the school starting in the 2014-15 year. A more definitive statement on this issue has not yet been made by DPS or DSST.
The approval of four new DSST schools for the Near Northeast region (with the location for two of them yet to be determined) raises some questions as to choice for the region. With many Park Hill students opting to attend DSST Cole just a stone’s throw away, the region will be saturated with schools offering the same or similar programs.
Addressing the Board of Education on June 6, DSST CEO Bill Kurtz said, “We are committed to creating a diverse community in Stapleton, and we are committed to breaking down what I would call the wall on Havana, the wall where kids on the East side of Havana get to go to schools in Montbello and the wall on the West side where kids get to go to these new schools in Stapleton.” This may be an indication that the DSST VII will be placed on the eastern side of the region. Wherever the location, we hope the community will be involved in working with the school to make such a decision and ensure the success of the school.
UPDATE ON ASHLEY ELEMENTARY
A new principal, Zach Rahn, is now working with Ashley’s staff and community members to develop a new program for the school. Their proposal will be put forth in September. Mr. Rahn participated in the Teach for America program, has been Assistant Principal at Cole Arts & Science Academy and has participated in the Ritchie Program for School Leaders. Most recently he participated in the Residency for Educational Development of DPS Intrapreneurs (REDDI) through the Office of School Reform and Innovation.
SCHOOL BOARD ELECTIONS IN NOVEMBER
When we return from summer vacation and kids are back in school, it will be time to elect new school board members. Park Hill, which is part of District 4, will be choosing a DPS Board member to represent its interests. To date, there are two candidates running: incumbent Landri Taylor, who was appointed in March to fill out Nate Easley’s term, and Roger Kilgore, who serves on the District School Improvement Accountability Council. The GPHN will provide a school board election guide in the fall.

12-year Park Hill resident Lynn Kalinauskas’ children attend Park Hill Elementary and Smiley Middle School. She works for an educational nonprofit and teaches at UC Denver. She can be reached at lkalinauskas@hotmail.com.