Where does the Denver School Board go from here?
Over the last few months, the Denver School Board has lost focus on our most important priority: our students.
We have focused on adult politics rather than student outcomes. This is not the school board I ran to serve on. I ran to serve on the Board of Education that passed out over two million meals in the height of a global pandemic, not one that uses harmful labels when one doesn’t get their way. I ran to serve on the Board of Education that voted to end the school-to-prison pipeline, not one that is more concerned about what title we are called. I ran to serve on the Board of Education to ensure we are upholding our commitment to Black Excellence, the Modified Consent Decree, and Know Justice Know Peace, not one that has spent less than an hour on student achievement in nine months.
Our ongoing interpersonal issues have sidetracked us from the important work ahead of us for our students. But unfortunately, that is not leadership, and I, too, have failed in ensuring our students maintain the centerpiece of our work in Denver Public Schools. While I believe there are ongoing issues that we must address between ourselves as Board members, I am committed to holding myself and my colleagues accountable to our governing documents while also ensuring our students begin to be placed first in all of our work moving forward. Accountability and Students First are two core values of Denver Public Schools; these are not mutually exclusive.
We must model a high standard for our educators and students, and when that is breached, we must be able to hold ourselves accountable.
We are in a state of emergency. So how is it that in 2022 we are the largest school district in Colorado, and the majority of our students can not read at grade level? That is where my attention needs to be focused, not on which one of my colleagues likes me or not. If I continue to be consumed with who likes me and who doesn’t, students will continue to lose.
As a father to an Afro-Latino child, I must do what I can to mend the divide between our Black and Brown communities. Khalil should be able to grow up in a system where we unite and dismantle oppressive systems, not trade our oppressors.
It’s time to end the Education Reform vs. Anti-Reform war. School choice is the law, and we must commit that no matter where you live, you will have a high-quality school in your neighborhood regardless of the school model. That’s the Board I ran to serve on.
While our district grapples with declining enrollment, our Board of Education must invest time modeling what it looks like to be community-led and district-supported. So when tough decisions come before us, we vote for plans brought to us by the community. That’s the Board I ran to serve on.
I am guilty of falling into these endless traps; however, I have come to terms that not everyone will change, and the more I dedicate my time, hoping they’ll change, the more time I spend away from centering our students.
If our kids can’t have a functional board, they at least can have functional board members.
As I said in 2021, “Let’s get back to work!”
Denver School Board Vice President Tay Anderson
