DPS board approves 9 new schools
Denver school board members approved 9 new schools, including changes at West High and an all-boys school, plus six innovation schools and more
Archive for: June, 2011
The Churn: New CDE exec named
Updated – Durango Superintendent Keith Owen has been named associate commissioner of the Colorado Department of Education. Plus more news
Survivors bask in BEST success
Three dozen school repair and construction projects survived the always-grueling selection process for state Building Excellent Schools Today grants
DPS’ West High next up for makeover
Big changes at Denver’s venerable West High School are among several new school proposals facing the Denver school board Thursday
Pro-voucher group joins Dougco fight
A national pro-voucher group filed legal documents Tuesday to defend the Dougco voucher pilot on behalf of four families participating in the plan
23 BEST bids advance
Nearly two dozen applications for cash grants have been “short listed” by the state Capital Construction Assistance Board, meeting to weigh 2011-12 BEST applications
Dougco board approves ‘voucher charter’
Douglas County school board members on Monday approved the state’s first charter serving up to 500 voucher students this fall
Union suit: DPS abuses innovation
More DPS innovation schools may be proposed but the Denver teachers union has filed a lawsuit to stop at least some of them
Parents urge DPS to end herbicide use
A group of parents Monday asked members of the Denver school board to rethink district policy of spraying chemical herbicides on school lawns.
The intellectually lazy use of “status quo”
Cross-posted from the ‘Failing Schools’ blog
status quo: “the state in which”; the existing state of affairs
The education reform discussion (or debate, depending on who’s talking) is filled with buzzwords and terms, most of which (like “accountability” and “reform”) are meant to sound positive, so that we choose to agree with the speaker. (“Well, I believe in holding people accountable for their actions, so yes, I’m for an accountability movement.”) We know that many of these fall apart under closer scrutiny, but at least there’s an attempt to win skeptics over by appealing to commonly shared values.
But some terms are designed to shame us into compliance with the speaker. “Status quo” is the perfect example of this.
People who regularly engage with school reform issues are well aware of the way powerful people have defined the discussion. If you agree with them, you’re a reformer, and if you disagree with them, you support the status quo, which is meant to suggest low achievement. So far, I’ve yet to find anyone who’s giddy about the idea of school failure or achievement gaps.
