Tom Boasberg

Denver police and DPS agree: No more tickets for bad language, minor scuffles

Students in Denver's public schools will no longer be ticketed by police for minor infractions, such as using bad language or getting into a scuffle in which no one is hurt, according to the terms of an agreement signed today by superintendent Tom Boasberg and Denver police chief Robert White. The a ... More >>

DPS expulsions, suspensions down but racial disparities in discipline remain, report says

Denver Public Schools is expelling and suspending fewer students than in the past, according to a new report by the group Padres y Jovenes Unidos. The number of times students are referred to law enforcement is also decreasing, though the group notes that racial disparities still exist. Black and La ... More >>

Michael Hancock's State of the City speech: Police reform and e-Denver

A year after taking office, Mayor Michael Hancock delivered his first State of the City address this morning, promoting a range of priorities, including restructuring the police department, increasing programs for children and a new online initiative he is calling "e-Denver." That's right, Denver is ... More >>

Life Skills Center: Last-chance high school holding final graduation ceremony

Tonight, Life Skills Center will graduate its last-ever class. Back in November, the Denver Public Schools Board of Education voted to shutter the last-chance high school, a decision that the State Board of Education upheld on appeal in March. That left about 180 kids without a school for next year. ... More >>

North High: Some parents petition against co-location of charter school

North High School has had many struggles. Among them: poor test scores, low enrollment, myriad redesigns and lax oversight of the school's credit recovery program. But a community group called Choose North Now thinks the historic high school is beginning to turn around -- and that co-locating a char ... More >>

Test cheating? DPS asks state to review state test scores at two schools for possible cheating

The Colorado Department of Education is conducting an investigation into possible cheating at two schools in Denver where a review of state test results showed "statistical irregularities," according to a press release just sent out by Denver Public Schools. DPS doesn't identify the schools, but Edu ... More >>

Denver Public Schools vs. the State Board of Education over a Montessori school

Life Skills Center, last-chance school, to close due to state board vote

Life Skills Center lost its appeal yesterday before the State Board of Education, which sided with Denver Public Schools' decision to close the school. The last-chance high, which Westword profiled in 2007, will shut its doors after eight years of educating all who showed up on its doorstep, no matt ... More >>

Denver Public Schools's graduation rate climbs while dropout rate stays the same

Denver's graduation rate is on the rise. Statistics released today show that 56.1 percent of seniors graduated "on time" in the spring of 2011, as opposed to 51.8 percent in 2010. "On time" means they graduated four years after entering high school as freshmen. Meanwhile, the dropout rate stayed th ... More >>

Dreams & Directions showcases poetry by DPS elementary school students

​Dreams & Directions, the fourth annual anthology of poetry written by Denver Public Schools elementary school students, will be released at a celebration from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. today at the Tattered Cover in LoDo. DPS teacher Steve Replogle compiled the work, which DPS superintendent Tom Boas ... More >>

DPS: Task force to survey community about whether to delay first day of school to avoid heat

Flickr​ With the temperature dropping outside, it's getting harder to remember when Denver's children were sweltering in their classrooms two months back. But Denver Public Schools hasn't forgotten. In fact, the district has launched a task force whose goal is to survey the community about whe ... More >>

George W. Bush to get smart on his Get Smart visit to Denver

W.​President Barack Obama was in town last month, and will be back next week. But today, it's George W. Bush's turn to visit Denver, where he'll be meeting this morning with Mayor Michael Hancock and Denver school superintendent Tom Boasberg to talk about Get Smart Schools, a charter school i ... More >>

Michael Hancock launches Denver Education Compact to help improve public schools

Michael Hancock.​ After spending the morning with W., Mayor Michael Hancock (who the former president said was classy), launched his Denver Education Compact, a committee of big brains set to tackle the city's school system, which graduated just 51.8 percent of students on time last year. Hanc ... More >>

Denver Public Schools' Tom Boasberg delivers good DPS news directly to your e-mail box

The media isn't always interested in good news, says Tom Boasberg, Denver Public Schools' superintendent. "Generally speaking, stories that are more sensational or, in some cases, more negative will tend to attract more media coverage," he says. To offer a different view, Boasberg began a weekly e ... More >>

Tom Boasberg: Friends of Education org surveys parents about superintendent's performance

Tom Boasberg.​ Tom Boasberg, Denver Public Schools superintendent, is a much-scrutinized man. In addition to often serving as the target of petitions and publicly aired grievances, he's also evaluated each year by the school board. This year, the board will present its annual evaluation at a s ... More >>

September school start?: Mom touts petition she'll present to Denver Public Schools board

Flickr​ Tonight, Stacy Davidor Smith will take her crusade to delay the start of public school in Denver until September to the school board (which will also be taking feedback on its proposal to prevent board members' overspending). Smith plans to present nearly 3,500 signatures gathered on t ... More >>

DPS: Should district push back first day of school to September to avoid the heat?

Flickr.​ Update below: Today -- gloriously breezy today! -- Denver Public Schools students will finally get a respite from the oppressive heat that has marked the end of August. And since most city schools don't have air-conditioning, many parents and school district officials have been left w ... More >>

North High School renovation ribbon cutting tomorrow, celebration and fun run on Saturday

​ North High School is old school -- 100 years old, to be exact. And to celebrate its century-ness, the northwest Denver community is throwing a birthday party tomorrow that will double as a celebration of the school's $24.7 million makeover -- which includes a complete renovation of the castl ... More >>

DPS English-language program: More than 200 Spanish-speaking parents graduate

​Maestro en Casa (Teacher at Home), a Denver Public Schools-funded radio series aimed at teaching English to Spanish-speaking parents, was launched last year. This week, 220 completed the program.

Dropout rates: Fewer students dropped out of Denver schools last year than did five years ago

​ Good news from Denver Public Schools headquarters: In the past five years, the district's dropout rate has declined 42 percent. In the 2005-06 school year, 11.1 percent of students dropped out. In the 2009-10 school year, 6.4 percent of students dropped out. In real numbers, that means an es ... More >>

Graduation rates: 72.4 percent of Colorado high school students finished "on time" in 2010

Flickr​Update below: New stats show that 72.4 percent of Colorado high school students graduated "on time" in 2010. In other words, 72.4 percent of freshman who started high school in the fall of 2006 donned caps and gowns in the spring of 2010. But is this better or worse than years past? Tha ... More >>

Byers Junior High goes from failed school to the dogs: Kenny Be's Fotochop Friday

From public Junior High School to pampered dog park pavilion.​ In spite of the best efforts of neighborhood activists, the Denver Public School Board has unveiled plans, shown in the photo above, to sell the abandoned Byers Junior High School building to a successful Detroit-based developer of ... More >>

Michael Bloomberg and Tom Boasberg meet the students at Bruce Randolph: Photo gallery

More photos below.​What brings New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to Denver? An invite from his Denver counterpart, John Hickenlooper, to participate in tonight's Denver Scholarship Foundation fundraiser at the Colorado Convention Center Hyatt. But before then, he made a carefully scripted ... More >>

Denver Public Schools' get-along retreat for board members: "People think we're nuts"

Anthony CameraAndrea Merida.​ Last month, the DPS school board held a day-long retreat at the district's Balarat Outdoor Education Center. The seven-member board is divided on many issues, with four members in the majority and three -- including Andrea Merida, the subject of this week's featur ... More >>

Andrea Merida's classroom behavior has earned her a seat apart on the Denver school board

Andrea Merida: Behind the scenes with Denver Public Schools' controversial board member

Anthony CameraAndrea Merida.​Our latest feature story, "Andrea Merida's Classroom Behavior Has Earned Her a Seat Apart on the Denver School Board," profiles Merida, the controversial DPS board member who, in ten months on the board, has butted heads with administrators, stood up for teachers w ... More >>

Denver Public Schools launches radio program to teach English to Spanish speakers

Tom Boasberg speaking at Kepner this morning.​Denver Public Schools is launching a radio series aimed at teaching English to Spanish-speaking parents and families. Called Maestro en Casa (Teacher at Home), the series will debut on September 15 on MARIA 1090 AM. At a press conference at Kepn ... More >>

Andrea Merida happy her DPS board colleague Jeannie Kaplan "vindicated" by e-mails

Andrea Merida.​SquareState.net has published a chain of e-mails between former DPS superintendent-turned-Senator Michael Bennet, current Denver Public Schools superintendent Tom Boasberg and board members Jeannie Kaplan and Teresa Pena about the DPS pension financing deal that made headlines i ... More >>

Michael Bennet DPS deal hits the New York Times

​If you thought Michael Bennet's Regal Cinema deal for Philip Anschutz was complicated, just try to wrap your brain around the Denver Public Schools financing deal he arranged in 2008. The New York Times did, and just published "Exotic Deals Put Denver Schools Deeper in Debt." Here's the star ... More >>

Is DPS holding more teachers accountable? You do the math!

Denver Public Schools bans travel to Arizona over immigration law

Tom Boasberg: Gettin' political.​Mayor John Hickenlooper may not be into talking about the Arizona immigration law that potential gubernatorial-election opponent Scott McInnis thinks is so nifty -- but Tom Boasberg, superintendent of Denver Public Schools, is not nearly so reticent. At 1:45 p ... More >>

DPS board member Andrea Merida hijacks district's media mailing list

Lots more of these want to attend sixth grade in the Lake Middle School building, which will also house a West Denver Prep charter school next year.​Update, 2:10 p.m.: Westword just spoke to Andrea Merida. To read what she had to say, click on "More" and scroll to the bottom. Denver Public Sc ... More >>

Superintendent Tom Boasberg: DPS doing a better job of keeping its kids

Tom Boasberg has got DPS' numbers.​More kids are enrolled in Colorado schools than ever before: 832,368 to be exact, according to numbers released this week by the state Department of Education. And Denver Public Schools is contributing heavily to that growth. The city's enrollment is up 4,493 ... More >>

P.S. 1 didn't make the grade, but can anything replace Denver's longest-running charter school?

How does Denver's high school graduation rate stack up compared to other cities'?

A Flickr photo.DPS can't build its (graduation) dreams on suspicious minds.​ Denver Public Schools' high school graduation rate is rising -- but so far, it's only risen to a mediocre 52.7 percent. That was the news yesterday from Superintendent Tom Boasberg, who announced the numbers at a pres ... More >>

Is the DPS school board's Andrea Merida an embarrassment or a hero?

Plenty of folks, including members of the Denver Post editorial board, have been pretty disapproving of new Denver Public Schools board member Andrea Merida in the days since she had herself secretly sworn in hours before a Monday-night board meeting so she could vote on controversial school reform ... More >>

Last night's DPS board meeting was full of fireworks, spectators and big decisions

Maybe the Denver Public Schools board should have taken a cue from the smiling children in this DPS promo photo.​Last night's Denver Public Schools board meeting had its fair share of hateration. And plenty of people turned out to witness it. By 4:25 p.m., signs on the boardroom door at the ... More >>

Wake-Up Call: An end to musical chairs

Ken Salazar has been sworn in as Secretary of the Interior. Michael Bennet is now a U.S. senator. Tom Boasberg is taking over as superintendent of Denver Public Schools, promising to "accelerate reform." That leaves just one more chair to fill -- the U.S. Attorney's seat vacated by Republican Tro ... More >>

Wake-Up Call for the week ahead: From MLK Day to more tough sledding

Although all eyes are on the action in D.C. this week, there's plenty going on in Denver. It starts with the MLK Marade today, when this city hosts the country's largest annual gathering (a combo march/parade) in honor of Martin Luther King Jr., which gets under way at 10:45 a.m. at City Park and wi ... More >>