DPS Reforms - Faster, Better, Stronger
The Denver school board race concluded, we join over 76,000 citizens who voted for candidates embracing continued education reform. We now call on all members of the school board to act upon the aspirations that underlie those thousands of votes, and work together to develop and enact policies that reform and improve our public schools.
Many of the schools in dire need of reform are filled with students from our most challenged communities, including Latinos and other children of color. Latinos are America’s fastest growing population, and as Latinos, we believe our increasing numbers and influence call forth an enhanced responsibility to hold elected officials accountable to better academic outcomes for our children.
Latinos share a culture built upon pride in ourselves and in our communities: pride in the richness of our heritage and traditions; in the primacy of family and community; in resilience despite economic hardship; in a work ethic that values labor and will sacrifice for future generations.
The vast majority of Latinos are in this country legally; others are not. But all children in Colorado – regardless of residency status -- deserve access to a high-quality public education from pre-school to college. Yet for too long, the quality of public education has been determined by the affluence and political power of one’s zip code. For too long, many Latino families in Denver have been silenced by issues of language, poverty or residency. We intend for them to be heard.
In Denver and elsewhere, there has been the systematic failure of far too many Latino students in the current public education system. Some believe that Latino culture itself is at odds with success. We do not. Latino culture and heritage is deeply entwined with the fundamental promises of democracy: equality of opportunity, a merit-based society, and a better future for our children.
We are resolute in our belief that Latino communities can be the engines for the continued prosperity, innovation, and accomplishment that are at the heart of our democratic ideals. Latinos desire to form, build, and lead the institutions that fulfill the promises of our democratic society, not to be left at its margins. But to do so, we need the same opportunities to build Latino achievement and accomplishment that are available to others. We need excellent schools in all neighborhoods and for all communities.
Latino children currently fall behind their school peers too often and too early. However, in the past five years of the Denver Plan, we have seen the enactment of several policies to provide increased educational equity to all children: changes in discipline rules to stop penalizing specific demographic groups; dismantling policies that directed unwanted teachers to high-poverty schools; initial steps toward a system for improved teacher evaluation and promotion; and the creation and replication of high-quality charter and innovation schools, particularly to serve low-income children.
This progress must not cease – indeed, it should accelerate. All children, regardless of race, ethnicity, or income, deserve an educational foundation that will provide the best opportunity to contribute to our democracy.
Latinos for Education Reform intends to support the policies and elected officials who share our five basic principals:
Parental Choice. Parents best understand the individual needs of their children. The traditional one-size-fits-all model of public education must give way to a variety of high-quality school models from which parents select the best fit for their child. Whether traditional, charter, innovation or alternative, we demand high-quality school options for all children.
Core Achievement. Academic achievement must be grounded in proficiency in basic subjects: reading, writing, and math. Subject proficiency is not the only measure of academic quality, but it must form the foundation on which other metrics can then build. All children need to be educated towards a baseline of core academic achievement, and all school must be accountable for basic proficiency.
Equal Access. A family’s residence, status, and income too often determine the quality of their children’s schools. We support a variety of school models, enrollment strategies, and admissions policies to ensure that the value of a child’s home no longer determines the quality of their education, and that all deserving students have affordable college options.
High Expectations. Challenges from poverty, mobility, and language are real, but they must be the reason we redouble our efforts, not justification for their dilution. All children -- regardless of race, ethnicity, or income -- can succeed, and all must be both given opportunity and held equally to the same high standards of accomplishment.
Children First. Public education has often rewarded and protected adults at the expense of better educational outcomes for kids. Policies around work assignments, tenure provisions, promotion, and evaluation have been designed around the preferences of adults, and not the academic success of kids. We must better recognize and reward educators and administrators who help children flourish academically, support those who have the determination and ability to do so, and redirect those who do not.
At Latinos for Education Reform, we believe adherence to these basic principals can help fulfill the promise of public education for all children. We encourage others who have similar beliefs to sign up on our website to receive information from LFER, and to participate in the many institutions committed to education reform and better academic outcomes for kids.
Join us in our journey: Forward Not Backward! Ni un Paso Atras!
Join, Donate and Impact!
Contributions: Latinos for Education Reform - P.O. Box 13218, Denver, CO 80201
