Sorry, school board members, but community members have real cause for concern.
Itâs not that the vote to deny the expansions of the Northeast Denver Innovation Zone and Beacon Network Schools is necessarily worrisome in and of itself. The Denver Public Schools board passed a resolution last September to âpause and reflectâ about innovation zones and schools through May 2021. Based on the tone of some board member comments in recent months and immediately before the vote, innovation zones are unlikely to come out of the âpause and reflectâ period with their hard-won autonomies untouched, despite their support from families and zone educators.
Take a moment to think back to when you were thirteen. Most likely, you’d rather not. After all, why voluntarily recall a time in your life that, even in the best of circumstances, was fraught with adolescent angst and tension? These were the years in which you saw your body mature, changing in ways no science class could truly prepare you for. These were the years in which defining your identity, finding your people, and understanding your place in both your own personal world and the wider world around you dominated your everyday existence.
Perhaps you were one of the lucky ones; while you experienced the normal “growing pains” associated with adolescence, you remained protected and well-cared for within the confines of the hearth and home. You never questioned the surety of your tomorrows, secure in the knowledge that all of your needs would be met, as well as a good many of your wants. Even more important, you never worried about fitting in, simply because you fit in wher