On October 25, we, the parents of students at Palmer Elementary, received an email titled “Declining Enrollment.” I imagine parents of students at the other 9 schools proposed for closure or consolidation received a similar email on Denver Public Schools (DPS) letterhead. The DPS Board has been tasked with voting on this plan November 17. Good background on this can be found at this Colorado Public Radio news article.
Understandably, affected parents were upset at not only the announcement itself, but its hastiness, its lack of foregrounded process, and its blunt force impact. Communities of parents have bonded together to urge the district to choose a different process, one more inclusive of those who will be most directly impacted by this decision and are urging the DPS Board to vote no on the proposal.
On this special edition of the show, I welcome four parents of Palmer students who have been active in fighting this action and coming up with alternative solutions for a roundtable discussion about this whole thing. Thank you to Emily, Eric, Beth and Diana for their time and insights. They will introduce themselves at the beginning of the show.
Here are a number of clips from this episode containing key bits of information from our discussion. Read them below, and please share them (or this entire episode) with your network and please help us encourage the Board to reject this plan as it’s written.
- Palmer Parents Express Their Surprise and Dismay at How Quickly the Announcement Rolled Out
- Eric Shares Insights About Demographic Information and Questions the Timing of Executing This Plan
- Beth Discusses Parents Wanting to Help But Lacking the Data To Do So
- Diana and Jon Discuss the Idea of Capping Enrollment as a Possible Solution
- Eric Discusses Hazardous Crossings and a Different Way of Thinking About School Choice
- Diana Speculates the Package Deal Was Designed to Pit Schools Against One Another and Why Small Schools Matter
This episode is available on iTunes, streaming on Spotify, on podcatchers everywhere or at the Jon of All Trades homepage.
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Palmer elementary school is truly an anchor in this neighborhood bringing together students ,families and neighbors for decades and decades. My son attended Palmer from ECE through 5th grade and it was a wonderful experience. Please don’t close this pillar in our community.
Palmer is amazing! The teachers/parents/students/community are the best! My daughter has thrived at this school. She is in second grade and has been there since ECE 3! All of our neighbors have gone here .. it is a staple of our community! I joined the PTA this year because I believe in this school and want to make it the best place for our kids!