Denver school system mulls new round of charter programs

Jun 6, 2012

Rebecca Jones / EdNews Colorado

DPS school board members on Monday night heard nearly six hours worth of presentations from representatives of 11 proposed new schools – including a new West Denver Prep high school – plus a presentation on innovation plans at Trevista ECE-8 at Horace Mann in northwest Denver.

On Thursday, the board will hear from staff their recommendations about which of the proposals to approve. They’ll vote on the proposals on June 21.

Among the proposals: Five new charter schools and six “performance” schools.  Both charter schools and performance schools are given broader latitude than other district schools to structure their curriculum, school day and other aspects. But charter schools function under their own board of directors while performance schools do not, so charter schools have greater flexibility in finances and in personnel decisions.

The applicants – all of whom would like to open in the fall of 2013 – range from Academy 360, a health and wellness school in Montbello, to another Denver Center for International Studies at Fairmont in the Baker neighborhood, to Four Winds, a school with an indigenous-based curriculum to serve Native American youth. …see full story by EdNews Colorado

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Tags: Academy 360, charter schools, Chris Gibbons, Denver Center for International Studies, Denver Public Schools, Downtown Denver Expeditionary School, Highline Academy, Jeannie Kaplan, Montbello, Richard Milburn Academy, Tom Boasberg, West Denver Prep