http://www.thenotebook.org/blog/124397/hoping-glimpse-future-city-schools-nutter-and-src-head-denver
.... All the above are strategies currently being implemented or explored in Denver, where Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and city educational leaders are visiting Thursday in the hopes of learning more about its efforts to promote greater collaboration between the school district and charter schools. ....
A grain of salt
Not everyone is a fan of the Denver Compact.
Andrea Merida is a member of Denver’s sharply divided seven-member elected school board. She described herself as part of a three-person minority supportive of “collaborative, sustainable reform” as opposed to what she sees as a more corporate-driven approach.
Merida worries about the fact that the Denver Compact – which was never put before the school board for a vote – and its potentially far-reaching policy implications, are being driven by a private foundation. And she said that information about the requirements attached to the Gates money have not been “properly divulged” to DPS board members.
“It’s exactly this kind of subterfuge and lack of transparency that is plaguing the corporate [school] reform movement,” said Merida.
She is also concerned about how efforts like the new unified student enrollment system will impact families. Without an adequate transportation plan, Merida said, many of Denver’s poor and immigrant families will not be able to take advantage of the new system.
“I think folks in Philadelphia really need to take all these reforms with a grain of salt and dig under the surface to see if they are appropriate for public education,” she maintained.
Merida said she was not invited to address the Philadelphia contingent during its visit.