PHNEE Newsletter - March 2023

View this email in your browser
For past newsletters, click here.

COMING THIS MONTH:

Community Event: A Dream of Justice: The Story of Keyes v. Denver Public Schools with Author Pat Pascoe

Saturday March 18, 2023
Basement Community Room at the Park Hill Branch Library
1:30pm-3:00pm

Did you know that Park Hill was at the center of a Supreme Court case filed in 1969 that ordered the school board to desegregate the entire district “root and branch”? Pat Pascoe, the author of A Dream of Justice: the Story of Keyes v. Denver Public Schools, will focus on the immediate causes of the filing of the lawsuit. What are the lasting effects of this decision? Join Park Hill Neighbors for Equity in Education for an in-depth discussion following the author's presentation. Click here to let us know if you can make it to this free event.

The Keyes Desegregation Case: 50 Years Later

It's been 50 years since the U.S. Supreme Court decided in Keyes v. School District No. 1,that the Denver Public Schools was not providing “equal opportunity”as required by the constitution to all its students and ordered the district to “desegregate root and branch.”

What ensued was a tumultuous 22 years of federal court supervision of the district including the assignment of students to schools to achieve racial diversity. In 1995, the federal court terminated the original case (an intervention in the 1980’s by the Congress of Hispanic Educators is still ongoing) and the district was reorganized to offer open enrollment for students to any school with capacity and also to provide guaranteed assignment at a nearby neighborhood school.

The legacy of Keyes is mixed with some praising the way it furthered the cause of equal opportunity for all students and others decrying the way in which “forced busing” disrupted communities.

What are the similarities and differences between the DPS of 1973 and the DPS of today? Have we achieved equal opportunity for all students or are we still fighting some of the same battles as 50 years ago? The district is in a different place today with a school board committed to “dismantling systems of oppression.” But how well is it achieving this goal and what more needs to be done to ensure that every student in DPS can thrive in our multicultural democracy?

Coming this Spring: Join Us for a Special Event to Commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Keyes

This free event will help you understand the history of the case and its impact on the district as we explore what “equal opportunity” means today and how to achieve not only equal but equitable education for all students.

The program is being finalized now. If you would like to help or have ideas for speakers or program content, please contact us at info@phnee.org.

EdEquity Corner Survey

Our monthly, virtual community engagement sessions, EdEquity Corner, began during the pandemic in August 2020. We found the meetings to be a good, safe way of connecting with neighbors to discuss equity issues while everyone stayed home. Now that kids are back in school and many groups have returned to in-person gatherings, we would like your feedback to inform our decisions about the topics and format of EdEquity Corner going forward.

We value your input! Thanks for taking a few minutes to share your thoughts. Click HERE to access the survey.

One Park Hill Day

After a 3 year hiatus due to COVID, we are happy to bring One Park Hill Day back to the neighborhood. The event is for all third graders in the Park Hill elementary schools and will include a performance and lessons from The School of Breaking along with some outdoor activities. This year's event will be on Tuesday May 30 at the Hiawatha Davis Recreation Center. We could still use help with the logistics and funding. Reach out to us at info@phnee.org if you can help, and consider a DONATION to cover the costs.

Support Our Local Elementary Schools

Click on DONATE and choose "PHNEE- One Park Hill Fund" from the dropdown menu. If you can, make it monthly. Any amount, no matter how small, will help us reach our goal of $10,000 this school year to support our neighborhood schools.

Park Hill Elementary has graciously asked that the money raised goes to the 4 other schools, due to their larger budget. The others expressed their deep appreciation for our efforts and for the community's generosity and described some of their priorities for the use of additional funds. Your donations will go toward field trips, equity trainings, and after school enrichments.

You can make a difference for the kids in these schools! DONATE now!

Learn more about PHNEE and get involved at www.phnee.org.

What We're Reading

Nikole Hannah-Jones isn't done challenging the story of America

Three years after Hannah-Jones' The 1619 Project was published, Hulu has released an on-screen adaptation. The project centers the legacy of slavery and contributions of Black Americans. There has been much controversy over the project, akin to the recent stripping down of the A.P. African American studies curriculum. "The tension at the core of the controvery-who gets to determine how our story is told and which chapters are emphasized-remains at the forefront of our political culture wars".

Gun violence is rising. Two leaders say Denver schools and police need a new relationship.

Some community leaders are frustrated by what they see as inaction in pushing forward proposals that address how police and students should form healthy relationships. Vernon Jones' PEERS program suggests steps for police officers to establish equitable relationships with students, and it was promoted by former East High Principal John Youngquist. However, despite an increasing number of guns in Denver Schools since the pandemic, this program, nor any such program, has not yet been implemented.

Many kids in universal preschool will likely end up in school districts. Will that shutter community providers?

As the rollout of expanded preschool begins, some community providers are worried that a three-year-olds whose families receive a childcare stipend will be forced to enroll at public schools rather than community based options. The effects of the universal preschool funding on community childcare will become more clear after the first year, but the state has created a financial safety net in year one for community providers who receive less funding than expected under the state's new system. This could become a larger childcare issue, because many community providers rely on enrolling three and four year olds so they can have a larger ratio of caregivers to children.