DENVER - If you compare charter schools in the Mile High City, to charter schools in other urban areas, you'll find an interesting trend. According to test scores, Denver outperforms everyone that keeps track of charter school growth.
"Charters in Denver have been around for a long time, so we've had the opportunity to learn from some mistakes," Chris Gibbons, chief executive officer and founder of the West Denver Prep Charter School Network, said.
West Denver Prep and the Denver School of Science and Technology have several campuses that outperform the rest of the state in terms of academic growth. Gibbons says the success of charter schools in Denver is due to a good relationship with Denver Public Schools.
"Such as being housed in district facilities like where we're standing today at Lake Middle School, being a part of the district's reform strategies and being a part of the larger school community," Gibbons said.
Gibbons says in other urban areas across the country, charter schools and district schools are often at odds.
"A great deal of energy is spent, sort of the us-versus-them, kind of back-and-forth conflict around charter schools and traditional schools," Gibbons said.
Denver Public Schools Superintendent Tom Boasberg says district leaders don't want to waste a lot of time on what he calls "politics."
"Whether they are district-run schools or charter schools, we want all of our schools to be great schools in our neighborhood serving all the kids," Boasberg said.
Boasberg adds that the district maintains high standards for new schools starting up and for charter programs to perform consistently. He says DPS won't tolerate schools that don't work.
"In the last few years in Denver, higher percentage of charter schools closed than any other district in the country," Boasberg said.
Gibbons hopes the type of work being done at West Denver Prep and DSST is something that everyone can produce.
"It's also true that other charter operators in Denver deserve a ton of credit for the progress," Gibbons said. "We're certainly not the only ones. We might be the two largest right now, but there are many other charters in Denver."
(KUSA-TV © 2011 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)