EARTH DAY: Saving and sustaining our blue planet the focus of celebrations around the metro area P10
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April 19, 2018
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Test scores expose gaps in school achievement White, Hispanic numbers far apart in reading, math BY MELANIE ASMAR CHALKBEAT.ORG
McPherson said. Meanwhile, donations are decreasing, which McPherson believes is partly attributable to changes in the federal tax code that took effect this year, increasing the size of the standard deduction for charitable giving. “People don’t have as much of an incentive to give anymore,” McPherson said. “Also, at the community level, religious congregations and fraternal service organizations are shrinking or dying off, and that causes donations to dwindle as well.”
Compared to other large, urban school districts, Denver has among the biggest achievement gaps in the country between white and Hispanic students in reading and math. That’s according to data released April 9 from the tests known as “the nation’s report card.” The tests are given every two years to a sample of fourth- and eighth-graders in each state. Scores from 27 urban districts, including Denver Public Schools, are reported separately. This is the first year Denver’s scores have been broken out that way. Denver scored roughly in the middle of the pack of the 27 districts, with its students posting slightly higher than average scores in reading and slightly lower than average scores in math. English language learners in Denver did particularly well on the tests. However, the results also highlight a well-known problem: Most of Denver’s achievement gaps between more privileged and less privileged students were bigger than average. In some cases, the differences were large enough to be statistically significant. Those included the gaps between white and Hispanic students. More than half of Denver students are Hispanic. About a quarter are white.
SEE FOOD BANKS, P9
SEE GAPS, P12
Integrated Family Community Services food bank manager Barb Mesa in the organization’s food pantry. Mesa said the food bank moved to a “choice” model three years ago, meaning visitors pick their own food rather than taking home a prepacked box. DAVID GILBERT
Food banks see donations drop Food stamp cuts, tax code changes, cultural shifts trickle down to aid organizations BY DAVID GILBERT DGILBERT@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Despite a strong economy and low unemployment, need is staying steady at Denver-area food banks. At the same time, some food banks are seeing donations beginning to slip, and looming government action could spell trouble. “We’re a vital safety net,” said
Todd McPherson, the marketing and outreach director for Integrated Family Community Services, one of the larger local aid organizations, serving much of the south metro area. “When people lose a job, or are dealing with issues like domestic violence or illness, we’re there to help them rebuild by providing resources like food and shelter.” IFCS currently has about 16,000 people on its rolls, McPherson said, who use the organization for things like food, school supplies, or emergency assistance with bills or rent. “That’s not an unusual number of people for us, although sometimes it can climb as high as 20,000,”
THE BOTTOM LINE PERIODICAL
“I have met others for lunch who were ‘out to lunch.’ On the phone all the time, and our conversations were clipped and compromised.” Craig Marshall Smith | columnist, Page 8 INSIDE
VOICES: PAGE 8 | LIFE: PAGE 10 | CALENDAR: PAGE 6 VOLUME 91 | ISSUE 24