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Study notes progress by Denver students Test scores gaining faster for children in city’s schools than state average BY MELANIE ASMAR CHALKBEAT.ORG
“It’s such a beautiful thing that Betty started,” fellow resident Mary Brady said. “It’s exceptionally nice for us, and it’s used a lot.” This year, Brady joined in to help Ridgway plan for the garden. The 95-year-old was a frequent gardener in her home state of Illinois. “I enjoyed gardening from morning `til night,” Brady said. For Brady, the one drawback is she can’t make it up the hill to get her hands in the dirt herself. The two ladies call themselves the “Garden Girls,” and they’re already making plans for next year’s garden. On one side of the garden is a stretch
A new study finds that Denver students are making more progress on standardized tests than the state average, regardless of whether they attend a traditional district-run school, a district-run innovation school, or an independent charter school. “The pattern of performance here is consistent,” said researcher Macke Raymond, director of the Stanfordbased group CREDO, who presented the findings at a Denver event Aug. 14. “It’s an incredibly strong advantage for students in Denver no matter what school they go to.” The Denver study is part of an effort by CREDO to examine students’ academic progress from one year to the next in 10 cities. The study looks at academic growth data across three school years, controlling for differences in student populations. In addition to reporting overall results, the study zooms in on the academic progress of black and Hispanic students, students from low-income families, students learning English as a second language, and students
SEE GARDEN, P9
SEE STUDENTS, P13
Mary Brady, left, and Betty Ridgway sit on a bench in the garden space they helped to put together at the Brookdale Senior Living Center in University Park. The women, who are 95 and 90 respectively, call themselves the Garden Girls. KAILYN LAMB
The University Park garden girls Two Brookdale Senior Living residents set out to beautify their outdoor space BY KAILYN LAMB KLAMB@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Hidden behind a small stone wall at the Brookdale Senior Living facility in University Park is an expansive lawn space. Brookdale residents often take walks on the looping paths, enjoying time outside and getting exercise in for the day. A little hill sits on the west side of the lawn at 2020 S. Monroe St. A statue of St. Francis stands in a
sunny area, and a green sign that reads “Stella’s Garden” can be seen close to the roses. In her youth, 90-year-old Betty Ridgway was not a gardener. But when she saw the dirt beds on the top of the little hill three years ago, she knew that pops of color needed to be brought in to the area. “I don’t know anything about gardening,” she joked, “except they look nice. I can’t name you all the flowers yet, but I have the roses down pat.” For a senior citizen, a small hill can feel like a mountain. So Ridgway enlisted the help of her daughter and son-in-law. They bought flowers and grasses and planted them on the top of the hill. Soon, more people were sitting outside to enjoy the new space.
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The number of stolen vehicles reported in Denver decreased from 5,031 in 2017 to 4,918 in 2018. Source: Colorado Bureau of Investigation
VOICES: PAGE 8 | LIFE: PAGE 10 | CALENDAR: PAGE 12 VOLUME 92 | ISSUE 41