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MARCH 17, 2017
DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
COMMUNITY FAITH: A look at Unitarian Universalists P18
Charters expand options, drive debate
S E N I O R L I V I N G AT I T S F I N E S T
Kindergarten students read at STEM School and Academy in Highlands Ranch.
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COURTESY PHOTO
Finding the balance between charter and neighborhood schools INSIDE:
BY MIKE DIFERDINANDO MDIFERDINANDO@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
On pages 8-11, we look at the impact of charter schools in Douglas County.
n a school district in which the word “choice” has become something of a mantra, nearly one in five students attends a charter school. To some, that represents progress by expanding educational options for parents and students. To others, it means las County School District has 16 chara growing intrusion on traditional ter schools — which like their neighneighborhood schools, visible in Fee dropCommunity ping enrollment at elementary levels IN borhood counterparts are tuition-free public schools — with 13,334 students and the subsequent loss of money and Month Rent attending them. That represents programs for those1st classrooms. For the 2016-17 school year, the Doug- about 20 percent of the roughly 67,000
March Mania Meets Irish Luck
$17 $17
2017
students in the district. Four more charters have been approved and will open in the district by 2018. The rapid growth of charters in the district over the past decade has prompted the Douglas County Board of Education, whose majority has been a strong advocate of school choice for the past eight years, to commission a report that looks at how charters could be affecting neighborhood school enrollment, per-pupil revenue and programs. It is projected to be completed before the 2018 school year.
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SEE CHARTER, P8
SHINING EXAMPLE: Gold medalist Missy Franklin tells local young women to ‘dream big’ P4
GEARING UP: Bill would seek voter OK for sales tax hike to boost transportation spending P6
‘WHEELS FOR AVA’ A 4-year-old girl’s health problems move her mother to reach out for help P22
THE BOTTOM LINE
‘We need sideline reporters, who are mostly nice-looking haircuts, like we need to watch a giraffe 24 hours a day prior to giving birth.’ Craig Marshall Smith, columnist | Page 14 INSIDE
VOICES: PAGE 14 | LIFE: PAGE 18 | CALENDAR: PAGE 26 | SPORTS: PAGE 28
ParkerChronicle.net
VOLUME 15 | ISSUE 20