All the News About Denver’s Best Residential Community Since 1961 • Volume 57, Issue No. 11 • November 2018
Integration, Equity, Tackling Global Warming Highlighted During Annual GPHC Meeting By Cara DeGette Editor, GPHN
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This Is What Democracy Looks Like: Go Vote
Why I’m Running For Mayor, By Penfield W. Tate III Park Hill Character: Janine Conklin Lights Up The Room
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Greater Park Hill Community, Inc. board member Blair Taylor, left, with board chair Tracey MacDermott. Taylor is this year’s recipient of the J. Carlton Babbs Award for her work on behalf of the neighborhood. See page 9 for the full story, and additional photos from the annual meeting. Photo by Tara Bannon Williamson
A call for civility, a nod to the neighborhood’s rich history, and a challenge to harness climate change in our collective backyard were all themes during this year’s Greater Park Hill Community, Inc. annual meeting. More than 100 attended the Oct. 4 meeting of the Registered Neighborhood Organization, which began with a reminder of Park Hill’s roots in working together. In the 1950s and ‘60s, Park Hill became a national example of integration and resisting blockbusting – the “white flight” that occurred when African American families started moving into neighborhoods that were predominately white. “[Greater Park Hill Community] worked to integrate this neighborhood and became a national example of what can be,” noted current board chair Tracey MacDermott, addressing the crowd. “I believe that spirit still lives on in this community. However, we are not without our setbacks. Recently, I have witnessed downright hostility towards members of our community. I know we will not always agree but we certainly can practice civility and honesty. We can try to understand others’ perspectives. “We can work for a more cohesive neigh-
borhood and find middle ground. Let us be that national example again.” Jim Kroll, manager of the Western History/Genealogy Department at Denver Public Library, provided an overview of Park Hill’s rich history. Kroll, a longtime Park Hill resident, described the many resources that are available via the DPL, including 80,000 photos online from the Western History Collection. Kroll was followed by speaker Raj Pandya, director of Thriving Earth Exchange. The organization works with volunteer scientists and community leaders on issues of sustainability. During his speech Pandya described connections between environmentalism and equity, and highlighted a need to tackle global warming at the neighborhood level to begin to affect change on a broader scale. Several new and returning GPHC, Inc. board members were elected during the annual meeting. They include LaMone Noles (District 1); Heather Shockey (District 3); Blair Taylor (District 5); Jon Bowman (District 7); and Stephanie Ceccato (District 9). Three were elected to at-large seats on the GPHC, Inc. board, including Jeanette Fedele, Nancy Francis and Justin Petaccio. (Check out page 16 for a complete listing of GPHC officers and board members.)
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An Urgent Call To Action
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
East High Football Team On Fire This Year The Great Thanksgiving Giveaway. Can You Help?
UPCOMING GPHC MEETINGS Thursday, Nov. 1 and Thursday, Jan. 3 at 2823 Fairfax St.at 6:30 p.m. There is no meeting in December. All are welcome to attend.
EDUCATION UPDATE | Lynn Kalinauskas
If DPS Builds It, Who Will Choose It?
Park Hill And Stapleton’s Ongoing Middle School Problem
Photo by Cake Crumbs Owner Katie Magner
The Locals At 7 In October, The Locals celebrated seven years of hanging out at Cake Crumbs on Kearney Street. The Locals, who are also called by some the “Council of Elders,” aren’t a rock band – though they probably could be if they wanted. Rather, they are a group of longtime Park Hillians with a strong commitment to, knowledge of, and appreciation for the neighborhood. They gather weekly, sometimes more than once (and some show up more often than others). Over coffee and pastries this collective brain trust dissects matters large and small, and generally solves most, if not all, of the problems of the world. Back row, left to right: Bernard Grant, Katy Charles., Sandy Barnes, Gordon Buchmann, Helen Berkman, Sharon Little, Bob Hoffman, Carolyn Medrick, Pat Vance, Barbara Larsen, Joe Gensheimer, Joe Little, Kat McIver, JR Moore, Carolyn Georgeson, Henry Chu, Lise Neer, Jayne James, Sandra Dowling, Anne Menard, Mark Dowling, Doug Schuler, Leo Larsen, Charles Carter. Front row, left to right: Mary DeTar, Sally Ortiz, Inez Stanford, Lydia Buchmann, Bridget Walsh, Louis Plachowski, Dorothy Davidson, Scott Houchin. (Note: A salute to all past and current members who weren’t able to make it the day of the group photo.)
In early 2013, following the decision to phase-out and close Smiley Middle School, Denver Public Schools began a series of meetings intended to convince the community that creating a larger boundary for middle schools would benefit both Park Hill and Stapleton. Smiley had been struggling, especially following the co-location of another school, Venture Prep, into the building and a churn in its leadership. Stapleton needed seats for its growing school-age population. Could a larger zone and the move of the well-liked McAuliffe program, incubated in Stapleton, solve all problems? The Greater Park Hill/Stapleton Enrollment Zone for middle schools was fully implemented in the 2013-14 school year. Since then, students living within Park Hill and Stapleton have been guaranteed a seat at one (not necessarily the closest one) of five schools: Bill Roberts, Denver Discovery School, Denver School of Science and Technology (DSST) Conservatory Green, DSST Stapleton and McAuliffe International School. In June 2015, Greater Park Hill News reported that the very high demand for seats at McAuliffe meant that many Park Hill and Stapleton families that had requested the school as their first choice were turned away. And even though McAuliffe has continued to expand to over 1,400 students, it cannot satisfy the demand. Parents and students in both neighborhoods are frustrated that they cannot or may not get their
children into the school.
And then there were six Attempting to solve this problem and the still-growing middle school population in Stapleton, DPS issued a Call for New Quality Schools for a new middle school in the zone that would serve 500 to 600 students. The school would open next year. The new school will likely be located in the Beeler Park neighborhood of Stapleton, near the Dick’s Sporting Goods soccer stadium. It would be the farthest away from Park Hill than any of the other middle schools in the choice zone. In order to hear what the community wanted for the zone’s sixth school, DPS first sent out a questionnaire via email to 4th and 5th grade parents in both neighborhoods. DPS paid Corona Insights $17,538 to perform the 10-minute survey, which was later extended to also reach kindergarten to 3rd grade families. An estimated 4,700 emails were sent with an expected return of 20 percent (940). Paper surveys were not provided to families who may not have had access to a computer, further disenfranchising poorer families. DPS also held three community meetings (two in Stapleton and one in Park Hill) during the first week of October to “discuss community priorities that will be a key part of how the Denver Board of Education decides which school is the best fit.” continued on page 12