Single Dads

I took a pretty extended break from blogging for a little bit (my most significant break since, oh, 2004 or so) but after a vacation to SXSW, spending an increasing amount of time with my four-year old (that’s about to go up too - more on that later) and trying to concentrate on work, I found the exact article to ease my way back into the writing gig when I saw this this little educational nugget about the public educational system, or lack of it.

WASHINGTON - Seventeen of the nation’s 50 largest cities had high school graduation rates lower than 50 percent, with the lowest graduation rates reported in Detroit, Indianapolis and Cleveland, according to a report released Tuesday.

MSNBC gets the cite.

Let’s see.  I live in Denver.  It’s one of the most highly educated cities in the nation, I’ve heard somewhere.

Denver:  Denver County School District - 46.3 percent graduation rate.

43.6 percent graduation rate?

So I’m going to have to try to send my daughter to private schools for the rest of her days?

Public education.  My wallet.  I weep for them both.

9news, which is out of Denver and one of the bettter television news websites that I’ve seen, had a couple of features late last evening that caught my eye.

Bad news first.  Apparently, Denver Public Schools has decided to close a bunch of schools in the district.  Again. 

DENVER – Monday, the superintendent of the Denver Public School District unveiled his list of eight schools the district plans to close.

Says the superintendent of Denver Public Schools later in the article:

“We believe these proposals are a difficult, but an absolutely necessary step towards making DPS the best it can be,” said Bennet in a statement. “We are very excited about the new opportunities that we are creating and believe that our students will benefit greatly from these opportunities. At the same time, we deeply understand how painful school closures will be for the students and families at these schools, and we will work closely with them during the transition.”

Bennet says closing the schools will save $3.5 million.

Several years ago, I attended a well known high school in the Denver suburbs.  The DPS high schools, with their high educational levels, numerous students, and well coached athletic teams, were some of our fiercest competitors in both sports and academics. 

Now, a little over twenty years later, DPS has been reduced to using mid-90’s doublespeak - where the closing of low achieving schools and low enrollment is now called creating “opportunities”.  How tremendously disappointing.

But in better local news, Colorado has received a multi-million dollar grant for fathers and kids that might be seen as high risk.

DENVER – Men who need help with fatherhood now have access to dozens of free programs throughout the state.

Governor Bill Ritter (D-Colorado) and representatives with the Colorado Department of Human Services kicked off the “Be There for Your Kids” campaign on the steps of the State Capitol Monday afternoon.

The initiative is geared towards providing programs and resources for dads in a wide variety of circumstances, including single parenting, incarceration and children with disabilities.

This is the good news.  The website that contains the grant and program information is www.coloradodads.com.  Go out there and take a look.

Free programs for single fathers.  Educational resources taken from kids in minority areas.

One step up and two steps back.