How Durango’s school board kept a charter school out by prioritizing DEI over parents
By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice
Ascent Classical Academy seemed to have the community support, the resources and the experience to launch another successful charter school in Colorado.
Parents in Durango seemed to want the option. More than 600 families signed letters of intent, but the Durango School Board said no in 2022.
This wasn’t a decision based on academic concerns, some say. The school board, backed by a mobilized teachers’ union, rejected Ascent on ideological grounds, blocking an alternative educational model that didn’t align with its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) priorities.
The Durango school board rejected Ascent twice, despite the Colorado State Board of Education’s original ruling in the charter school’s favor. The official r...
