In Colorado, two children can live a mile apart, attend different public schools, and leave with vastly different chances at success. In our own lives, access to educational opportunities changed what was possible. Not because we were more deserving but because doors opened that too often remain closed for others.We both grew up in neighborhoods where the local school option did not consistently offer what we needed to thrive. At pivotal moments, opportunities outside our assigned schools opened doors that altered the course of our lives.
Today, we sit in positions of leadership as the president of the Colorado State Senate and the CEO of Denver Families for Public Schools. That is not proof that the system works. It is proof that when opportunity is present, potential rises to meet it.
We were the exception. For many of our peers just as capable and deserving, the dice never rolled their way. What begins as unequal access evolves into unequal outcomes. Too many children are still being denied that chance to become their best self.
Look no further than the 2025 Colorado Measures of Academic Success results. Students from low-income households, Black students, Hispanic students, English learners, and special education students, continue to score proficiency rates lower than their peers.
Coloradans have shown we can rethink how public education is organized. Over the past two decades, our state has proven that school systems are not fixed and that better outcomes become possible when we are willing to challenge old assumptions. School choice, autonomy and accountability helped expose and address long-ignored inequities, and we’ve seen the impacts these policies can have.The University of Colorado Denver’s Center for Education Policy Analysis found that when these policies were pursued in Denver Public Schools between 2008-2019, they resulted in tremendous strides in academic achievement. Graduation rates skyrocketed from just 39% in 2007 to more than 70% a decade later. In just five years, Black and Latino students experienced the equivalent of 2-3 years of additional schooling.
However, progress that moves faster than public confidence is fragile. Systems that innovate without listening will eventually lose the very communities they aim to serve. To revitalize a now-stagnant movement for progress in education, we must prioritize trust and legitimacy through authentic community partnership — knocking on doors, hosting public meetings and proactively engaging the community to identify what they want to see in their public schools.
Still today, too many families must leave their neighborhoods to find a school that meets their child’s needs. In Denver alone, an estimated 34,000 children attend a school outside their boundary or enrollment zone, including 46% of students of low-income families.Too often, systems prioritize convenience over excellence — guaranteeing transportation to a neighborhood school, even when it underperforms, while denying transportation to higher-quality or more innovative options families choose. As a result, innovation and quality are treated as privileges for the few rather than the expectation for all..
At the state level, we remain committed to ensuring that every student in every community has access to a high-quality public education. In the 2026 legislative session, we will continue to use data and evidence to ensure policies reflect best practices in education.
Locally, newly elected school boards across Colorado are facing declining enrollment, budget constraints and difficult decisions about school boundaries and resources. These challenges are real but should not become an excuse to retreat into rigid systems that prioritize uniformity over responsiveness.
At its best, a school district is an open system capable of learning, adapting and responding to the diverse needs of the communities it serves. That requires creating room for innovation and allowing public schools the freedom to design learning environments that reflect the realities of their neighborhoods.
When districts and the state create space for thoughtful innovation, support strong leadership at the school level and listen to families and educators as partners, students are better served.
If you are a student, a parent, an educator or a community member, you have a role to play. Show up. Pay attention. Ask hard questions. Attend school board meetings and legislative committees. Support leaders who are willing to make decisions grounded in data and opportunity and build school systems that are adaptable and innovative enough to meet the realities of a changing world.
The measure of a public education system is not whether it works for some, but whether it works by design for all. Systems that rely on luck may feel inevitable, but they are not neutral and they are not worthy of our children.
If we truly believe education is the great equalizer, then we must govern it accordingly: with humility, courage and a commitment to build systems that learn, adapt and respond to the communities they serve.
State Sen. James Coleman, of Denver, is president of the Colorado Senate, where he represents District 33.
Clarence Burton Jr., of Denver, is the CEO of Denver Families for Public Schools.
The Colorado Sun is a nonpartisan news organization, and the opinions of columnists and editorial writers do not reflect the opinions of the newsroom. Read our ethics policy for more on The Sun’s opinion policy. Learn how to submit a column. Reach the opinion editor at opinion@coloradosun.com.
Follow Colorado Sun Opinion on Facebook.
Hence then, the article about opinion every colorado student deserves a high quality education not at the chance of the roll of the dice was published today ( ) and is available on Colorado Sun ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Opinion: Every Colorado student deserves a high-quality education, not at the chance of the roll of the dice )
Also on site :