In Denver, a 3-school effort to take advantage of the federal tax credit scholarship program
Did you know search engines like Google are changing the way you see news? Keep Chalkbeat’s valuable education coverage at the top of your feeds by clicking here and checking the box next to our name. Most of the efforts for public schools to get in on a new federal tax credit have been macro: Public education boosters are creating organizations to grant scholarships for tutoring or SAT prep…
A unique initiative in Denver is taking advantage of a federal tax credit scholarship program to benefit three public schools: East High, Morey Middle, and McAuliffe International. Parents of students at these schools have formed an organization called the Denver Neighborhood Education Fund to grant scholarships for after-school and summer programs.
The idea is to help students who may not otherwise afford these activities, as they can make a significant difference in a child's outcome. Critics, however, fear that if wealthy parents donate to their own children's schools, low-income students will be left out. The three schools in question have a predominantly white and affluent student population, and they receive less funding per student than the district average, despite being in wealthier neighborhoods.
Colorado Republican Governor Jared Polis is a strong supporter of the program, and Governor-elect Phil Weiser is also in favor, though he may not be able to opt Colorado out of the program in 2027. The parents of the three schools are optimistic about the potential benefits of this micro-level approach and hope it can serve as a test case for other schools.
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