Latino students in Denver Public Schools are arguably more segregated today in predominantly Latino schools than black students were before federally mandated busing. A new Rocky Mountain PBS documentary series explores the issues.

Most everyone is ready to extol the virtues of neighborhood schools. But, what if, in a city like Denver where many neighborhoods are largely segregated, the school down the block is a detriment to poor children of color?

At Centennial Elementary School, which serves a tough neighborhood in Colorado Springs, low proficiency rates in reading, writing and arithmetic and wide achievement gaps between races are relics of the past.

The career and technical high school in Denver Public Schools has a long track record of sending its students to decently paying jobs, and many of them are armed with an associate's college degree when they go.

There is broad awareness and resolve among metro Denver school districts about reducing achievement gaps between white students and students of color. Progress in actually doing so is uneven, a new RMBPS News analysis shows.

A Rocky Mountain PBS News analysis of a decade’s worth of educational benchmarks in the state’s 20 largest school districts shows most made at least some progress in reducing achievement gaps between white students and students of color.

An analysis of Colorado's largest 20 schools districts shows that progress has been made during the past decade in reducing the achievement gaps between white students and students of color, but that striking disparities remain.

After opening it's doors in 1986, when court mandated busing was still in effect in Denver Public Schools, Mitchell Montessori School became a bright shining success for integration and achievement. To some, its closure still rankles.

Denver Public Schools has the highest percentage of students of all races classified as gifted and talented among the 20 largest school districts in the state, a Rocky Mountain PBS I-News analysis has found, but the numbers tilt toward white students.

Latino students in Denver Public Schools are arguably more segregated in predominantly Latino schools today than black students were in black schools during the era prior to court ordered busing.

Educators and academics say that having a teaching staff that mirrors the student body’s racial composition makes a substantial, positive difference for kids and schools alike. In DPS and other large districts, that's proving easier said than done.