[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-586009-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-586009-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","rocky-mountain-prep-and-kipp-charter-school-funding-inequity-school-privatization-movement-history","Rocky Mountain Prep and KIPP Charter School Funding Inequity - School Privatization Movement History","","The text examines how Denver-area charter school networks and neighborhood public schools were affected by large philanthropic gifts from MacKenzie Scott in 2022, highlighting funding inequities tied to student enrollment. It contrasts charter funding and program cuts, then frames the issue through a longer history of U.S. education privatization. Using federal policy changes after No Child Left Behind, it explains how marketplace reforms, standardized testing, and political influence supported charters over public governance, shaping Denver Public Schools’ challenges.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/rocky-mountain-prep-and-kipp-charter-school-funding-inequity-school-privatization-movement-history/586009/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/rocky-mountain-prep-and-kipp-charter-school-funding-inequity-school-privatization-movement-history/586009.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Jordan Avery","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-06","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",8,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What unexpected gifts did MacKenzie Scott provide to Denver-area charter schools in 2022?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"Rocky Mountain Prep received $4.5 million and KIPP received $6 million within two months, both described as coming from MacKenzie Scott.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"Why did the text describe an inequity between charter and neighborhood public schools?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"While charter networks received major philanthropic funding, the Denver Public Schools district made program cuts in neighborhood schools due to enrollment-based resource allocation.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"How did the No Child Left Behind Act influence the education privatization push?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"It mandated high-stakes standardized testing and accountability systems, enabling policymakers to label public schools as failing and support closure in favor of charter alternatives.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},586009,1792062349,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,106,111,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":102,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":103,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":105},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":107,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":108,"show_sort_weight":109,"slug":110},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":55,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":144,"read_time":109,"preview_page_count":4},1099523882367,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_9964176cb1d06d4a9deccf72a44ae3dc","BY MIKE DEGUIRE, PH . D .  \nINTRODUCTION  \nIn October 2022, the Rocky Mountain Prep charter school chain of four schools received an unexpected gift of $4.5 million from billionaire MacKenzie Scott, ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Two months later, the KIPP charter school chain of six schools in Denver received $6 million from the same billionaire. These gifts of roughly $2,400 per student amount to about ¼ of the total per-student allocation for most Denver Public District schools.  \nAt the same time, the Denver Public Schools (DPS) school board was discussing how to address the declining enrollment challenges of dozens of its neighborhood public schools. While the two charter school networks received millions from billionaires, significant cuts were made to the programs in many declining enrollment public schools due to the district’s policy of allocating resources based on student enrollment.  \nThis inequity raises several questions: Why were some charter schools in DPS receiving additional funding when public school funding was being cut? How can the district support different school governing models that are inherently inequitable when equity is the cornerstone of the values of DPS? Why does DPS continue using the current student-based budgeting system when it doesn’t fully fund the programs the Board has stated should be in place for every student? The answers to these questions lie in the history of the school privatization movement in Denver and beyond.  \nFor decades, billionaires and their investor allies have used philanthropic foundations to change  how public education is delivered and governed. They use their wealth to buy school board elections and influence the decision-making of legislators and school board members. Their primary goal is to privatize the education system, instituting a marketplace model of schooling. Denver Public Schools(DPS) became a target in the early 2000s, and billionaires have continued pouring money into the system over the past two decades.  \nMike DeGuire, Ph. D. , is an executive coach for school leaders in Denver, and he serves on the board of Advocates for Public Education Policy. He teaches a class on“Leadership Voices for Public Education and Teacher Professionalism” through the Colorado Education Association. He has been a teacher, district level reading coordinator, and a principal in the Denver metro area for most of his education career.  \nAfter retiring as a principal in 2012, he worked as a leadership consultant for several national nonprofit organizations, and as an educator effectiveness specialist with the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) . His twitter handle is @mikedeguire, he blogs periodically at [https://medium.com/@jfiske80](https://medium.com/@jfiske80) , and he can be reached at [jfiske80@gmail.com](jfiske80@gmail.com).  \nTHE HISTORY OF THE PRIVATIZATION MOVEMENT  \nThe privatization of public services is happening nationally in varied services, from water and  trash collection to the justice system, the military, and education. Each service intends to reduce governmental control, lower taxes, and allow the private sector to make profits. However, privatizing public services does NOT mean better results for consumers or taxpayers, nor in the case of education for students and their families.  \nIn education, the marketplace model includes charter schools, vouchers, and other governing models that emphasize individual choice over the public good. The push to “reform education” by closing public schools and putting charter schools in their place began in earnest after the passage of the federal No Child Left Behind Act in 2002. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) had been years in the making. Many policymakers had pushed the narrative that schools were “failing students,”especially in large urban centers with higher concentrations of children of color. As a solution to this belief that schools were failing, NCLB federal law mandated high-stakes standardized testin","cbCaidIDcBfyzl2y","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaidIDcBfyzl2y","pdf",1419408,16,"English","# Introduction\n## The history of the privatization movement\n## Who are the players in this privatization scam?","[{\"question\":\"What unexpected gifts did MacKenzie Scott provide to Denver-area charter schools in 2022?\",\"answer\":\"Rocky Mountain Prep received $4.5 million and KIPP received $6 million within two months, both described as coming from MacKenzie Scott.\"},{\"question\":\"Why did the text describe an inequity between charter and neighborhood public schools?\",\"answer\":\"While charter networks received major philanthropic funding, the Denver Public Schools district made program cuts in neighborhood schools due to enrollment-based resource allocation.\"},{\"question\":\"How did the No Child Left Behind Act influence the education privatization push?\",\"answer\":\"It mandated high-stakes standardized testing and accountability systems, enabling policymakers to label public schools as failing and support closure in favor of charter alternatives.\"}]","Rocky Mountain Prep and KIPP Charter School Funding Inequity - School Privatization Movement History | PDF",1792056605]