By The Rev. Aaron M. Gray
August 3, 2003

Why does it take a tragedy like the recent shooting death of Paul Childs to remind us of all that is missing and needed in the lives of our young people today?

It is a tribal tradition in Africa to ask, "How are the children?" If we, as a community were to answer that question honestly, our reply would be that our children are not well, and it will take more than easy answers and quick fixes to change that.

In the 2002-2003 school year, 72,617 students attended Denver Public Schools. Of those, 8,586 students - almost 12 percent - were Special Education students like Paul Childs. As former Mayor Wellington Webb noted at Childs' funeral, Denver needs to create and put to use new resources to address the needs of young people like Paul.

However, there are many other urgent needs within our school district and the community of Denver. We must ensure that the needs of all students are being met or exceeded. With this support in place, DPS can expect to see the current dropout rate go down, and the graduation rate to go up. We simply must close the learning gap between better and poorer performing students in Denver Public Schools.

Furthermore, it is not an overstatement to say that there is a link between the fact that more than half of DPS students subscribe to the Free and Reduced Lunch program and the rise in crime and drug use among Denver youths; children are affected by the socioeconomic status of their families. This is why it's crucial that our intervention begin at home.

In recent months, the Denver Public School District has reduced some $41 million from its budget. In the city of Denver, deficits are projected anywhere from $40 million to $70 million. Between these two important and powerful entities, there will be deficits in the neighborhood of $100 million.

It is often said that money cannot solve all of our problems - we have to hope this is the case now. Each community within Denver must rally around its youth and determine what its urgent needs are, and how best those needs can be met.

There are many children like Paul Childs out there, children whose names we will never read in the paper or hear on the news. What can we, as communities, do to ensure that these children's needs are met, so they do not become statistics, too?

Education is the key to community, and parental involvement is the key to education.

The loss of Paul Nash Childs shows us that we have a long way to go.

The Rev. Aaron M. Gray is the director of Denver Public Schools' Office of Community Relations.

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