Former state Sen. John Andrews asked Jeffco school board members and candidates at a forum if they would welcome Denver Public Schools’ charter school system in Jeffco. I said I would not, while Ken Witt, John Newkirk, and Julie Williams, the three board members facing recall, all said they would. (I’m running for the seat occupied by Witt.) The query deserves a response removed from political controversy.

DPS has 54 charters. The district has turned to charters to fix low student achievement. It also uses charters to fill program niches.

One goal of charters must be to bring elementary school kids up to achievement proficiency as quickly as possible. DPS elementary charters with high percentages of free-and-reduced lunch students are having as tough a time as most traditional schools meeting the objective. Many DPS elementary charters have fewer than 50 percent of students at proficiency, including the highly praised STRIVE schools. Only one STRIVE school out of nine attained 58-percent academic proficiency in 2013-14.

Denver Language School, a K-8 Mandarin and Spanish immersion charter, presents a promising path. It’s moved over 80 percent of its 220 kids to proficiency in reading and math. Over 95 percent of its students reached exceptional academic growth.

The school started locally and is managed locally. Its focus on early language learning sharpens young minds. The Dutch have taught multiple languages in their elementary schools for centuries. That’s how a small country becomes an economic engine.

DPS has success with its Denver Schools of Science and Technology middle and high school charters. These schools have moved 75-92 percent of kids to academic proficiency. They’ve received millions of dollars from large foundations and a charter school growth fund in addition to state funding. It’s expensive to get middle and high school kids up to speed if they don’t start with that basis coming out of elementary school.

The KIPP high school charters have kids in the 58-percent achievement range, the same as Thomas Jefferson and George Washington high schools.

Jeffco school district is built on the neighborhood school concept. If Jeffco went the 54-charter route, some of these neighborhood schools would have to close. Many of the schools can’t easily be refurbished as charters because they’re buried deep in suburban neighborhoods without public transportation. School closings mean condemning neighborhoods to depreciated property values and the not-so-nice prospect of a boarded up, fenced up, weedy school next door. Since charters are public schools, they should be integrated into normal program planning.

Jeffco can learn from Denver. The charters that move the needle are specialized. DSST has no athletics, limited arts, and teaches only one foreign language.

Denver’s experience shows there’s no charter magic to remedy achievement gaps. When reality bumps up against politics, reality wins.

Paula Noonan owns Colorado Capitol Watch, the state’s premier legislature tracking platform. She’s running for the seat held by Jeffco School Board member Ken Witt, who is facing a recall election in November.