Denver Public Schools superintendent Dr. Alex Marrero, right, speaks at Northfield High on May 26, 2022 following a lockdown after a paintball gun was found. Two suspects were taken into custody Thursday afternoon. (Olivia Sun, The Colorado Sun via Report for America)

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A year into his tenure, Denver Public Schools Superintendent Alex Marrero is rolling out a new strategic plan to guide Colorado’s largest school district. 

The plan, which Marrero calls a roadmap, focuses on three broad goals: improving the student experience, improving the adult experience for educators and families, and replacing “ineffective, destructive systems” with “equitable, transparent systems,” according to a copy obtained by Chalkbeat. 

It also comes with a new catchphrase: Every Learner Thrives.

“If we are to accomplish our vision that every learner thrives, we must reframe education as a series of experiences that promote an exchange of ideas, the pursuit of passion, and a quest for justice,” the plan says. “This is the DPS experience.”

Marrero said in an interview that he intentionally framed the plan as a fluid roadmap, with goals to be accomplished by 2026, rather than a rigid plan with annual benchmarks.

“That means that even if, God forbid, we’re in a situation like a COVID-19 pandemic, we can still recalculate, just like a navigation system, and still know where we want to be in 2026,” he said.

Denver has been operating without a strategic plan since 2020, when the previous plan developed by then-Superintendent Tom Boasberg expired. Marrero’s plan comes as Denver prepares to welcome back some 90,000 students who have experienced three pandemic-disrupted school years, which has led to lost learning and lower test scores.

“We have a deep, deep hole to climb out of,” Marrero said.

Read more at chalkbeat.org.

Melanie Asmar, Chalkbeat

Senior Reporter — Chalkbeat Colorado Email: masmar@chalkbeat.org