Denver’s enrollment is declining, and some schools have so few students, and so little per-pupil funding, that Superintendent Alex Marrero said the schools can no longer offer the robust programming students deserve.
Melanie Asmar, Chalkbeat
Melanie Asmar has covered Denver Public Schools for Chalkbeat Colorado since 2015. Asmar previously worked at Westword newspaper in Denver and for a daily newspaper in New Hampshire, where she covered education.
Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news organization covering schools and education. The news organization believes education is a local issue, and roots its coverage in local communities. Chalkbeat reports from and about eight locations: Colorado, Chicago, Detroit, Indiana, Newark, New York, Philadelphia and Tennessee.
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Posted inEducation
Montbello gets its cherished high school back. Will it unite the community again?
The reunified Montbello High School opened its doors last month, 42 years after the school welcomed its first students in 1980 and nearly 12 years after Denver Public Schools decided to close it because of low test scores and graduation rates
Posted inEducation
Denver students sue after school district files to trademark their racial justice podcast
The podcast — the full name of which was Know Justice, Know Peace: DMLK’s The Take — attracted widespread media attention, including an appearance on The Today Show
Posted inEducation
Dozens of Colorado schools cancel class amid high heat forecast
Most schools are releasing students early Wednesday and Thursday, but four schools are closing altogether for at least one day this week.
Posted inGrowth
A first look at Denver Public Schools’ new strategic plan
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, […]
Posted inEducation, News
Denver superintendent’s goals include dismantling “oppressive systems”
In anticipation of the Denver superintendent’s first evaluation in October, the school board has approved the criteria for evaluating his first year on the job. The metrics are related to the retention of educators of color, the adoption of social and emotional learning curriculum, the rate of out-of-school suspensions, and more. Superintendent Alex Marrero started […]
Posted inEducation, News
Ricardo Martinez remembered as “a warrior” for justice in Denver schools
For three decades, Ricardo Martinez, co-founder of the advocacy group Padres & Jóvenes Unidos, helped parents and students fight racism in Denver Public Schools. Last week, Denver lost the humble and fierce organizer. He died of a stroke and its complications, according to a written remembrance shared by his family. “At his core, he was […]
Posted inCOVID, Education, News
Colorado schools bend but don’t break under omicron surge
At Evelyn Gonzalez’s Denver high school, the Italian teacher, who luckily speaks Spanish, filled in last week for the Spanish teacher, who was out sick for two days. So many students were absent from Haven Coleman’s history class at another high school that the teacher held off on teaching the day’s lesson rather than have […]
Posted inEducation, News, Politics and Government
More than $1.6 million was spent in this year’s Denver school board election
Candidates and political committees spent $1.67 million in this year’s Denver school board election, according to final campaign finance reports filed with the Colorado Secretary of State’s office that capture spending through the Nov. 2 election. The election was a sweep by candidates backed by the Denver teachers union and critical of Denver Public Schools’ past reforms, […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, Education, News
Aurora shootings: Students and school staff grapple with a “growing crisis”
When classes resume Monday in Aurora Public Schools, psychologist Brittany Greiert won’t be at the elementary and middle school where she normally works. Instead, she’ll be at Hinkley High School, where three teens were shot and injured in the parking lot Friday. She and the rest of the district’s crisis response team will check in […]