Introduction

EDUCATE Denver is a coalition of over 35 diverse and committed civic leaders who believe that high-quality education and healthy cities go hand-in-hand. Unfortunately in Denver, our ECE-12 public education system is broken. The most recent CMAS data suggests that among Black and Latino students, only 24.7% and 15.3% perform at grade level in reading and math, respectively. For the second year in a row, DPS posted the largest test score gaps by race in the state of Colorado. Most citizens would expect an urgent triage in response to such results. In contrast, the current DPS Board of Education spent the better part of the past two years insulting each other, grabbing for power, and reacting to district challenges for which members were unprepared. Attempts to analyze data, develop new policy, or set in place new strategies for student success were utterly and entirely absent.

As we embark upon a new school year, EDUCATE Denver is highly concerned about DPS leadership’s current lack of focus on student outcomes and the data that has come as a result. Our confidence that Denver children will learn in safe schools is diminished and we are concerned that enrollment declines will persist. These challenges adversely impact our students’ well-being and their ability to master 21st-century skills that support post-secondary success in college and in living-wage jobs. The long-term implications for the Denver community and Denver economy are dire.

The DPS Board of Education must reverse these trends for the sake of our youth and for the sake of our city. To that end, EDUCATE Denver developed a platform that articulates four focus areas and calls for associated Board actions that should be undertaken in order to set the school district on a positive trajectory. All four focus areas are mutually reinforcing and equal in priority. Embraced in earnest, they will give rise to the aspirational student outcomes identified in this document. Indisputably, it is a daunting challenge that will require persistent, hard work. EDUCATE Denver sees no alternative. The outcomes identified in our platform will solidify Denver Public Schools as the best district in America, make Denver a most desirable city in which to live, and give our youth their only real shot at success.