Judy is a mom with a 2d-grader at home, so the reforms announced by Denver Public Schools last night hit very close to home. Two elementary schools in Sunnyside (Smedley and Remington) will be closed, and a third (Horace Mann) will undergo a radical restructuring. While Judy can’t affect these decisions (DPS is a self-governing entity, outside the Council’s authority), she can try to answer questions, keep people informed, and help the affected families cope with these changes.
As a first step, families at all schools affected by the reforms should attend the public meetings being held by DPS tomorrow night, October 3d. The meeting for Smedley Elementary families will be held at 250 Shoshone Street from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.; for Remington Elementary families, at 4735 Pecos Street from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.; and for Horace Mann Elementary families, at 4130 Navajo Street from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Here’s a full list of meetings times and places.
The entire, official PowerPoint presentation about the reforms is available at the DPS website. It includes the philosophy behind the decisions, much of the data upon which they were based, and a general sense of DPS’s vision for the future.
Here are links to the letter sent home to parents of Smedley students, the letter to parents of Remington students, and the letter to parents of Horace Mann students.
The next Denver School Board meeting is Thursday, October 18, at 6:30 p.m. in the district’s headquarters at 900 Grant. Public comment will be taken; if you wish to speak at the hearing, call 720-423-3210 to register.
These changes will affect the entire community, and it will be necesary to discuss their implications and strategize responses to them. But that discussion can take place later. For now, Judy’s thoughts are with the moms and dads and kids who are directly impacted by these changes.
