Friday, Sept. 9, 2016
Serving All Who Wish to Learn
"Today we celebrate not only the enduring legacy of Emily Griffith, but also the deepening impact her work has on our city, our families and our collective future. "
Dear Team DPS:

Supt. Tom Boasberg
Exactly 100 years ago today, the doors of opportunity were opened for the first time for Denver residents who were trapped behind a lack of education. On Sept. 9, 1916, Emily Griffith opened her landmark Opportunity School at 12th and Welton with the motto of "All who wish to learn" chiseled over the door frame.
 
Our city's greatest education pioneer had spent more than a decade teaching eighth grade and high school in Denver and had seen the stark schooling needs of her students, and the unmet needs of their parents and older family members. Her dedication to empower the powerless drove her to open those doors a century ago, and that spirit -- and the needs of today's students -- still inspires and drives us today.
 
Today we celebrate not only the enduring legacy of Emily Griffith, but also the deepening impact her work has on our city, our families and our collective future.
 
Emily Griffith
Last week, the Denver Board of Education approved the final piece of our four-year Operation Unite facilities project, which came in $8 million under budget and saved taxpayers tens of millions of dollars, and is providing dramatically better learning environments for thousands of students. A key part of the plan was to sell off multiple district facilities to consolidate our school-support service teams in one building, the new Emily Griffith Campus, that we share with three schools: the new Downtown Denver Expeditionary School, Emily Griffith High School and Emily Griffith Technical College.
 
The roughly 5,000 students in Emily Griffith's many trade, continuing education and specialty programs now are learning in state-of-the-art facilities that will better prepare them for their careers. And we owe a big thank-you to the Denver community for making that possible, by approving the 2012 school-construction bond that helped pay for the new Emily Griffith campus.
 
In providing Emily Griffith students with a new school, we were faced with the decision on what to do with the original campus on Welton Street. Recognizing the site's importance to the community and its historical significance, we put together a broad-based coalition of civic leaders to help DPS come up with the best overall plan -- one that took into consideration all of the important components: historic preservation, current benefit to students and full value for taxpayers.
 
Emily Griffith students, then and now
Thanks to that community expertise and collaboration, we now have an agreement in place to sell that campus that:
  • Preserves and gives landmark status to the historic portions of the original Emily Griffith Campus.
  • Completes the last piece of a plan that has updated and expanded campuses serving about 9,000 students.
  • Brings in over $1 million a year of operational savings (on top of the capital savings), which is being reinvested in our classrooms.
The memory and the soul of Emily Griffith are alive and well in our community.
 
We are here to serve "All who wish to learn." To build on Emily's legacy of compassion and empowerment. And to keep the doors to a world of opportunity open wide and clear for all of Denver's learners.
 
Best,
Tom  

Pictured above: Emily Griffith schools have been serving students for 100 years.
How Denver Schools Get and Spend Money
Every school year, our school leaders and educators have the incredible mission of guiding students toward success. Just as we know every student and school community is unique, every school's budget looks a little different, too.

Denver Public Schools have the freedom to craft budgets and programs in a way they see best for their unique community.

So, how do schools get money -- and spend money -- in DPS? Put simply: Money follows students, no matter which school they attend.
Preparing Our Students with Disabilities for College Challenges
 
"Even the biggest man in the world needs help," said Bryce von Phul-Chewning, a 2016 DSST: Stapleton High School graduate and student who is hearing impaired.
Bryce is one of many of our high school students with disabilities who have found help through the Transition to Higher Education class at the Auraria Campus. The 13-week course is connecting students with disabilities to role models, and supports for their emotional and social well-being. Students are trained in crafting resumes, mastering adaptive technology and advocating for themselves and their futures.

"Hopefully we've given them a step up," said Greg Root, the assistant director of the Metropolitan State University Access Center who helped create the class.  
Save the Date: DPS Great Schools Expo is Nov. 9
Families can visit the Broncos' field during the Great Schools Expo on Nov. 9.
Mark your calendars for the DPS Great Schools Expo from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 9 at Sports Authority at Mile High. Families will have the opportunity to visit representatives from elementary, middle and high schools, and to discover the great schools in their neighborhood and throughout Denver. Visit schoolchoice.dpsk12.org to learn more.
COMING UP...
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