Dear Educators,

We are a district committed to equity and we aim to celebrate the significant cultural moments of our students and staff, especially those that have not been historically and consistently recognized, year round.

This year, we will continue to honor the rich diversity within DPS during nationally recognized months dedicated to cultures and identities through Cultural Moments. Through Cultural Moments we’ll continue to highlight stories, events and resources shared by members of our DPS community. We also will continue to celebrate historic cultural moments, with emphasis on those that contributed to equity and civil rights for members of marginalized communities.

We encourage you to visit The Commons to find resources for teaching about cultural moments. Resources are currently available for Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15-Oct. 15. Throughout the year, we’ll continue to share classroom resources for cultural moments such as Disability Awareness and Dyslexia Awareness, Native American Heritage Month, Transgender Week of Awareness and many more.

If your school or community is planning an event or project to honor and celebrate one of these cultural moments, we want to spotlight your work! Reach out to DPSEquity@dpsk12.org to share your school’s plans and information. By sharing how schools across DPS are celebrating cultural moments, we hope to shine a brighter light on what DPS is doing to move the equity needle for our students, staff and families.

Equity belongs to all of us -- and another cohort is about to begin! The Equity Experience is a year-long, self-paced journey to identify and examine our individual and collective/organizational mindsets. Modules are released one at a time by the third week of each month starting in September, with the last one released in May. The Equity Experience stems from the Board of Education’s Black Excellence Resolution, which calls for “training all members of Team DPS in implicit bias and culturally responsive education on an ongoing basis.” Register for the Equity Experience here.

Were you recently hired as a new teacher for the 2022-23 school year? If so, please ensure you watch these important LEAP 101 Screencasts. The links to these screencasts were previously shared within this New Educator Welcome 2022: Content Sessions Document. Questions? Reach out to LEAP@dpsk12.org.

We are excited to announce the relaunch of the DPS Ombuds Office with Dr. Darlene LeDoux and Dr. Antoinette Hudson who are here to support Team DPS. The mission of the Ombuds Office is to ensure all DPS employees receive fair and equitable treatment in matters of concern or complaint. The Ombuds Office will serve as a resource for employees seeking information and insight from a trusted navigator who is confidential, independent, impartial and informal. All visits with an Ombuds are voluntary.

Visit us on The Commons to learn more about the Ombuds Office or to make an appointment.

The Early Education Department is excited to announce two in-person cohorts during the Teal day sessions for 2022-23, beginning in October. The first cohort is for any staff new to ECE. This includes first-year teachers and paraprofessionals, or teachers and paraprofessionals who have experience in other grades but are new to an ECE classroom. If this applies to you and you are interested in participating, please complete this New-to-ECE application. 

The second cohort is to support ECE teachers and paraprofessionals in mixed-age, non-Montessori classrooms. If you are working in one of these classrooms and would benefit from this additional layer of support, please complete this mixed-age application. 

In order to be in compliance with licensing requirements, ECE teachers and paraprofessionals must have a current CPR/first aid certification. If you or your paraprofessionals are due for renewal for your CPR/First Aid certification or you or your paraprofessionals are a new ECE staff member, please see the CPR/First Aid Registration Information for upcoming sessions on Sept. 30 and Oct. 17. Note: You must complete the online portion of the course prior to attending the in-person session. Please share this information with your classroom paraprofessionals as needed. If you have any questions, contact your Early Education Specialist.

ECE teachers are invited to attend Clyfford Still Museum’s (CSM) back-to-school event on Sept. 8 from 6-8 p.m. The Early Education Department has collaborated with CSM to bring an exciting additional track, specifically for ECE teachers, in a dedicated gallery space. Learn the value of using fine art in the classroom to train critical thinking. There will be gifts and prizes for ECE teachers to use in their classrooms. Network with your ECE colleagues and early education leaders. Register here (make sure to register as an ECE teacher).

Watch CSM’s recent Young Minds exhibition tour and research video to learn more about art and brain development. Questions? Contact Laura Green.

Denver Public Schools sends all district newsletters and critical employee communications through Constant Contact. Please do not unsubscribe your dpsk12.org email address from any message; if you unsubscribe from one newsletter or one communication, you will be removed from all other district-managed email lists in Constant Contact. If you have any questions, please email newsletters@dpsk12.org.