By now, having completed their first full month of school, students and teachers are settling into daily learning routines at Denver Public Schools (DPS). The past month has brought with it a number of celebrations but one particularly high-profile challenge—President Trump’s decision to rescind former President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) executive order—which has left many DPS students and some teachers in a state of uncertainty.

Presidential candidate Donald Trump promised he would end the DACA program and on Sept. 5, President Trump had his Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, announce the clock was now ticking for those protected by DACA. Session’s announcement supported a tweet by the president earlier in the day that the buck was now being passed to Congress. Sessions said that DACA would “wind down,” effectively ending on March 5, 2018, giving lawmakers six months to create a policy that could protect “Dreamers,” the name given to DACA recipients, an homage to the compromise of the failed 2001 Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (Dream) Act that created DACA.

The anticipated announcement brought community organizers together to to launch rally in support of Dreamers. The rally drew an estimated 1,100 DPS students who walked out of classes to engage with peers in the peaceful protest at Denver’s Auraria Campus. “We did not participate in organizing it, nor were we sponsors of the walk out,” DPS Deputy Superintendent, Susanna Cordova says, but acknowledged that students from several DPS schools left class. “We always think the best place for kids is in school. We just think that it is very important for students to be able to understand how the civic process works, that they have the ability to express their opinions and that they are able to do that in a way that keeps them safe,” Cordova says.

Monica Acosta from Padres y Jovenes Unidos, a Dreamer and one of the rally’s organizers, believes DPS is supportive of Dreamers but says not all families affected by the decision completely trust the district. “It’s something that we’re trying to push on the district because it’s not enough for them to hold a press conference or to send out written statements.” Acosta feels DPS needs to acknowledge the strength of individual connections in the schools. “We (Padres y Jovenes Unidos) want them to see that it’s really about the individual relationships that exist between educators and their families and their students.”

A West Leadership Academy teacher explained that on the ground level, in schools, support for Dreamers is evident. “After the announcement, students rallied together and walked out of school to demonstrate their disapproval with the President's decision. Many DACA students were met in front of the West Campus by students from many schools across Denver and they protested in solidarity with many non-DACA students. In an effort to support the students that actively participated in their First Amendment right, many teachers helped in keeping those students safe. It was a proud moment for West as they were the school at the forefront of the civil rights movement when Corky Gonzalez led Latinos and others in the 1960s.”

For further information, you can read DPS Superintendent Tom Boasberg’s statement on DACA at: dpsk12.org/statement-from-the-superintendent-about-daca.

Wells Fargo invests $150,000 in DPS Lights On Afterschool program

On Thursday, Aug. 31, Colorado Rockies infielder Pat Valaika visited students at McMeen Elementary to sign autographs and help them celebrate a Wells Fargo grant to support afterschool programming. Representatives from Wells Fargo presented a $150,000 check to the DPS Foundation and DPS Board of Education to support the Lights On Afterschool program that will serve 18 high-need elementary schools and more than 3,500 students.

DPS adds five schools to Early College Arsenal

DPS has expanded the early college model offering free college courses to seven schools. Joining the previously designated CEC Early College and Southwest Early College are Denver School of Innovation and Sustainable Design, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Early College, High Tech Early College, Manual High School and West Early College.

The early college model was developed to support first-generation college students, low-income students, students of color and English learners and is a proven strategy for postsecondary success. This approach also allows students the opportunity to earn an industry certificate in an area of interest.

“It’s really important for me because I have the opportunity to get a lot of college credits in high school and get them for free,” said CEC Early College sophomore Jorge Medrano.

Dora Moore, namesake of Dora Moore Elementary (846 Corona St.), lived at 1031 Emerson St. while serving first as a teacher and then principal until she retired in 1929 after 37 years. Visitors can visit her former home on Emerson Sunday, Oct. 29 from 10:00a.m. to 4:00p.m. during the 38th Annual Dora Moore Historic House Tour. Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 the day of and proceeds provide support for the school.

DCIS High School (574 W. Sixth Ave.) has received Honorable Mention recognition for the Colorado Succeeds Prize. The prize is considered by many to be the state’s most prestigious award, which honors “transformational public schools and educators.” Winners will be announced Oct. 3 at the Newman Center for Performing Arts at the University of Denver and will share $60,000 in cash awards.

DCIS will be hosting a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) night Wednesday, Oct. 4 from 5:30p.m. to 7:00p.m. in the DCIS Community Room. There will be representatives from DU and UCD, who will support students and families through the application process.

Venture Prep (2900 Richard Allen Ct.) Junior, Maymuna Jeylani, has been awarded the opportunity to share her poetry alongside prominent and nationally recognized author, Julie Lythcott-Haims.

Lythcott-Haims, author of the New York Times bestselling book, How to Raise an Adult, is scheduled to be in Denver Oct. 25 to promote her new book and she created a writing project urging students, ages 12-17, to write a piece of original poetry that relates to race and racism in America. Venture Prep English teacher, Christina Dixon, submitted two poems on behalf of Jeylani. Lythcott-Haims was impressed by Jeylani’s work and requested that she present both pieces during the event at 7:00p.m. at Tattered Cover-LoDo.

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