School is now in full swing again, and students and teachers seem to be settling in well, as does Tameka Brigham, Denver Public School’s new Chief of Staff. “I’m really excited to work alongside so many passionate leaders who, without a doubt, put kids and families first,” Brigham said. DPS announced Aug. 1 Brigham would be taking the reins and will be leading on many DPS efforts, including the Strengthening Neighborhoods Initiative, supporting strong relations with the Board of Education, and overseeing outreach to community leaders through the district’s Public Affairs team. She started her new role the first day of school for the district, Aug. 21. Brigham joins DPS from Teach for America (TFA), where she served as managing director of research for the national non-profit.

Teachers and staff of DPS, along with after school professionals, will receive training to learn new strategies around how to help young learners develop better social and emotional skills, both in and out of school, through the Partnerships for Social and Emotional Learning Initiative Grant.

DPS is partnering with the Denver Afterschool Alliance (DAA) to align and integrate day school and after school to better support kids with developing skills in self-control, persistence, teamwork and goal-setting, which are all linked to success in school, career and life.

Denver is one of six cities in the nation to receive the first-ever grant from the Wallace Foundation, a philanthropic organization based in New York City. In the first year of implementation, DPS and DAA will invest $1-$1.5 million in students in grades K-5 at six DPS schools. The partnership will also provide educators with additional support by convening members of the professional-learning community, sharing information with other cities engaged with the initiative and ensuring they have access to resources that will continuously improve Denver’s education system.

“The support from the Wallace Foundation will allow DPS to significantly advance our work in social and emotional learning for not only our students, but for our educators,” Superintendent Tom Boasberg said.

“This work will not only strengthen our partnership with DPS, but ensure that kids across our city are supported in all settings of their learning environment,” Mayor Michael B. Hancock added.

During the grant-planning period, which began last fall, DPS and DAA developed a plan to test and learn how to implement SEL in their communities using strategies such as providing professional development, implementing SEL pilot programs and practices and engaging stakeholders. They received technical assistance and guidance from national experts affiliated with the Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality, the Forum for Youth Investment and the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL).

The Denver School of the Arts (7111 Montview Blvd.) will be presenting its 7th annual fall gala Saturday, Sept. 9 honoring Cleo Parker Robinson and featuring the all-school musical production of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s (of “Hamilton” fame) In the Heights. This is Denver School of the Art’s largest event of the year, with live student performances, “strolling supper” and silent auction, followed by the performance. Adults’ tickets are $150, and student tickets are $50. Both can be purchased at dsa.dpsk12.org.

The sixth graders at Dora Moore Elementary (846 Corona St.) were featured on 9News at the end of last school year in May for STEM program, Project Lead The Way, funded by Verizon. Dora Moore is one of 3,700 middle schools nationwide for which the nonprofit provides science, technology engineering and math curriculum. Through the $8 million grant, students participate in hands-on, project-based learning to help them attain jobs in STEM-related fields.

Congratulations to University Prep-Steele Street (3230 E. 38th Ave.) for increasing their average proficiency by more than 35 percent in mathematics on the 2017 Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC!

University Prep’s Median Growth Percentile in fourth and fifth grade math was 91, a score which is the highest of all schools in the state of Colorado. Also, University Prep's Median Growth Percentile in English language arts was 84, the top for any elementary school in DPS.

The Steele Street campus opened in August 2016 as a turnaround school, restarting the previously lowest academically performing elementary school in DPS. What an achievement—congratulations teachers, students and staff!

Parents, teachers and students, have a wonderful school year!

Have school news? Email editor@denvermetromedia.com.