Press Release

Denver Teacher Project Expands Ability To Recruit And Hire High-Quality Teachers; No Restriction To Turn Away Qualified Candidates Exists

May 25, 2001

Denver Public Schools is responsible for selecting teacher candidates from the Denver Teacher Project candidate pool and is under no obligation to turn away trained teachers, Superintendent Bernadette Seick said today.

Superintendent Seick's comments came in the wake of a Thursday discussion about the Denver Teacher Project with the Board of Education.

During that informal discussion, staff inaccurately described the relationship with the Denver Teacher Project. In addition, the information provided may have left some confusion about the project's role in the district's hiring process.

"Denver Public Schools hired The New Teacher Project to help us ensure that the district is not dealing with a teacher shortage like the one we faced last August," said Superintendent Seick. "We continue to be very pleased and are confident this partnership will be successful in filling targeted areas where we need teachers. The applicant pool has been excellent in terms of quantity and quality and we are very confident we will meet our goal of filling Denver classrooms with the best teachers we can find."

To clarify several key points, Superintendent Seick said today:

• Denver Public Schools alone has the authority to offer and sign contracts with teacher candidates from The Denver Teacher Project. The district continues to have direct input into the teacher selection process through reviewing applications, interviewing candidates, and choosing qualified candidates for openings.
  
• Specific hiring goals are included in the plan with the New Teacher Project. Those include goals to hire teachers for math, science, and bilingual classrooms. Those goals are being met.
  
• Denver Teacher Project candidates do not - and will not - take the place of licensed, credentialed teachers.

The launch of the Denver Teacher Project in March was geared to mobilize 100 exceptional professionals to commit to teach in Denver Public Schools. The process is highly selective; more than 1,300 applications are now being evaluated.

Those selected to participate in the program will receive intensive training over the summer prior to beginning work in August. Training provided for the new teachers will include hands-on experience in existing DPS summer schools, mentoring from DPS faculty, and targeted professional development.

Once in the classroom, new teachers will receive a regular teaching salary and enrollment in The Denver Public Schools' Teacher in Residence Program, including coursework with Metropolitan State College. Participants receive a teacher's license at the completion of the requirements of the two-year program.