Rachel B. Noel Middle School will be formally dedicated in a ceremony beginning at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 31.

Members of the Board of Education, Denver Public Schools administrative staff, parents, students and community members will all take place in the ceremony, celebrating the opening of one of four new schools that debuted in the district this school year.

The dedication ceremony will include a dance presentation, theater, singing, remarks from Rachel B. Noel, and the formal ribbon cutting.

Rachel B. Noel Middle School is located at 5290 Kittridge St. in Denver.

The 142,818-square-foot building serves about 900 students in its 39 classrooms. Rachel B. Noel Middle School includes a state-of-the-art auditorium that can accommodate 350 people.

The school is named after the first African-American to serve on the Denver Public Schools' Board of Education. With her successful campaign and election, Rachel Noel also became the first African-American woman elected to public office in Colorado.

While Mrs. Noel is well-known for her many contributions to the city of Denver and the state of Colorado, she is best known for the "Noel Resolution." The Noel Resolution was presented to the Board of Education on April 25, 1968. It called for the school district to provide equal educational opportunity for all children. The Resolution called for the superintendent to develop a plan to integrate the school system. In the end, the resolution was passed in February 1970.

Mrs. Noel was a professor at Metropolitan State College, and chairperson of the African-American Studies Department. She was honored with the formation of the Rachel B. Noel Distinguished Professorship in 1981. A visiting professor is named each year to conduct classes, seminars and workshops for students, faculty and the community.

The three other new schools that opened this year in the district are Lena Lovato Archuleta Elementary School, Bruce Randolph Middle School and Lowry Elementary School. All four are among 10 new schools built with the $305 million bond approved by voters in 1998.

Noel Middle School’s telephone number is (303) 371-6333. To reach Noel Middle School, exit Interstate 70 at Chambers Road, go north to 48th Avenue, turn right (east) on 48th Ave. to Kittridge St. and turn left (north) to the school.