News Release
August 5, 2004
Denver Public Schools and City of Denver "Pitch" Opening Day of School August 16
Standing with Denvers elected officials and city staff on home plate today at an empty Coors Field, Superintendent Jerry Wartgow announced that opening day for Denver Public Schools is Monday, August 16.
"Right now, there are over 50,000 empty seats in this stadium," said Superintendent Wartgow. "There are enough students in Denver Public Schools to fill this stadium one and a half times. We don't want to see any empty seats on opening day in Denver Public Schools."
The first day of school for all early childhood education, elementary, sixth-grade and ninth-grade students is Monday, August 16. The next day - Tuesday, August 17 - is the first day of school for all other middle and high school students.
To help improve achievement for all students, Denver Public Schools is asking the community to help get all students to school from the first day forward. Last year, almost 3,000 students registered for school in the first six weeks after opening day.
"We've set high expectations for all of us - students, parents, staff and the community - to improve the performance of all students and close achievement gaps," said Superintendent Wartgow. "We can't work toward those goals if students aren't in school."
To increase awareness of opening day in Denver Public Schools, schools have posted yard signs announcing the first day of school. Advertisements will run in community newspapers, and Spanish radio stations will run public service announcements. In addition, public libraries in Denver have been distributing first-day-of school bookmarks, and next week, families in Denver Public Schools will receive a recorded phone message from Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper reminding them of opening day.
The Denver Police Department also has pledged its support. Officers will be on hand at elementary schools the morning of Monday, Aug. 16 to meet and greet students and families.
"New and returning students should register now at their school," said Wartgow. "A missed day of school is missed learning."
Students enrolling for the first time in Denver Public Schools will need to bring: verification of the child's date of birth (birth certificate or other documentation); immunization records; proof of home address (something mailed to the home address, such as a utility bill or copy of a lease); and the name and address of the previous school (if the student is transferring from another school district).
Wartgow made a special note at the ball field today that new this year, Denver's high school students will ride RTD instead of DPS yellow buses to school. High school students who are eligible for transportation must have a DPS-RTD student pass to ride a bus to school. Eligible students may pick up a free DPS-RTD student bus pass at their high school during scheduled registration dates or during walk-in registration at their high school on Monday and Tuesday, Aug. 9 and 10.
In March, the Denver Board of Education unanimously voted to replace traditional DPS yellow buses for high school students with RTD service and extend the high school day. By not relying on the inflexible schedules of yellow buses, high schools can offer more educational choices to students by keeping the 7:30 a.m. start time and staying open later.
About Denver Public Schools
Schools: 153
Elementary: 83
K-8 Schools: 6
Middle: 20
High: 14
Charter: 17
Other: 6
Alternative: 7
2003-2004 Student Enrollment: 72,489
American Indian: 1.2%
Black: 18.9%
Asian: 3.1%
Hispanic: 57.0%
White: 19.7%
For more information, contact the DPS Public Information Office at 720-423-3414.