News Release
January 6, 2006
Denver Board Of Education And City Council Host Six Community Forums This Month About Draft Of "The Denver Plan" - Additional Public Meetings Also Planned
The Denver Board of Education and the Denver City Council will host six community forums this month to gather feedback about the 82-page draft of "The Denver Plan" that proposes a host of reforms for Denver Public Schools.
At each of the six forums, Superintendent Michael Bennet will present the draft of The Denver Plan and attendees will have the opportunity to share feedback. Spanish interpretation will be available. The forums are:
NORTHWEST DENVER: 7:30-8:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 12 at 2701 Alcott St., Room 280; hosted by Board Member Reverend Lucia Guzman and Councilman Rick Garcia.
SOUTHEAST DENVER: 7:30-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 17 at South High School, Room 309, 1700 E. Louisiana Ave.; hosted by Board Vice President Bruce Hoyt and Councilmembers Carol Boigon, Charlie Brown, Peggy Lehmann and Kathleen MacKenzie.
SOUTHWEST DENVER: 5:30-6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 24 at Abraham Lincoln High School, Community Room, 2285 S. Federal Blvd.; hosted by Board Member Michelle Moss and Councilmembers Carol Boigon, Jeanne Faatz and Rosemary Rodriguez.
EAST-CENTRAL DENVER: 7:30-8:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 26 at Teller Elementary School, Auditorium, 1150 Garfield St.; hosted by Board Secretary Jeannie Kaplan and Councilmembers Marcia Johnson and Jeanne Robb.
NORTHEAST DENVER: 9:30-10:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 28 at the Green Valley Ranch Recreation Center, 4890 Argonne Way; hosted by Board Treasurer Kevin Patterson and Councilmembers Carol Boigon, Michael Hancock and Doug Linkhart. 7-8 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 31 at Park Hill K-8 School, 5050 E. 19th Ave.; hosted by Board Treasurer Kevin Patterson and Councilmembers Carol Boigon and Elbra Wedgeworth.
ADDITIONAL MEETINGS
Additional public meetings to discuss the draft of The Denver Plan also are planned throughout the city:
- 4-5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 10 at East High School, Commons Room, 1545 Detroit St.; hosted for students by the DPS Student Board of Education.
- 10-11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 14 at the District 5 Police Station in Montbello, 4685 Peoria St.; hosted by the Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation.
- 7-8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 18, at Remington Elementary School, 4735 Pecos St.; hosted by the Northwest Parents for Excellent Schools.
- 7:30-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 24 at the Children's Museum, 2121 Children's Museum Drive (I-25 at 23rd St. exit); hosted for parent organizations by Board member Michelle Moss.
- 7:30-9 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 25 at Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church, 1980 Dahlia St.; hosted for the community by the Denver League of Women Voters. The cost for the breakfast is $10; reservations are requested. For information, call 303- 321-7571.
ABOUT THE DENVER PLAN
The Denver Plan is meant to be a shared vision and commitment on behalf of the children in Denver. It is built to achieve three main goals:
- Our children will learn from a highly skilled faculty in every school and will be empowered by robust professional development and real-time assessment data.
- Highly trained principals and assistant principals will serve as instructional leaders of the faculty in DPS schools.
- Collaboration among the Denver community and all DPS stakeholders will support a safe, orderly and enriching environment in every school and classroom.
Superintendent Bennet has encouraged all DPS stakeholders and community members to review the draft of the plan, which is online (in English and Spanish) at thedenverplan.dpsk12.org and to email comments and suggestions by Tuesday, Jan. 31 to thedenverplan@dpsk12.org.
In addition, the Board of Education holds public comment sessions to listen to comments about student achievement, budget policy or matters currently under consideration by the Board. Each speaker has three minutes to speak, but groups of four or more people speaking on the same topic have 10 minutes collectively.
The next public comment session is at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19 at the DPS administration building, 900 Grant St. To sign up to speak, please call the Board Office at 720-423-3210 by 5 p.m. the day before the public comment session.
The Board of Education is expected to take action on the draft plan during its 4:30 p.m. meeting on Thursday, Feb. 2 at the DPS administration building, 900 Grant St.
THE DENVER PLAN ON TELEVISION
The January 2006 edition of "DPS Today," the monthly television show about Denver Public Schools on Denver cable 8, features a look at The Denver Plan. The program's guests are Superintendent Bennet and Chief Academic Officer Jaime Aquino, who initially rolled out the draft plan in late November, kicking off a two-month review process.
"DPS Today" can be seen on Denver cable 8 throughout the month at 8 a.m. every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday; at 8:30 p.m. every Friday and Saturday; and at 1:30 p.m. every Sunday.
Denver stations 22 and 48 also re-broadcast "DPS Today."" Channel 22 is the DPS channel on Comcast cable in Denver. Channel 48 is an ITFS microwave channel that is received only within DPS facilities and delivered on cable channel 48 in classrooms. The show airs on channels 22 and 48 on the following schedule:
- 4:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Mondays
- 8 a.m., noon, 4:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Tuesdays
- Noon, 4:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Wednesdays
- 8 a.m., noon, 4:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Thursdays
- 4:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Fridays
- Noon, 4:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays
For information, contact the DPS Communications Office at 720-423-3414.