Dear DPS Community,
The 2025-26 school year kicked off with a historic celebration after we earned the accredited (green) rating on the state’s district performance framework. This rating was a reflection of the hard work, resilience and dedication shown by our students, educators, school leaders and support staff across the district. It marked a major milestone in significant improvement and at the same time, serves as a reminder that we still have much work to do to reach our vision of Every Learner Thrives.
In looking ahead for the 2026-27 school year, there are three major initiatives to highlight.
Our New Strategic Roadmap
This year marked the fourth and final year of our current Strategic Roadmap. We are deep in development of our next four-year Roadmap and have been engaging in passionate conversations with students, teachers, school leaders and community partners to craft student-focused priorities that will guide our next four years of work. I look forward to sharing the new Roadmap with you all this fall.
A New Communication Devices Policy
When we return in the fall, we will have a new communication devices policy. The policy focuses on student access to communication devices (such as cellphones, headphones, smart watches, etc.) during school hours as required by Colorado HB25-1135. The Board of Education is set to vote on the policy at their June 8 meeting and the policy will then go into effect July 1. Expect to receive communications about this policy and what it means for you as a DPS family, student or employee prior to the start of the new school year.
The Redrawing Our District Equitably (RODE) Initiative
This initiative’s goal is to ensure that school boundaries and enrollment zones are drawn to allow every student — regardless of their zip code — equitable access to schools that best fit their needs. While spring engagement events have wrapped, we will have opportunities in the fall for regional engagement and school-based engagement. If you have not already, I encourage you to share your feedback via the spring survey, which closes Friday, June 5. For more information about what the redrawing process is going to look like, visit the RODE website.
We are building the future of DPS together and I thank you for your continued partnership and sharing in the collective ownership of our scholars’ success. In expressing my gratitude for every person who makes this work possible, I want to give special thanks to our outgoing Deputy Superintendent, Dr. Tony Smith, for his years of dedication serving our schools. Dr. Lora De La Cruz will carry this work forward as our Interim Deputy Superintendent of Schools.
Have a great summer break and be sure to check the summer offerings page for available programming and resources.
In collaboration,
Dr. Alex Marrero
Superintendent