Denver Public Schools students will be laying out their best fits for the first day of school on Sunday night while their parents or guardians figure out how to shake off the summer routines to prepare for early morning drop offs.
A few things have changed heading into the 2023-24 school year, and some families may have last-minute questions or concerns, so we thought we'd gather some helpful information for them.
Here are a few things DPS families should keep in mind about the start of the school year:
Armed officers are back at high schools. Here's where they will be posted:
The Denver Police Department (DPD) will be placing 14 school resources officers (SROs) in 13 schools (East High School gets an extra SRO because it's the largest high school). There will also be three floating officers who will bounce around the district as needed. This is the same number of SROs and the same schools that had SROs to close out the 2022-2023 school year. Here are the list of schools:
- East HS (2 SROs)
- West High School
- North High School
- South High School
- Manual High School
- Thomas Jefferson High School
- George Washington High School
- Abraham Lincoln High School
- John F. Kennedy High School
- Montbello High School
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Early College
- Northfield High School
- Evie Dennis Campus
SROs were originally removed from schools in 2020 following a push over concerns about the over policing of Black and brown students.
But earlier this year, after a shooting at East High School and a lengthy public debate, the school board voted four to three on bringing armed police back to Denver schools.
"My message to [parents] is that [SROs] are there for positive engagement," DPD Chief Ron Thomas said. "They are there to be mentors, friends, to be advocates to these students. And that we are going to continue to keep our eye on the data. We have agreed with Denver Public Schools to share that data so we can monitor our behavior and make sure that we're not unnecessarily introducing children into the criminal justice system or that we're not disproportionately citing a particular portion of the student population."
Going into the school year, officers completed a 40-hour NASRO Basic SRO training, a Colorado Peace Officer Standard Training requirement, according to DPD. Some parents have expressed concerns that 40-hours isn't enough, to which Chief Thomas responded:
"All of our officers have gone through a 27-week academy in which they have learned de-escalation techniques. It's more than 40-hours of training that each officer brings into a school, it's actually a lifetime of experiences as well."
One of the SROs for the upcoming school year is Officer Tim Cueva who has been with DPD for 22 years and who will be returning to Thomas Jefferson High School for his 13th year as an SRO.
According to Cueva, an SRO is responsible for being available: answering questions and giving advice to staff, being in the hallways, at times being guest speakers in classrooms, meeting with the school mental health team and their regular patrol duties. As before, SROs will not be involved in school discipline situations.
"We recognize that there were a lot of citations that were issued previously and played a role in the removal of SROs." Thomas said. "We have really looked closely at that and have identified a number of alternatives to citation that we will be moving forward with, also working well with the schools to use their restorative justice practices that are in place."
Free school meals for all students.
All students in DPS will have access to free school meals for the 2023-2024 school year thanks to a new voter-approved program is called "Healthy School Meals For All." More than 178 school districts in Colorado are participating.
Families still need to complete the "You Benefit!" form (formerly known as the Meals Application) to ensure DPS gets access to available federal funding. Only one form is required for all children in a household.
Which schools are closed for the 2023-2024 school year?
These six district schools are closed:
- American Indian Academy of Denver
- STRIVE Prep - Kepner
- STRIVE Prep - Lake
- Fairview Elementary School
- Denver Discovery School
- Math and Science Leadership Academy
The closure of STRIVE Prep - Kepner came as a surprise as it is the first charter school to have been voted by the Denver school board to close since 2011 for low test scores. The American Indian Academy of Denver closed its doors after only two years in operation due to low enrollment, revenue and high costs.
Sun Valley's Fairview Elementary was closed due to low enrollment, but Superintendent Alex Marrero has mentioned the possibility of re-engaging the school if the numbers are there. Fairview was merged with Cheltenham Elementary and MSLA was merged with Valverde for the 2023-2024 school year.
Later start time and transportation cuts
In May 2021, the DPS Board of Education passed a resolution that changes when school starts. Dubbed "Healthy Start Times," the idea is that a later start time will result in well-rested middle and high schoolers leading to better attendance rates, better academic outcomes, reduced caffeine use, fewer instances of depression and fewer car accidents.
However, since buses will be transporting middle and high school students later in the day, elementary schoolers will be starting earlier in the day.
Middle and high school students will start no earlier than 8:20 a.m. Elementary schoolers, depending on their school, will start at 7:30, 8:05 or 8:50 a.m. End times are determined by the schools length of day.
Click here to find the school specific bell times for the 2023-2024 school year.
Changing start times has also forced the district to cut 3% of its bus routes for the upcoming school year, affecting six out of its 204 DPS schools.
Morey Middle School and Denver School of the Arts had a portion of their bus services cut, while Denison Montessori, Denver Language School, Polaris and STRIVE - Sunnyside will experience full cuts.
Utilizations rates and Free and Reduced Lunch (FRL) percentages were considered when choosing which schools would experience transportation cuts.
RTD is free for students now.
Starting September 1, students 19 and under are eligible for free RTD bus and train rides as part of the new Zero Fare for Youth pilot program.
To board the bus or train, students will need to show a form of ID such as a current school ID, a valid government-issued ID, registration or permanent resident card, Military ID/dependent card with a date of birth or an RTD-issued youth special discount card.
