Denver Public Schools, with 89,000 students at 198 schools, is the state’s largest school district. Four out of seven seats on its board of education are open, which could mean a possible change in the district’s direction.
There are few opportunities to see the candidates debate, so Denverite is providing snapshots of candidates’ views based on a debate hosted by Chalkbeat Colorado, CBS Colorado and EDUCATE Denver. The entire debate can be watched here.
The debate focused on several issues:
- Candidates weighed in on Superintendent Alex Marrero’s job performance and the split decision by the board in May to extend his contract, which wasn’t to expire until June next year.
- Low birth rates and high home prices are fueling declining school enrollment, which forced the board to close seven schools last year and reconfigure three others. Candidates offered opinions on a new board policy preventing the superintendent using standardized test scores as the “sole” condition for consolidation and whether low enrollment should be a factor.
- School safety became a top issue two years ago after a student shot and wounded two administrators at East High School. That prompted the district to revamp the guidelines for student discipline and led to a contentious 2023 vote to reinstate school resource officers following a period of increased gun violence in the city. The issue also led to debates about the pressure schools face to enroll students some see as potentially dangerous and students who bring guns to school.
- While Denver Public Schools’ academic performance has largely recovered from the pandemic, there are still gaping achievement gaps between students of color and white students. Candidates talked about their plan to address disparities that date back decades.
- Candidates discussed charter schools — public schools that are independently run — an issue that deeply divided board candidates until recently. About one in four students in DPS attends a charter school.
- Candidates also talked about the district’s protection of immigrant students from federal immigration enforcement actions and whether they support all-gender bathrooms and limiting public comment at board meetings.
Candidates and their responses are listed in alphabetical order by last name.
At-large candidates
For the district’s at-large seat, the candidates are Alex Magaña and Amy Klein Molk. A third candidate, Deborah Sims Fard, withdrew from the race in early October.
Alex Magaña is a veteran DPS math teacher and administrator and is currently the executive director of the Beacon Network Schools, which oversees two middle schools in Denver. He is endorsed by Denver Families Action, a nonprofit focused on public education that receives substantial funding from City Fund, focused on expanding charter schools and other education reforms.
Amy Klein Molk is an entrepreneur and former classroom aide who founded an ed-tech company during the COVID-19 pandemic. She is endorsed by the Denver Classroom Teachers Association, the union representing teachers in Denver. Its political arm also supports candidates.
School closures and declining enrollment
Both candidates opposed closing schools based solely on test scores or enrollment.
Magaña said the district needs to be proactive in working with the city and other officials to understand population trends. He said the district has known for 10 years it was going to face declining enrollment but didn’t act until now.
Molk said schools should be evaluated on a variety of data points, including students’ academic growth, attendance, and how students are doing emotionally and socially.
School safety
Neither candidate supports having armed police officers inside high schools. Molk said her focus would be on bolstering mental health resources, lowering class sizes and moving the district to a restorative justice model.
Magaña also supports investing in mental health and alternative supports. He advocates for more training for teachers to spot signs that a student is afraid and expanded use of the anonymous reporting system Safe2Tell.
Molk supports a cell phone ban in DPS schools; Magaña doesn’t.
Superintendent Alex Marrero’s record
Magaña said Marrero is doing the job he was hired to do, but he said the goals need to be clearer and called for a public scorecard showing academic progress for each student group. He also said the board hasn’t done an adequate job of holding the superintendent accountable on school safety and academic gaps.
Molk said Marrero has met goals laid about by the board and guided the district in recovery from the pandemic. She argued for more input from principals, teachers and the community in a superintendent’s evaluation and the district’s vision.
Both agreed that the school board should hire its own attorney when negotiating the superintendent’s contract.
Achievement gaps and equity
Denver has a persistent achievement gap between white students and Black and Latino students, as well as between students living in poverty and their wealthier peers.
Magaña said closing these gaps is a high priority. He noted that his schools partnered with outside organizations and focused on teacher training to increase academic growth in students of color.
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Molk said there needs to be a more “culturally responsive” curriculum that relates to kids’ backgrounds, adding that DPS should recruit teachers who understand students’ cultural backgrounds. She supports allocating more of the district’s budget to the student with the highest needs. Magaña noted that the state budget already allocates funds based on student need, but he stressed the need to make sure money from the recent bond package is distributed equitably.
School choice and charter schools
Both candidates said charter schools are part of the public-school system and parents should have the ability to choose the school they want. They agreed that parents aren’t worried about what model the school is — they just want high quality schools. The goal of the district is to make sure each one of those schools is meeting students’ needs.
District 2: Southwest Denver
For the District 2 race, the candidates are incumbent Xóchitl "Sochi" Gaytán and challenger Mariana del Hierro.
Xóchitl "Sochi" Gaytán was first elected to the board in 2019. She is a DPS graduate and is a real estate agent working mostly with Spanish-speaking clients. She is endorsed by the Denver Classroom Teachers Association.
Mariana del Hierro is the executive director of a community-led food access non-profit Re:Vision and is endorsed by Denver Families Action.
Latino achievement gap
Gaytán said she and Marrero immediately rolled out the recommendations of the district’s La Raza report, including creating a Latine Student Success Team and setting ambitious goals for Latino students, educators and families. She defended the district’s record in southwest Denver, noting that 60 percent of schools there are rated in the state’s top green category. She wants more multilingual education and community hubs that provide social support for families.
Del Hierro said her main focus would be raising achievement for Latino students, citing the La Raza report’s findings that there are significant barriers to Latino students’ success. She noted that in 22 out of 35 schools in District 2, less than 40 percent of students are performing on grade level. She wants to see a “Latinx Excellence” strategy similar to the district’s “Black Excellence” strategy where the district has measurable goals rooted in data.
School closures and charter schools
Gaytán said she wouldn’t vote to close a school because of low test scores, and she accused charter schools of “siphoning” off students from neighborhood schools. She said charter schools operate with “little to no accountability” and have “abusive work conditions.”
Del Hierro said she supports all schools — charter and neighborhood — and said all schools should be held to the same academic standards.. Before voting to close a school, she said, the board needs to analyze what support has been provided to the school and help the community better understand shifting demographics.
Superintendent and board trust
Gaytán expressed strong support for Marrero's job performance and noted rising graduation rates. She also defended renewing his contract early.
Del Hierro doesn’t think Marrero has done enough to boost Latino academic performance. She said his contract should not have been renewed “without a proper evaluation.”
School safety and immigration
Gaytán said she voted to return school resource officers to middle and high schools after a hiatus, but she said they are there to build trust and prevent harm, not police students. She supports expanded mental health support for students and more counselors.
Del Hierro supports comprehensive anti-bullying programs and stronger accountability measures to track and respond to students who bring guns to school and getting them the mental health support they need. She did not say anything about SROs.
Del Hierro praised the district’s work supporting immigrant students during federal immigration raids that took place near schools last year but suggested offering additional transportation for families who don’t feel safe taking their kids to school. Gaytán said she came to the U.S. undocumented from Mexico and helped implement “Know Your Rights” training in schools to confront “the fascist federal administration.”
District 3: Central Denver
For the District 3 race, the candidates are Caron Blanke, Scott Esserman and DJ Torres, . The seat is currently held by board president Carrie Olson, who is term-limited and cannot run for re-election.
Caron Blanke previously directed the Jewish Community Center’s early childhood program and is currently an early childhood consultant. She is endorsed by Denver Families Action.
Scott Esserman is currently an at-large board member, a seat to which he was elected four years ago. He is now running for re-election in District 3, where he resides. He was a classroom teacher for more than 20 years.
DJ Torres is a former DPS special education teacher who has also led DPS and city equity initiatives and currently works at a gun-violence prevention nonprofit. He is endorsed by the Denver Classroom Teachers Association.
Academic achievement and charter schools
Blanke said the achievement gap between white students and students of color is one of the district’s biggest issues. She said she would “demand radical transparency” in performance data. She said charter schools and innovation schools are serving students of color best, a claim rejected by Esserman.
Esserman called the charter school debate a divisive one and an “adult issue” that is not about kids. He said data show all school models have schools doing well and have schools that are not doing well. He said though the district just received a “green” rating, it’s not good enough and DPS must continue working to make sure all students are where they should be.
Torres said when he was a DPS leader he helped develop the Black Excellence plan to boost Black students’ achievement. He said charter schools are part of the “DPS family of schools” but is troubled that some don’t serve students with disabilities.
School closures and declining enrollment
The three candidates wouldn’t close schools based on test scores alone.
Blanke would make sure the data and metrics used to decide school closures are transparent and that schools are being “utilized to the best capacity they can be.”
Esserman said the district needs to tackle declining enrollment equitably. Subsidizing smaller schools hurts all students, he said.
Torres said communities can’t be punished by school closures linked to gentrification and systemic inequality.
Superintendent and trust in the board
Blanke said she had great concerns about the superintendent’s performance, his lack of presence in the community, and the board’s decision to extend his contract early. She said the board has lost community trust.
Esserman said the district is on the right path. He said Marrero is not doing a “perfect” job but defended his leadership on developing community hubs (support centers for families) and boosting academic growth to bring the district a “green” state rating for the second time in its history.
Torres also questioned the lack of community feedback in the contract extension but said Marrero is doing a “fine job,” though there is more to be done. His top priority is to restore trust in the board.
District 4: Far-northeast Denver
The District 4 race has four candidates: Jeremy Harris, Monica Hunter, Timiya Jackson and incumbent Michelle Quattlebaum.
Jeremy Harris is a mortician who has served on his son’s school PTA and volunteers to read with students once a week.
Monica Hunter is a DPS graduate and former DPS teacher who works as the director of human and civil rights for the Colorado Education Association. She has been endorsed by the Denver Classroom Teachers Association.
Timiya Jackson has been a before- and after-school program coordinator and served as dean of students at a DPS charter school that closed due to low enrollment. She is a dropout prevention specialist.
Michelle Quattlebaum is a former high school family liaison, special education classroom aide and community mental health advocate and won the seat on the board four years ago.
Academic achievement and equity
Jeremy Harris called for investing in reading and math specialists, teacher training and early childhood education.
Monica Hunter advocated for creative ways to lobby for more school funding, saying it’s critical to boosting academic achievement and ensuring students feel safe.
Michelle Quattlebaum said the district is making progress, noting that a special focus on Black students has resulted in academic gains. She advocated for continuing that focus and more mental health support.
Timiya Jackson advocated for stronger collaboration between the board and community and emphasized igniting students’ passions at a young age because she said many students lack a sense of belonging in school.
School safety
Harris advocated for installing metal detectors and conducting random backpack checks at “high need schools.” He said a child with a weapon should be given resources in an alternative setting.
Hunter said metal detectors in schools would criminalize Black and Latino students and advocated for better mental health support and smaller class sizes.
Jackson highlighted her work on policies to give students who show up with weapons an alternative place to learn. She also called for regular conversations with students, educators and principals “to make sure we are getting the solution correct the first time.”
Quattlebaum highlighted her recommendation that all schools get a safety assessment and her advocacy for a policy that reminds parents about safe gun storage. She also supported money in the recent bond package for cameras and secure entrances.
Superintendent performance and the board’s work
Harris said Marrero is not performing as highly as he’d want but criticized the board for holding him accountable with “vague goals.”
Hunter criticized the superintendent evaluation process and wants faster progress for Black and Latino students.
Jackson questioned why the renewal of the superintendent’s contract was fast-tracked and why the specifics around performance metrics aren’t public.
Quattlebaum said the district is doing “OK” but defended Marrero’s record, saying the district had pushed the graduation rate over 80 percent, implemented dyslexia screening before third grade and raised teachers' pay.
Charter schools
All candidates supported charter schools but some were critical of outside influence and a lack of accountability.
Harris said he supports any school that serves students at the highest level.
Hunter supported parents' right to choose a school that fits their child but criticized out-of-state charter school money in local elections. She said schools that “kick those students out that you don’t want to deal with” after the October count need to be held accountable. (Schools are funded based on the number of students they have during the October count.)
Jackson said all schools need to be held to high expectations with clear targets for academic outcomes.
Quattlebaum said she’ll advocate for every student regardless of the governance model.
