Honoring Black History Month

NEWS & UPDATES

Winter | Issue 42 | Date: February 21, 2024

Funding Great Schools. Rooted in Community.

Above: Black History Month door-decorating contest entries at Rocky Mountain Prep: Green Valley Ranch

Celebrating Black History Month

At RootED Denver, one of our guiding principles is Prioritizing Racial Equity. We work throughout the year to ensure opportunity and success for students who have been historically underserved in public education, including Black students. Black History Month provides a great opportunity to honor Black history and celebrate Black excellence, and spotlight the meaningful and impactful work happening throughout the community. Here are a few examples:

Superintendent Dr. Alex Marrero’s recent social media spotlights on Black educators in Denver Public Schools

Achieving Excellence Academy’s cultural identity and ethnic studies summer program for 9th-11th graders.

5280 Freedom School Summer Program, a free, empowering 2-week program for Black children in Denver.

Colorado Media Project: As a partner in this project, RootED is committed to elevating the voices of those who are frequently underrepresented in our community in order to foster a more diverse and inclusive media landscape.

Denver Public Library’s extensive list of books, music and movie recommendations, all centered around Black History Month.

DPS Honors Victoria

Victoria Scott-Haynes, RootED’s Partner of Community Relations and Administration, was presented with a surprise proclamation in her honor at the February 12 DPS board of education meeting. The proclamation celebrates Victoria’s “unparalleled depth of knowledge about DPS, combined with her exemplary dedication, integrity, and unwavering commitment to achieving equity for every student” making her “a beacon of inspiration and guidance for students and educators alike.” Congratulations, Victoria!

Downtown Denver Expeditionary School is a

9News Cool School!

Downtown Denver Expeditionary School (DDES) had a chance to shine when they were featured as January’s 9News Cool School. A K-5 public charter school located in a unique downtown Denver setting, DDES prides itself on its Expeditionary Learning curriculum.

“In an expeditionary learning school, we do a lot of fieldwork and adventure,” principal Aubrey Wilk said. “We really try to figure out what is an issue that is relevant to our community, looking at the standards and thinking, ‘How can we learn this through a problem that is relevant to the community?’”

DDES considers the city as its campus, meaning students are often out exploring Denver and learning to apply their classroom learning to real-world issues. Students are taught to take ownership of their education and are encouraged to apply their unique skills to everyday learning. Watch the video to learn more about DDES through the eyes of photojournalist Byron Reed and reporter Courtney Yuen:

Watch the 9News DDES Feature

DPS SchoolChoice

Round 1 of DPS SchoolChoice ended on February 12. Families should expect to hear choice results in late March. Round 2 of Choice begins on April 10, allowing another opportunity for those who didn’t participate in Round 1 or those who would like to consider other school options. See more details about participating in Round 2 here.

Mile High School Guide: a great resource for SchoolChoice!

After extensive community collaboration, RootED is thrilled to share Mile High School Guide, an online tool for the community. The guide provides detailed information about DPS schools, allowing users to view and compare academic information, student and teacher demographics, social-emotional supports, enrichment opportunities, and more. The community feedback has been positive and very helpful, allowing us to continue improving this resource in order to make sure it fits the needs of families. Also- check out Chalkbeat Colorado's in-depth article about Mile High School Guide here.