Author: Melanie Asmar Chalkbeat Colorado

The Denver school board paid board Vice President Auon’tai Anderson a $3,500 settlement in March, according to school district records. Anderson said the payment represents reimbursement for legal expenses he incurred during a 2021 sexual misconduct investigation, in which the most serious allegations were not substantiated. Yet the board president said the board never voted…

Students have been back in Denver Public Schools for just two days, but already several schools are curtailing their hours due to high outdoor temperatures and no air conditioning. At least 14 schools released students early Tuesday as temperatures soared into the high 90s for the second day in a row. Denver hit 99 degrees…

Tickets and arrests of students at 13 Denver Public Schools campuses were lower when police officers were not stationed inside the school buildings than when they were, according to state and local data from the 2019-20 and 2022-23 school years. The data backs a key criticism of school resource officers, which is that they increase…

Specialized Colorado schools that serve students with intense behavioral, mental health, and special education needs are closing because they don’t have enough funding. Over the past five years, the number of these schools, known as facility schools, has shrunk by 30%. The decrease strains public school districts that rely on facility schools to help children…

Denver will shut down its pandemic-era online elementary school at the end of this school year, district officials announced at a school board meeting Monday. Parents and teachers pleaded to save the school, describing the range of students who have benefitted, including neurodiverse students who find in-person classes overstimulating, students with high anxiety, those whose…

Five Denver schools recommended for closure could get a temporary reprieve. Denver Public Schools Superintendent Alex Marrero announced late Thursday that he was changing his recommendation. Out of 10 schools initially recommended for closure, five are still a high priority to close because they get the largest budget subsidies, he said in a press release.…

Eight Denver elementary schools, one K-8 school, and one middle school could close at the end of this school year if the school board follows recommendations Superintendent Alex Marrero announced Tuesday. The 10 schools would consolidate with other schools in the district. All 10 of the schools are district-run schools. The school board will hear…