Welcome back students, teachers and parents! It’s already that time of year again: school will soon be back in full swing Aug. 21. Denver Public Schools will be rolling out a new back-to-school campaign, which begins 20 days prior to the first day of school. You can take a look at daily tips at #back2schooltools or on Twitter at @DPSNewsNow or Facebook at @DenverPublicSchools. All tips will be compiled on the DPS website at backtoschool.dpsk12.org as they are released.
As we start the new academic year, it’s good to celebrate past accomplishments. Chief among those: DPS now has a graduation rate of 64.8 percent, and the dropout rate has gone down to only 4.6 percent! By comparison, the national average, according to an Oct. 27 Washington Post article is 83.2 percent.
Additionally, DPS is working to become a leader in school-to-work programs, and Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock was on hand at Sports Authority Field to celebrate the success of the Youth Workforce Initiative Friday, July 21. The DPS CareerLaunch Internship program connects students with businesses for internships while also cultivating a highly-trained and diverse workforce for Denver companies post-graduation. This past summer, nearly 300 DPS high school students worked in cutting-edge industries across Denver and performed real work at more than 100 companies, including Xcel Energy, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Home Advisor. Interns built websites, helped deliver babies, visited construction sites, created mobile apps and more.
DPS recognized the interns and company partners at the CareerLaunch internship celebration, and students presented their internship projects during an interactive showcase, followed by an awards ceremony. Mayor Hancock was on hand to congratulate the 300 interns and present one student with the prestigious “CareerLaunch Intern of the Year Award.” Additional speakers included Tom Boasberg, DPS Superintendent, Steve Jaquith, Managing Director of United Airlines Denver Hub, Chris Jensen, Region Manager for the Commercial Bank in Colorado, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Andrea Young, CEO of Colorado Technology Association. One of the five goals in the district’s strategic plan—the Denver Plan 2020—is to ensure students graduate college- and career-ready and are prepared for their futures.
DPS has decided to purchase smaller buses as a bigger savings for the district. Currently, DPS buses transport more than 20,000 students every school day. Rider participation varies at each school, so many buses are full, while some only carry a handful of students at a time. Transportation Services is adding 14-passenger school buses to provide transportation to those schools with fewer student riders, which will save public funds by reducing fuel costs. “DPS Transportation created Non-CDL positions to support our efforts to optimize our bus service and use our CDL drivers more effectively,” said Nicole Portee, the executive director of transportation. “Non-CDL drivers will be used to transport student loads of 14 or fewer students while our CDL drivers will transport loads of 15 or more students to and from school.” DPS is currently hiring new drivers for these vehicles. For more information about driving opportunities with DPS, go to dpstransportationjobs.com.
There’s not a lot of school-specific news just yet, but McKinley-Thatcher Elementary (1230 Grant St.) did report it will have its Open House Thursday, Aug. 17, 5:30p.m.-6:30p.m. The open house will give students an opportunity to visit their new classrooms and teachers, and there will be a PTA Meet & Greet at 6:30p.m. There will be food trucks, music and a movie on the playground! Go to mckinleythatcher.dpsk12.org or call 720-424-5600 for more information.
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