Tag: Denver Public School

Friday protest had parents scrambling for child care, leaving some frustrated and others inspired
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A nationwide grassroots protest that had teachers walking in support of immigrant families left parents across Denver expressing a mix of solidarity and frustration over the district’s decision to close some schools and early childhood education centers with little notice.

More than 1,100 teachers, roughly 20 percent of the workforce, called out.

On social media and in interviews, many parents said they supported educators’ walking out but struggled over the last-minute scramble to find child care so they could go to work. One nurse arrived home from her night shift to learn her early childhood center was closed.

Denver Public Schools, with 90,000 students, closed six campuses but announced a two-hour delayed start for other campuses. The district, however, canceled all early childhood programs and center-based programs for students with disabilities.

DPS responded that it was the goal of Superintendent Alex Marrero to provide school on Friday for all students across the district.

“So he waited until the last minute, hoping that the staff would be able to find a way to keep all schools open while providing a safe and welcoming environment for all students, but that wasn’t possible,” said spokesperson Scott Prible. “We understand that the late decision put some parents in a bind, and for that, we are sorry.”

Denver East High School students march from St. John’s Cathedral on Capitol Hill to the Colorado State Capitol, Jan. 30, 2026.
Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite

Chelsea Randall said that while she understood the reason for the walkout, the lack of notice had real consequences.

“Part of me really understands and wants to support the strike/protest, but as a health care worker who couldn’t casually take the day off, it was really stressful to work to find a last-minute arrangement.”

For many parents, the day began with frantic early-morning notifications that upended work schedules.

“I do understand that they have a right to do that, I guess, but it hurts a little that they do not realize that this affects people that already struggle, and one day off work makes a big difference in their finances,” one parent wrote on Facebook.

The situation was the most stressful for early childhood programs and programs for students with disabilities. The district said child programs in centers and based in schools have special staff licensing requirements that are different from other classes and grades. If they can’t meet those requirements because of staffing shortages, they have to close.

A large protest group, mostly made up of students, marches through downtown Denver on a general strike day across the nation against President Donald Trump’s deportation surge. Jan. 30, 2026.
Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite

Some parents at Isabella Bird school found out about the closure as they were leaving for work. Other parents said the district’s approach conflicted with its stated commitment to equity.

“I have a very difficult time when a district preaches that they believe in equity, but they don’t think about how this is going to impact the parents that really depend on this as their child care,” said parent Stephanie, who did not want to give her last name because of negative repercussions at work. “Very frustrating.”

Another Denver parent was out of state and has three children who attend three schools, each of whom had a different schedule on Friday.

“I understand wanting to send a message. I understand wanting to show support for the immigrant community being targeted with violence,” she said. “I am troubled that teachers wanted to do that in a way that feels chaotic, and am troubled that they chose not to do that in a way that supports my students.”
- Read: Demonstrations against ICE continue in Denver
Students with disabilities

Several families voiced concerns about how closures disproportionately impacted children with disabilities. One former educator of 16 years described the district’s decision to cancel center-based instruction for special needs programs as “unlawful” and a “civil rights violation.”

“The district office chose politics over students’ constitutional and civil rights,” said Wendy Chrisley Weeden. “By canceling education for children not even participating in the National Walkout while other classroom assignments continued, DPS effectively treated special needs students differently and denied them the opportunity to learn.”

A large protest group, mostly made up of students, marches through downtown Denver on a general strike day across the nation against President Donald Trump’s deportation surge. Jan. 30, 2026.
Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite

DPS’s Pribble said some centers require a small ratio, including one-to-one in some cases. Some special needs centers require a certified health provider to assist with feeding tubs and other needs.

“Rather than putting untrained employees in situations in which they could fail and negatively impact the students, the decision was made to close those centers,” he said. “The decision was not discriminatory; it was done with the best interest of our students in mind.”

Parents of children with chronic medical issues expressed frustration over the district’s rigid attendance policies during such “chaotic” events.

“If my student didn’t have to miss school often for a chronic medical issue (putting him in district cross hairs for attendance) we would have allowed them to stay home or go to the protest with friends,” said Emily Stone.. “The district’s predatory adherence to attendance policies during times like this is problematic.”

Supportive parents

One parent, Rev. Jenny Whitcher, saw the disruption as a necessary part of a social movement.

“Resisting state violence is definitely an inconvenience, but I don’t blame that on DPS or organizers; that blame squarely goes on our country’s current regime … What level of inconvenience and sacrifice are we willing to tolerate to protect each other?”

Sofia Solano, an Aurora parent who, unlike in Denver, had advance notice that Aurora Public Schools was closing, saw the day as a teaching moment for her children.

“To me, having ICE in Colorado and what’s happening in Minneapolis is far more of an inconvenience than having our kids out of school for one day.”

A freshman at East High School wears fuzzy rollerskates as she speaks to an enormous crowd gathered at La Alma-Lincoln Park in protest of President Donald Trump’s deportation surge on Jan. 30, 2026. This, she told them, was her first protest.
Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite

Some parents who work from home teamed up to rotate houses throughout the day so it wasn’t too much of a scramble. Danielle Eberly said she respects that many teachers at her Spanish immersion school are immigrants.

“I wanted to support them in their cause and not make it harder on the school,” she said.

Other parents whose schools stayed open but had limited staff said the community, parents, and former staff volunteered time to help with recess, lunch and transportation to an event. One parent said when Odyssey Elementary notified parents it would be closed, Craftsman & Apprentice stepped up with a donation-based day camp for kids.

In the future, parents hope they can get more notice of closures.

Randi Maves, who has a child in an early childhood center, said she wished the district had planned ahead.

“If they knew there were going to be potential teacher shortages, they should have aligned substitutes earlier in the week.”
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January 30, 2026
DPS pushes back on federal government’s deadline to convert all-gender bathroom

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FILE – East High School. Dec. 14, 2022.

Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite

Denver Public Schools have pushed back against the idea that the district is at an impasse with the government over demands about converting an all-gender bathroom back to single-sex facilities at a Denver high school.

In a letter sent to the U.S. Office of Civil Rights on Sunday, district officials said it’s tried several times to discuss a resolution with the government, but it has been unwilling. DPS, though, said it’s willing to discuss options with the federal government over East High School’s all-gender bathrooms — missing a deadline set by the U.S. Department of Education.

The district was given 10 days to comply with an order to change the bathrooms and other mandates. Instead, the district is asking the government to begin a 90-day resolution negotiation, the typical length the Office of Civil Rights gives to resolve complaints.

The crux of DPS’ argument is that Title IX does not prohibit the conversion of a girls’ restroom to an all-gender restroom. The federal government says it does.

On Aug. 28, the federal department of education notified DPS that it violated the Title IX civil rights law by converting a girls’ bathroom to one that is for all genders, which the federal government calls “discrimination” against female students. It ordered DPS to rescind district policies allowing students to use private spaces based on gender identity or face “imminent enforcement action.”

The following day, Denver Public Schools accused the government of “weaponizing” Title IX and called the ruling part of the administration’s “anti-trans agenda.”

Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in schools, states that districts “may provide separate toilet, locker room, and shower facilities on the basis of sex, but such facilities provided for students of one sex shall be comparable to such facilities provided for students of the other sex.”

‘Willingness to Engage in Negotiation For Resolution’

Sunday’s letter, titled “Willingness to Engage in Negotiation for Resolution,” DPS said it recognizes that a resolution is critical to avoid further unnecessary enforcement action and litigation and is committed to full compliance with Title IX and all applicable civil rights laws.

The letter details how its attempts to resolve the conflict have gone unanswered by the Office for Civil rights. It said its communications with the government were limited to two phone calls and a letter. In one call, DPS says it tried to understand how an all-gender bathroom was a Title IX violation, the investigator said “it would be premature to say.”

“This lack of a substantive response creates a sense of incredulity and concern, as the investigator was the named point of contact in this case,” wrote Kristin Bailey, senior counsel and Title IX coordinator for Denver Public Schools.

The U.S. Department of Education did not immediately respond to a request for comment on DPS’s statement.

The Office for Civil Rights argued in August’s finding that the conversion burdened East’s female students by leaving them without a single-sex restroom on that floor, while male students still had one. It said a female student reported that when her friend used the restroom “boys kept staring at her, looking her up and down, kind of taunting her.”

Lacking answers from OCR about the course of action it wanted the district to take, DPS said it pursued what it thought might remedy the situation. It converted a boy’s bathroom on the same floor to an all-gender bathroom to address the disparity.

But the Office for Civil Rights said this did not fix the problem. It said it “created a hostile environment for its students by endangering their safety, privacy, and dignity while denying them access to equal educational activities and opportunities.”

The district contends that the “new allegation” of a hostile environment was not investigated and is based on just three emails from non-direct witnesses.

It notes that the legal standard for a “hostile environment” is “unwelcome conduct [on the basis of sex] determined by a reasonable person to be so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to the District’s education program or activity.”

Similar Virginia cases

In a similar case, the federal government threatened to withhold millions in federal funds from five Northern Virginia school districts because the Office for Civil Rights found that the districts’ policies allowing students to use bathrooms and locker rooms based on “gender identity” rather than biological sex violated Title IX.

But on Friday, a federal judge dismissed lawsuits by two of the districts against the U.S. Department of Education. He ruled that the federal district court didn’t have the power to weigh in on how the federal government distributes money. He wrote that the matter was better suited for the Court of Federal Claims.

It’s unclear how that case will proceed. The districts can refile the case there or appeal to the Fourth Circuit, which has ruled that a school board discriminated against a transgender student by banning him from boys restrooms. The five Virginia districts say they’re following the law. They haven’t lost federal money yet but have been placed on “high risk status,” which means they have to pay for education expenses up front first, then ask for a reimbursement.

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September 8, 2025
DPS mom and former teacher Monica Hunter running to represent northeast Denver on school board

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Monica Hunter is running to represent northeast Denver’s District 4 on the school board.

Courtesy of Monica Hunter

This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters

By Melanie Asmar, Chalkbeat

A former Denver Public Schools teacher who graduated from DPS and whose children are current students is running to represent northeast Denver on the school board.

Monica Hunter is vying for the District 4 seat held by Michelle Quattlebaum, who is running for re-election. Hunter will face at least two other opponents as well.

Hunter, 37, said she decided to run because it has been frustrating to watch important decisions about school funding, mental health, and other issues being made by board members who have never been a DPS student or taught in a DPS classroom.

Hunter has been endorsed by the Denver Classroom Teachers Association.

“I entered the race sort of late because for me, this is not a stepping stone,” Hunter said. “I’m doing this out of a need. … I was hoping for someone to run that was connected more to kids and to families and to teachers, and that did not happen.”

Four seats on the seven-member Denver school board are up for grabs in the Nov. 4 election, which comes at a key time. Declining enrollment has led to more than a dozen school closures in the past two years, and a new policy for low-performing schools could lead to more closures.

The district’s graduation rate is up, but some students are still recovering from pandemic-era learning loss. In recent months, DPS has found itself targeted by the Trump administration over an all-gender restroom and its support for immigrant students. And the board recently ordered an investigation of one of its members over allegations of racial discrimination.

Born and raised in Denver, Hunter is a graduate of George Washington High School. She was a student teacher at Willow Elementary before getting a job as a first grade teacher at John H. Amesse Elementary. Hunter said the difference between the two DPS schools was glaring.

Willow had a new building, iPads for every student, and parents who raised enough money for the school to hire additional teachers, Hunter said. Amesse had none of that, she said, and was facing a potential closure vote by the school board due to low test scores.

“Closing a school and penalizing it for not having the same amount of resources, it just isn’t equitable,” Hunter said. “I cannot reduce any student or school to a test score. Does reading need to improve? Absolutely. … Do we need to close the achievement gap? Absolutely. Is shutting down their school really going to close it? No, it’s not.”

Amesse avoided closure, and Hunter took a job at Green Valley Elementary, a nearby DPS school where she stayed until she left teaching in 2020. Hunter now works as a director of human and civil rights for the Colorado Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union. In that role, she said she helped launch a mental health hotline for educators and a fellowship for teachers of color.

Hunter was active in her local union, the Denver Classroom Teachers Association, when she taught in Denver, helping to found DCTA’s Black Educator Caucus. The caucus advocated for teachers at semi-autonomous innovation schools to retain their union contract rights, a change the school board eventually adopted.

Hunter has a blended family of six children, five of whom will attend DPS in the fall. Her kids range in age from preschool to fifth grade, and Hunter said they attend a mix of traditional district-run and innovation schools. Her oldest attends a private school. Hunter declined to name the schools to protect her children’s privacy.

If elected, Hunter said she would prioritize keeping any budget cuts due to state or federal funding shortfalls from impacting DPS classrooms. She said she’d also prioritize providing mental health support to both students and educators.

“We cannot afford any more cuts to education and to classrooms,” Hunter said. “I just want to start there because I think people can promise a lot of things.”

Enrollment in DPS is expected to decline 8% by 2029, which could mean more school closures. Hunter said it would be “very hard” for her to vote to close a district-run school.

“I’d truly want to look at other solutions,” she said.

Hunter said she does not have a personal opinion on Superintendent Alex Marrero, but she questioned why the board renewed his contract in May before the district came to a tentative agreement with the union on a new teachers contract in June.

“From a parent lens, I did not understand the rush,” Hunter said. “We want good board members, we want superintendents who want to do a good job … but we can’t have a school without students and teachers and support staff. Those are the essential heart and soul of schools.”

Melanie Asmar is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Colorado. Contact Melanie at [email protected].

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August 18, 2025
Denver Public Schools releases new discipline matrix

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Denver Public Schools headquarters, March 23, 2023.

Hart Van Denburg/CPR News

This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters.

Melanie Asmar, Chalkbeat

Nearly a year and a half after a shooting inside Denver’s East High School ignited a community conversation about student discipline, Denver Public Schools publicly released new guidance Thursday on when students can be suspended or expelled.

The district’s new discipline matrix is a flowchart of sorts that spells out potential consequences for student behaviors ranging from horseplay to bringing a gun to school. District leaders have said the new matrix is less subjective and more specific than the last one, which was adopted in 2021 with an eye toward reducing student contact with police.

Moira Coogan, the principal of the North Engagement Center and president of the Denver School Leaders Association, said members of the principals union appreciate that the new matrix is more clear.

“There’s more specificity of the behaviors,” she said. “The definition at my school is the same as the definition down the street.”

Any lingering concerns, Coogan said, are about whether schools will get the resources and support to put the new matrix into practice. She said principals are “cautiously optimistic.”

The new matrix will go into effect this school year. Monday is the first day of school for most DPS students, though some charter and innovation schools started earlier.

The discipline matrix came under scrutiny after a March 2023 shooting at East because the 17-year-old gunman had been previously expelled from a neighboring school district. Although the matrix doesn’t address whether previously expelled students can enroll at a new school, some parents and community members called for the district to enact stricter discipline.

The new matrix is not necessarily more punitive. Even students who commit the most serious offenses — including bringing a gun to school, attempted homicide, and homicide — won’t be automatically expelled under the new matrix. Instead, such offenses will result in a mandatory request to expel the student, which could result in an expulsion or could not.

The new discipline matrix has seven levels of offenses instead of six. DPS Deputy Chief of Staff Deborah Staten told Chalkbeat earlier this year that the district added the seventh level, which includes homicide and attempted homicide, because “those are behaviors that happen in schools, so when we talked about this, we said, ‘Let’s call the thing the thing.’”

Level one offenses include behaviors such as horseplay, refusing to follow the directions of a staff member, or disturbing the learning environment, among others. Students can’t be suspended or expelled for a level one offense. Instead, the discipline matrix recommends the school put in place interventions and use restorative practices when possible.

Ike Ogbuike, a discipline program manager for DPS, said a restorative practice may look like a facilitated conversation between two students who are in conflict with each other. Such practices can be used instead of suspension for most offenses on the matrix, he said, but they can’t be used if a student commits a level six or seven offense, which are the most egregious.

Level two offenses include behavior such as bringing nicotine products to school, stealing or destroying property worth less than $499, or making “heat of the moment” threats. A student could receive a one-day in-school suspension for a level two offense.

Level three offenses include behavior such as possessing alcohol or marijuana at school, or verbally bullying or harassing someone. Younger students — those in preschool through third grade — could receive a two-day in-school suspension for a level three offense. Older students in fourth through 12th grade could be suspended out of school for one day.

Level four offenses include behavior such as physically bullying or harassing someone, indecent exposure, or agreeing to fight another student. Younger students could be suspended out of school for one day, while older students could be suspended for two days.

Level five offenses include behavior such as bringing a dangerous weapon to school, threatening to commit a school shooting, selling drugs, stealing a vehicle, or committing arson. Younger students could be suspended out of school for a day, but likely not expelled as the matrix notes that “expulsion is not best practice.” Older students could be suspended for up to three days. Older students could also be recommended for expulsion.

Level six offenses include displaying a dangerous weapon at school or threatening to use it, or committing serious physical assault or sexual assault. Younger students could be suspended out of school for up to three days but likely not expelled. Older students could be suspended for up to five days. The matrix requires that older students also undergo an expulsion review.

Level seven offenses include bringing a gun to school, attempted homicide, and homicide. All students, regardless of age, who commit a level seven offense will undergo an expulsion review. The matrix notes that bringing a fake gun to school does not count as a level seven offense.

This story has been updated with quotes from district officials.

Melanie Asmar is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Colorado. Contact Melanie at [email protected].

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August 16, 2024
Denver voters favor a potential $975 million DPS bond, polls finds
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Denver Public Schools buses at their home off Federal Boulevard, Dec. 14, 2019.

Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
A majority of sampled Denver voters would support a ballot initiative that would issue a $975 million bond to Denver Public Schools, according to a new poll from civic engagement nonprofit Denver Families for Public Schools and Keating Research, Inc.

The Denver Public Schools Board of Education is weighing a proposal from the district’s Community Planning and Advisory Committee to put the nearly $1 billion bond on the November ballot for Denver voters.

The board is due to vote on sending it to the voters in August.

The bond would be used for maintenance projects, a new school and safety and technology improvements.

The recommendation comes after five months of discussions with the committee of parents, educators and students on how a bond would be most beneficial.

Diving into the poll findings

The survey polled 500 likely Denver voters on a wide range of issues, including the potential bond. Keating Research noted that that support was consistent across political beliefs.

“Support for the Denver Public Schools bond measure is widespread, extending across party lines as Democrats (78% vote yes), Unaffiliated voters (62% vote yes), and a plurality of Republicans (43% vote yes) support the bond measure,” a report on the survey said.

Major projects the bond would pay for include:
- $240 million to install air conditioning in 29 DPS buildings without A/C, install more efficient A/C units at more locations, and conduct a geothermal study on school use of A/C.
- $301 million for “critical maintenance,” which includes mechanical, electrical, plumbing and sustainability upgrades.
- $100 million for “quality learning environments”, which would pay for a health clinic at the Paul Sandoval Campus, all-gender restrooms and building outdoor classrooms.
- $11 million to implement and improve district-wide safety systems, including weapons detection, security cameras and crisis communication.
The poll also surveyed voters on what they think of DPS leaders

While surveyed voters expressed support for the potential bond, Denver residents appear to be dissatisfied with the current leadership.

Forty-seven percent of respondents held an unfavorable view of the current Denver School Board. Fifty-one percent of respondents said they were unfamiliar with Superintendent Alex Marrero, with 33 percent holding an unfavorable view.

Denver Families for Public Schools paid for the study as part of its goal to understand how voters feel about the potential bond. The nonprofit plans to decide whether it will endorse the bond in the coming weeks.
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July 10, 2024
DPS students, propelled by climate change anxiety and initiative, push for heat pumps in schools

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Caden O’Kellylee, 12, remembers what it was like sitting in his elementary classroom when temperatures hit 90 degrees for hours a day.

“It’s pretty exhausting,” he said, thinking back to his time at Teller Elementary, one of more than 30 schools in Denver Public Schools without air conditioning. “Sometimes it’s hard to think.”

There was a portable AC unit in the window, “but they were very loud and weren’t very fun to listen to. It was just uncomfortable.”

Denver Public Schools has gradually added traditional AC units to most of the schools. This November, voters may decide on air conditioning for the remaining 30 schools.

When O’Kellylee learned about an efficient way to both heat and cool in the same unit, something called a heat pump, he wondered: “Why don’t we have these?”

O’Kellylee is a member of Earth Rangers, the middle school extension of DPS Students for Climate Action, which is comprised mostly of high school students. They are lobbying for climate-conscious heat pumps to be installed in schools that don’t yet have air conditioning. They hope to get this option on the city’s November ballot.

Earth Rangers Oscar Park, Caden O’Kellylee, Calloway Jackson, Halle Jackson (left to right), and DPS Students for Climate Action members Amelia Fernandez and Farah Djama pose for a picture after speaking at the DPS Community Planning and Advisory Committee in support of heat pumps in school buildings on April 9, 2024.

Get the gas out

“It’s more efficient and it uses electricity instead of fossil fuels,” said Earth Ranger and sixth-grader Halle Jackson.

The kids did their research. Earth Rangers knew that focusing on heating and cooling in their schools would have the biggest bang for the buck. Energizing buildings accounts for 84 percent of DPS’s carbon emissions. Forty-one percent comes from heating through natural gas, said Jackson.

They toured DPS’s Evie Dennis multi-school campus in the city’s northeast. It has solar panels and is heated and cooled using geothermal high-efficiency heat pumps. They take the place of natural gas boilers and traditional air conditioners.

Aerial photo of solar panels on the roof of GALS Denver school. Students would like Denver Public Schools to make use of Inflation Reduction Act incentives for more solar panel projects like this one.

Water is pumped into the ground through a set of large pipes and they split into a series of smaller horizontal pipes, kind of like radiant heating in a home. The pipes then either transfer heat to the ground or absorb heat from the ground.

“The pipes switch back and forth and allow heat exchange,” said Adam West, a DPS energy engineer. “So, you’re either pushing heat into the ground or allowing heat to be exchanged in the ground when you’re in cooling mode — or when you’re in heating mode, you’re absorbing heat from the ground and putting it into the buildings.”

Most schools use natural gas heating and traditional AC units. A heat pump is two in one.

Control box for one set of heat pumps at the Evie Dennis campus of DPS schools on April 9, 2024.

“When the district adds AC, it gives us an opportunity to electrify heating,” West said. “Using electricity to heat our schools allows us to power heating with renewable electricity or carbon-free electricity from the grid.”

Heat pumps are three to five times more energy efficient than natural gas boilers and reduce carbon emissions. The average household saves up to 7.6 tons of carbon emissions a year.

The cost of installing heat pumps can vary compared to AC units depending on the school system, said West. The district currently has about 20 buildings with some use of heat pumps.

More Climate News: How a Colorado scientist wants to slow climate change — one brick and tile at a time

Eco-anxiety is pushing more students into action

Students are asking that when an HVAC system is updated or if new AC systems are installed, the district uses climate-conscious heat pumps. They say that’s consistent with the DPS Climate Policy and the DPS Climate Action Plan, which came about through student advocacy. The plan has a goal to reduce the district’s overall greenhouse gas emissions by 90 percent by 2050 from 2010 levels. One of the key strategies to doing that is eliminating the use of natural gas in DPS buildings.

If you ask any child or youth about climate change, anxiety often comes pouring out. Many of the students in Earth Rangers or DPS Students for Climate Action remember exactly when they realized the depth of the crisis.

At the beginning of the pandemic, O’Kellylee discovered a book in the library on climate change.

“I just couldn’t stop,” he said. “I checked out more and more and more and then I realized the problem that we were creating for ourselves to deal with.”

Listen to the radio version of this story

Amelia Fernandez, 16, said she learned about the climate crisis at age 13.

“I knew I had to do something. I started very small.”

She said climate anxiety among youth is very prevalent.

“We are inheriting a crisis that is threatening our very existence, it’s threatening the existence of all the creatures that we could coexist with.”

DPS Students for Climate Action members Farah Djama and Amelia Fernandez (left to right) advocated for DPS’ climate policy and the DPS Climate Action Plan on April 9, 2024.

Farah Djama, 17, recalls that when she was 15, she had a lot of climate anxiety. A friend advised her to attend an online conference with The Climate Reality Project. Djama eventually joined DPS Students for Climate Action and advocated for the district’s climate plan, one of the strongest in the nation. She said that the plan can inspire students around the country.

“Thinking back to when I wasn’t involved how much anxiety I felt and how powerless I felt. Now I feel a lot more empowered.”

Her school Thomas Jefferson High hasn’t finished installing traditional AC. She remembers sweating and being distracted at the beginning of the school year. She said in the winter, the heating system didn’t work when her friends on the robotics team met on weekends.

“They had to wear parka coats with gloves … that are flammable. And for anyone who works with power tools or electricity, that’s a hazard. Someone could get hurt.”

The students have their sights on heat pumps in all DPS schools. They are starting with a first goal of getting heat pumps for the 30 DPS schools that still need air conditioning.

Will heat pumps for schools go before voters?

One recent Tuesday, students showed up to where any child wants to go on a Tuesday night – a DPS Community Planning and Advisory Committee meeting!

The 72-person committee will decide what goes on a potential bond ballot measure this November.

“Electric buildings are the future and we want Denver to lead the way in making that future a reality for school children everywhere,” sixth-grader Oscar Park told the committee.

Sixth graders Oscar Park (left) and Caden O’Kellylee (right) speak in support of installing heat pumps in 30 school buildings without air conditioning at a DPS CPAC meeting that decides what will go into a proposed bond measure. April 9, 2024.

Amelia Fernandez, 16, encourages the district and bond committee to investigate federal Inflation Reduction Act tax credits for solar and geothermal power on April 9, 2024. She is a member of DPS Students for Climate Action.

A cost analysis found that for 13 of the 30 schools, heat pumps would be cheaper than traditional AC. For eight more schools, it’s still cost-effective but would require the district to tap into another fund for an extra $7 million.

The district has proposed spending $247 million to add AC to 21 of the 30 schools. For the remaining nine, the analysis found it would take another $43 million for construction costs.

Fernandez wants heat pumps in all 30 schools. During the CPAC meeting, she asked the district to consider tapping federal tax credits for solar and geothermal through the Inflation Reduction Act, which could help with upfront costs. If the district waits, “it’s just going to make the climate problem worse.”

But the bond is a flat amount, and DPS has a lot of capital needs districtwide. It’s up to the committee to decide next month how to allocate the money.

“I fully understand where students are coming from with saying, ‘let’s do all 30 schools,’” said the district’s energy engineer West. “Ultimately, funding schools for climate action can’t just be done locally, especially in Colorado.”

He said it would take municipal, state, and federal support. He estimates that changing out 160 plus main school buildings with electrified heating will be a multi-decade effort.

Adam West, an energy engineer with Denver Public Schools, stands in the main heat pump room at the Evie Dennis campus in northeast Denver on April 9, 2024. A heat pump either absorbs heat from the or pushes heat into the ground to warm and cool a building. It is much more efficient than a traditional AC system and natural gas boilers and dramatically reduces carbon emissions.

The kids want to see quicker progress

They’re driven to give something back to the Earth instead of destroying it because it gives us so much, said Earth Ranger Park.

“It gives us somewhere to live, it gives us food, it gives us us,” he said. “Without it, we wouldn’t exist.”

Right now, they’re focused on getting more youth involved in the bond measure, one cog in the biggest issue of their lifetimes. They’re hoping to grow Earth Rangers (they have fun cheers like the “colossal squids,” one where they yell “chomp chomp!”) to tackle more issues like getting climate and renewable energy issues into the curriculum.

Along with the DPS Students for Climate Action, they are helping host a Climate Summit on Friday, April 19, at East High School from 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. All students and community members are invited. It will focus on how students can contribute to climate actions and build leadership and advocacy skills. The keynote speaker is Madhvi Chittoor, 13, the youngest UN child advisor and founder of Madhvi4EcoEthics and the EcoEthics Global Movement.

“If you are a youth right now experiencing eco-anxiety, worrying about the present and the future, you have to know that the only antidote is action,” said Fernandez. “There’s no point in wallowing in your own despair.”

The Northeast Early College 309-kilowatt solar array is a parking lot canopy that also serves as a power station to help reduce utility costs for local families. Students are advocating for more projects like this one to reduce the district’s carbon emissions.

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April 18, 2024