Author: By Melanie Asmer Chalkbeat Colorado

Denver Public Schools Superintendent Alex Marrero recalled standing in September by the bedside of an East High School student who’d been shot in the face. The bullet had pierced the teenager’s cheek and exited through his ear. He couldn’t speak, but he wrote something down. “Why was I shot?” the student wrote, according to Marrero.…

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…

A Denver charter middle school could close at the end of this school year if the school board follows a recommendation to shutter STRIVE Prep – Kepner for low test scores. Superintendent Alex Marrero is recommending the board take the rare step of not renewing STRIVE Prep – Kepner’s charter. A memo notes the school,…

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…