Our Voice, Our Schools 2980 Curtis St. Denver, CO 80205 July 30, 2018 Denver Public Schools Board of Education 1860 Lincoln St. Denver, CO 80203 Dear Denver Public Schools Board of Education, On Thursday, July 27, Our Voice, Our Schools (OVOS) partnered with City Councilwoman Deborah Ortega to facilitate a coalition of community members to engage in dialogue about the selection of the next Superintendent of Denver Public Schools (DPS). All five DPS school districts were represented in this diverse group of individuals comprised of parents, students, educators, community leaders, and local legislators representing communities of color in Denver. As community organizers, we are committed to modeling the collaboration and transparency we seek in our DPS schools leadership: the School Board and Superintendent. OVOS is presenting the input gathered in regards to desired qualifications in the next Superintendent, and demands to be part of the process in selecting the candidates and eventual Superintendent. We seek an individual who embodies the following qualifications: ● First and foremost, an educator. ● The Superintendent must live in Denver and their school-aged children must attend Denver Public schools. ● We want a “Transformer” not a reformer. This is an individual with demonstrated success in transforming schools in a similar district. Also, a school leader who will phase out choice to ensure high quality schools are realized in every neighborhood. ● The next DPS Superintendent must have NO conflict of interest with charter school funders, Democrats For Education Reform (DFER), or any DFER affiliates. ● The Superintendent must commit to full financial transparency: meaning an external, line by line audit of DPS financials. ● The new Superintendent must have a “Restorative Justice” approach to discipline. This includes: ​removing​ Student Resource Officers, ending to zero tolerance policies, addressing the school to prison pipeline, and providing wraparound services, including: appropriate Special Education services, mental health services, and counselors. 1 Our new Superintendent must respect all our teachers. We need a Superintendent who, as a leader: ● Is committed to having qualified, licensed teachers in the classroom. ● Has demonstrated success in diversifying the staff in their school district through the recruitment, hiring and retention of teachers and school leaders of color. ● Has a proven track record in increasing cultural competency in their faculty and staff, and in their own pedagogy. ● Has previously led with a commitment to collaborative practice and power sharing. ● Will end high stakes testing, so that our teachers can actually teach. ● The Superintendent must prioritize communication as a leadership strategy to improve transparency, community engagement, and coordination across all the stakeholders to whom they are accountable. The Superintendent should have an Open Door policy, and be an inclusive leader who walks the halls of the schools and connects with students, teachers and parents. In addition to the qualifications desired in our next Superintendent, OVOS brings the following demands regarding community input in the Superintendent search and selection process: ● We expect transparency and disclosure of the HR search firm and the selection process. ● OVOS, in partnership with a coalition of diverse community members, will submit our own candidates for consideration. ● The process for Community input must be outlined from beginning to end, in its entirety. ● OVOS, in collaboration with other community groups, will develop a Community Rubric to submit to DPS and the search firm, for use in assessing candidates. ● It is imperative to have community representation on the selection committee comprised of: students, parents, teachers, union representatives, community organizers, a representative from each of the 5 districts, and a higher education representative. ● Candidates must go on a listening tour to ​each​ of the 5 Denver districts and engage in real dialogue with the community. OVOS stands with other defenders of public neighborhood schools including: Our Denver Our Schools, Public Education Advocacy Team, Caucus of Today’s Teachers, Denver Classroom Teacher Association, Colorado Education Association, the Network for Public Education, and many others. Our Voice, Our Schools, in partnership with this coalition of diverse community members, demands a response from DPS Board of Education agreeing to Community representation in the search and selection of ​our​ next Superintendent. Sincerely, 2 Our Voice, Our Schools Colorado Working Families Part​y Anne Cardea, Esq. Our Denver, Our Schools Black Lives Matter - Denver JoAnn Fujioka, Ph.D. Public Education Advocacy Team Warriors for Highly Quality Schools Carol Ann March Project VOYCE Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools Virginia Castro Colorado Latino Forum Honorable Polly Baca Maria Heymans Colorado Education Association Councilwoman Deborah Ortega Andrea Leggett Denver Classroom Teachers Association Honorable Frances Coleman Frances FrainAguirre Caucus of Today’s Teachers Emily Sirota Rosario C de Baca Uniting4Kids Hasira Ashemu Jane Diamond Denver CAN Cassandra Craft-Johnson Maggie Miller Colorado Bad Ass Teachers Kelly Collver Mollinet Michael Diaz-Rivera Colorado Stands Brandon & Samantha Pryor Angela Engels Democracy Enter Colorado Derron Turner Santiago Lopez Denver Federation for ParaProfessionals and Nutrition Service Employees - AFT local 4463 Xochitl Gaytan Nicky Yollick Rachael Lehman Jeff Fard Saira Rao Tim Krug Vanessa Quintana Candi C de Baca As agreed upon at the community meeting on July 27, this Manifesto will be shared with local and state elected officials, the media, the Community, and other public education advocacy groups. 3