Black students in Denver Public Schools make up about 14% of the district's student population, yet data shows there hasn't been much progress on improving their experiences in the classroom.
The district has been working to change that.
The school board passed a in 2019 meant to improve education for Black students over five years. Chalkbeat Colorado reporter Melanie Asmar joined KUNC's Michael Lyle, Jr. to
Asmar said she recently spent a day at the Denver Green School and observed how 8th grade students were interacting, not only with their peers but also with their teacher, Nicole Saab.
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"This is a teacher whose Black students have made really great academic progress," said Asmar. "So the district is studying the methods of teachers who've made a lot of academic progress with their Black students to kind of figure out what are their methods, and and how can they spread that throughout the district."
Asmar said she was impressed by what she saw.
"The students were doing an activity and it was, they were up out of their seats, they were walking around, they were talking to each other, and she was playing music. It was kind of noisy," said Asmar. "All of the students were really engaged. One of her rules is, no opt-outs, meaning she wants all the students engaged, all the time."
Asmar also spoke about why principals at several elementary schools in the district wanted to be a part of the Black Excellence Resolution program.
"They wanted to be part of this initiative because it is kind of, like, laser focused on Black students," Asmar said.
Even with the progress being made through the program, Asmar said the district still feels there's a lot of work ahead.
"Denver still has a very large gap between the test scores of white students and the test scores of Black students," said Asmar. "That is what the district wants to change, and what these schools hope to change through this initiative."
Asmar said the plan is for school district officials to observe the teaching methods of teachers like Saab and spread those successful methods throughout the district. That process starts next year with six elementary schools that have not yet been named.
