Dear DPS Community,
Denver Public Schools (DPS) is committed to providing well-rounded educational experiences for all of our students across our district. Today, I am sharing an update with our DPS community to provide clarity on two important elements of the DPS experience: Early Childhood Education (ECE) and Mental Health.
ECE and SchoolChoice
Communications have been sent to families regarding the SchoolChoice process. Families who participated in Round 1 received notification of their school matches this week. Please log into the application to see your student’s school match. Applications for SchoolChoice Round 2 will open on April 10 at 10 a.m.
At DPS, we believe that every student deserves access to high-quality education that fosters their growth, development and love for learning. If you have an ECE student for the 2024-25 school year and have not already submitted your ECE application, we encourage you to do so in Round 2. We have available seats ready to serve families across every region of our district!
If your family completes an ECE-4 application during SchoolChoice, your next step is to complete the Universal Preschool Colorado (UPK) application to receive funding through the Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC). If your family completes an ECE-3 application, no action is currently required. The state of Colorado’s UPK pre-registration application for the 2024-25 school year is currently open and closes on Thursday, March 28. For more information about the UPK process, please review this update.
By enrolling your child, you are providing them with a supportive and inclusive learning environment where they can thrive alongside their peers. Our dedicated teachers and staff are committed to creating a safe and welcoming environment that encourages curiosity, creativity and social-emotional development. Research shows that attendance in ECE positively impacts students’ success in elementary school and beyond.
Continuing to Prioritize Mental Health
School districts nationwide benefited from pandemic-era COVID-relief funds, otherwise known as ESSER funds, which end September 2024. Districts across the country, DPS included, have worked diligently to determine how to navigate the funding gaps created as ESSER concludes. One of the ways DPS prioritized ESSER dollars was through investments in social-emotional and mental health support for our students.
Long before COVID-19, DPS prioritized The Whole Child, including social emotional and mental health services. We will continue to do so. While difficult decisions need to be made that impact the Department of Mental Health, the team has developed a robust plan to help our school system support students with mental health needs in response to the end of funding for certain mental health programs.
The team assessed the challenges and unmet needs that the ESSER funding cliff affects and determined what structures will support the roles and functions of the previously iterated mental health programming.
The Department of Mental Health will utilize the remaining funds designated to support the substance prevention and intervention training program to build the skill and capacity of the larger School Social Work and School Psychology team. This will allow all school social workers and school psychologists to be able to provide substance prevention and intervention services, as well as Bounce Back and Cognitive Behavior Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS), which are both trauma-specific interventions.
In addition to the remaining funding, DPS has designated additional funds to support mental health trainers in trauma-specific school-based interventions, as well as a team of centrally-assigned mental health providers. This design builds the clinical and therapeutic knowledge, skills and practices of all building-based school psychologists and social workers.
DPS is dedicated to the well-rounded experiences of our students. We will continue to work in partnership to provide clear, accurate updates to our DPS community so that Every Learner Thrives. I look forward to continuing this work through the end of the school year and beyond, and wish our DPS community a happy and restful spring break!
In collaboration,
Dr. Alex Marrero
Superintendent