Dear DPS Families and Friends,
Welcome back! We hope your summer break was restful and rejuvenating. As the DPS Communications Department ramps up for another school year, we’d like to reflect on and share a few of our recent accomplishments. From academic achievements to extracurricular triumphs and cultural celebrations, we are honored to showcase the incredible work happening in DPS and look forward to another year of informing and engaging families, staff, students and community members.
It is with great pride that I present to you highlights of the DPS Communications team’s accomplishments for the 2023-24 school year. This was an extraordinary year of growth and engagement and we would like to thank all of you for contributing to our success!
Implemented New Districtwide Platform for Digital Communications
In the fall of 2023, DPS Communications launched the Strengthening Our Parent Communication Technologies (PaCT) Initiative to breathe new life into how families, staff and community members receive digital information from the district. Achieving the PaCT Initiative’s goals will ensure that:
Families have the appropriate information to make decisions about their child’s education.
Staff have the information necessary for a positive employment experience.
Prospective families and staff can make informed decisions about their futures.
Community members and media have access to timely and correct information.
Our team implemented a districtwide communications platform, Thrillshare by Apptegy. The new platform includes easy-to-use, streamlined school websites, and direct communication channels to families through text, email and phone. All websites will comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) international standard, as mandated by Colorado HB21-1110. Plus, families can translate any new DPS website into their preferred language. We are currently in the process of migrating DPS school websites and will complete this by the end of 2024. All schools will start the school year with the new direct communications platform.
Launched Ground-Breaking La Raza Report
“La Raza Report” was a monumental moment for DPS and the Communications Department. La Raza Report emerged from a research project conducted by The Multicultural Leadership Center, LLC, and examines the experiences of the Latino community in Denver Public Schools over several decades. The report offers recommendations for improving experiences for Latino students, families and employees in DPS. This report brings light to disparities in equitable practices for our Latino population. To best serve all of our students, DPS must address all factors of how students are served and how we can improve. Our department created a comprehensive launch strategy to share these findings with the community to include press conferences, workshops, print announcements and media coverage.
Expanded DPS Podcast Network
Our DPS Multimedia Team increased its reach when it expanded from producing one podcast series in 2022-23 to five podcast series in 2023-24: EDUCA in English, EDUCA in Spanish, Marrero Moment, Black Voices in Color and DPS Snapshots. The EDUCA podcast was the top-performing podcast with increased downloads and views. The unique student-centered Black Voices in Color saw an average listenership increase from 1,500 downloads a month to 3,500 downloads a month, with a rise of 233% in listenership.
Served Schools With Marketing Support
The DPS Marketing Team led a successful enrollment campaign for Universal Preschool Colorado (UPK), netting a Medallion award for superior strategic communication best practices from the Colorado School Public Relations Association (COSPRA). Collaborating across DPS and promoting on Google, social media, print periodicals, RTD buses and more, the Marketing Team’s campaign resulted in an additional 385 students enrolled in Early Childhood Education (ECE). This increased the percentage of filled ECE seats from 66% to 73%, bringing $3.9 million to the district and giving more students a headstart on learning. Meanwhile, our single full-time graphic designer completed 407 design requests from internal departments, averaging 34 projects per month. Our four school communications specialists served our schools with 4,293 communications tasks from July 2023 - June 2024, which came out to an average of 89 communications to families, educators and students per month, per person.
Increased Engagement for Newsletters and Surveys
The Internal Communications Team produces five newsletters reaching audiences spanning from students and families to school leaders and upper management roles. DPS newsletters are well-established channels informing Team DPS and the wider DPS Community of important announcements and opportunities around the district. Every newsletter experienced increased open rates and click-through rates during the 2023-24 school year when compared to the previous year. Each newsletter’s open rates consistently exceeded the industry standard of 41.56% for education.
Our internal team also helped increase participation rates for the Your Voice/Tu Voz surveys. 11,712 families participated (a 188% increase from 2022-23) and 36,202 students participated (a 90% increase from 2022-23). Every year, it is important that DPS gets valuable feedback from our students and families. Thanks to your participation in the Your Voice/Tu Voz surveys, we can compile more accurate information on how to best serve our families and students.
The Internal Communications Team also collaborated with the Culture and Equity Leadership Team (CELT) to recognize, honor and celebrate the diversity that makes up DPS during identity and heritage months. The months included: Hispanic Heritage Month, Disability Awareness and Dyslexia Awareness Month National Native American Heritage Month, Black History Month, Women’s History Month, National Arab American Heritage Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Jewish American Heritage Month and Pride Month.
Excelled Multilingual Communications Expectations
The DPS Multilingual Communications Team prides itself on delivering exceptional services to ensure our families have all the information they need to support their children’s education, no matter what language they speak. When our families have access to information in their preferred language, they can make informed decisions that help their children thrive.
In 2023-24, the Translations Team completed 754 IEP translations, a 256% increase from the previous year. Because of the team’s hard work, more students have equitable opportunities in the classroom. In total, the Translations Team fulfilled over 5,875 requests. That is about 9 million words! Our Interpretations Team provides spoken word interpretations in more than 180 languages to schools and departments. Last year, they processed 8,283 interpretation requests, including 253 continuation ceremonies and graduations. They also provided services for 22,168 phone interpretations.
Earned National and State-Wide Accolades for Communications Excellence
In addition to the award-winning UPK Campaign, DPS Communications received state-wide recognition from the Colorado School Publication Relations Association (COSPRA) in graphic design, marketing materials, video production and podcast production. Our Web Designer-Developer was honored as the Colorado Rookie of the Year and our External Communications Team represented DPS at the 2024 National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) National Seminar, receiving a Golden Achievement Award for “The Calm in the Crisis: Denver East High School Shooting, One Year Anniversary Communication Plan.” Most recently, our Multimedia Team members became proud 2024 Heartland Emmy award winners, receiving recognition for their video showcasing Hispanic heritage through the Bryant Webster mariachi band.
In the 2024-25 school year, we look forward to our continued work and collaboration on the Annual Report, Discipline Matrix, CollaboRATE and Your Voice/Tu Voz surveys, Latiné Student Success, Black Student Success, and initiatives in UPK, Bond, Safety and Security, New Arrivals, Teacher Exchange Program and more. The Communications Department will continue working diligently to ensure the DPS community is informed and engaged to make decisions that make our mutual vision of Every Learner Thrives a reality.
Sincerely,
Bill Good
Chief Communications Officer