During his first 100 days as superintendent, Dr. Alex Marrero connected with families, students, alumni, staff, and community members across the district on a Listening and Learning Tour.

From Dr. Marrero:
One of the best parts of my first couple of months with DPS has been getting to know so many members of the DPS community through my Listening and Learning Tour.

The goal of this tour was to connect with students, families, and communities — especially those who have been unheard in the past — and to build strong relationships in every region.

The tour has taken me all across the city to hear the answers to three key questions:
What’s been going well in DPS;
What needs improvement; and
What advice folks have for me as the new superintendent.

Getting to engage with over 1000 people — mostly in small-group meetings — has been such an important introduction for me to the current state of our DPS community.

I’ve heard about our strengths, like our committed and engaged teachers and staff, our current focus on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and the leadership and engagement of our incredible students.

I’ve heard about where we can grow, such as making sure our workforce reflects the identities and experiences of our students, and helping our kids accelerate their learning after the turbulence of the past 18 months.

And I know I’ll continue to learn more as I get the chance to visit more schools and connect with more of our students and alumni, more of our rich and diverse cultural groups, more of our amazing teachers and leaders and staff.

This Listening and Learning Tour has been an essential part of my first 100 days as superintendent, and I truly appreciate you sharing your insights with me.

• Denver Scholarship Foundation – July 14

• Latino Education Council – July 14

• Wellington and Wilma Webb – July 16*

• Colorado Black Round Table – July 17

• Councilman Jolon Clark – July 19*

• Stand for Children – July 21*

• African Leadership Group – July 22*

• Five Points Town Hall – July 24

• RootEd Funders & Gates Family Foundation – July 27*

• Collaborative Council – July 29*

• Black Leaders Gathering – July 29*

• Meet and Greet with Coalition – Aug. 3

• Northeast Denver Innovation Zone (NDIZ) Far Northeast Families – Aug. 25

• Urban Hike in Southwest Denver – Aug. 26

• Cruise Event – La Raza Park – Aug. 29*

• LGBTQ+ Belong Group – Aug. 31

• Black Women Leaders Forum – Sept. 7*

• Vietnamese language community meeting – Sept. 8

• Black Family Advisory Council (BFAC) – Sept. 14

• Native American community meeting – Sept. 14

• Cafecito – Sept. 15

• South High School – Sept. 21

• John F. Kennedy High School – Sept. 22*

• LGBTQIA+ Student group – Sept. 23

• Padres y Jovenes Unidos – Sept. 25*

• Multilingual Education District Advisory Committee – Sept. 28

• Warren Village (Transitional housing for students/families) – Sept. 28

• School Safety Team – Sept. 29

• The Salvation Army – Sept. 30

• Manual High School – Oct. 1

• Middle and High School Students – Oct. 4

• Elementary Students – Oct. 6

• Project Voyce (Current DPS Students) – Oct. 11*

• Athletics – Oct. 12

• LGBTQIA+ Commission – Oct. 12

• Central Office Staff – Oct. 12

• Families of LGBTQIA+ Students – Oct. 13

• Ednium (Latinx/Hispanic DPS Alumni) – Oct. 14*

• North High School – Oct. 19

• George Washington High School – Oct. 20

• Denver Special Education Advisory Committee – Nov. 3**

*Reports are not produced for events where fewer than 10 people were present and/or the Superintendent’s Listening and & Learning Questions were not asked.  However, feedback from all events are represented in the final summary.

** While this event occurred after the formal end of the 100-day Listening & Learning tour, to honor the importance of the perspectives provided, this feedback will be incorporated and shared with the Transition Teams.