Denver Public Schools officially solicited “new high-quality programs” Thursday to replace the two persistently low-performing elementary schools — Greenlee in west Denver and Amesse in far northeast Denver — that the school board recently voted to restart.
Because of slowing enrollment growth, the district isn’t soliciting any other new charter or district-run schools as part of its annual Call for New Quality Schools this year. The call for restart programs for Greenlee and Amesse are the only requests.
Groups interested in launching new schools must submit letters of intent to apply by Feb. 10.
The request notes that replacement schools for Greenlee and Amesse must offer preschool through fifth grade, a research-based program for English language learners and commit to eventually opening a “center program” for students with more serious disabilities.
The district’s request also mentions providing services for students with significant needs, including kids who are homeless, live in foster care or whose families receive food stamps.
Greenlee currently serves 335 students, almost 94 percent of whom qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a proxy for poverty. Seventy percent of students are “direct-certified,” meaning they automatically qualify for free lunch because they have more significant needs.
More than 90 percent of students are children of color and more than 30 percent are English language learners. Students’ primary home language is Spanish, the request says.
Amesse currently serves 470 students, nearly 96 percent of whom qualify for free or reduced-price lunch and 35 percent of whom are direct-certified.
According to the request, 96 percent of students are children of color and 55 percent are English language learners. Like at Greenlee, students’ primary home language is Spanish.
The school board is scheduled to choose new programs for Greenlee and Amesse in June with the goal of having the new schools take over in fall 2018.
Read the full Call for New Quality Schools document below.