Our Work

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Denver students deserve every opportunity

Denver students deserve every opportunity to succeed. Unfortunately, in Denver Public Schools (DPS) today, not all students have equal access to high quality options that meet their needs. 

Denver Families is responding to this moment by engaging school families, educators and community members at the grassroots level. At Denver Families we believe in repositioning the community as the powerbrokers in public education. 

To accomplish this transition to a community-centered school district pursuing a student-centered agenda, we must:

Engage families, educators and community members in the issues they care about, meeting them where they are, to have critical conversations about the future of public education in our city.

Build a bench of advocates that reflect our community, support our schools and are prepared to go out and become Denver’s future education leaders.

and

Turnout our community through year-round voter registration and activation efforts that result in an informed and inspired electorate that names local education issues as a top priority through both advocacy and actions. 

More about our partner funding
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Our How

Community Organizing

We work with education partners and schools to ensure that all DPS families are represented and have a voice in school board elections and policy decisions. Traditional community organizing tactics mixed with new school-based organizing focus our advocacy on those most impacted by DPS — students and families. We are invested in registering or pre-registering more voters, educating community of the importance of school boards, and lifting community voice through grassroots organizing.

Developing the Next Generation of Leaders

Every school board candidate should have a basic understanding of what it means to be a school board director, how their decisions impact students and families, and how to authentically engage community. We work with community leaders, educators, and families to build a pipeline of future school board candidates that center student outcomes and needs before all else. Our one-of-a-kind training includes a historical perspective of DPS, community engagement, and campaign basics – the backbone of a successful, authentic campaign.

Conducting Research and Analysis

We want to know what matters to community and why. We believe in analyzing trends, understanding what’s working and what’s not. This information helps us to better understand the needs of students and families, which better helps us inform district leaders and school board candidates. We work with our education partners to ensure we have the best information possible to inform our work that represents the DPS community. 

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Investing in the Community

We provide targeted funding to partners who work to improve education through civic engagement and electoral participation in Denver.

More about our partner funding