Denver Public Colleges’ Board of Training voted Thursday to shut STRIVE PREP- Kepner, a constitution college in southwest Denver, on the finish of the tutorial yr.
Superintendent Alex Marrero advisable closing the center college due to low take a look at scores, with a memo noting that STRIVE PREP- Kepner additionally has a “excessive monetary danger.”
STRIVE PREP — Kepner opened through the 2016-17 college yr and had 209 college students through the 2021-22 tutorial yr.
The board voted 6-1 to not renew the varsity’s contract. Auon’tai Anderson, whose time period ends later this yr and who’s working for re-election, was the one director to vote towards the superintendent’s suggestion.
Forward of the vote, Anderson stated he didn’t “disagree” with the district’s findings that the varsity is under- performing, however he didn’t consider there was enough neighborhood engagement across the choice.
“I simply can’t endorse the method of faculty closure,” he stated, including that that is the primary time in a few decade that DPS has not renewed a constitution college’s contract.
The college board has been reluctant to shut colleges regardless of being confronted with such choices in current months.
Within the fall, Marrero proposed closing 10 colleges to fight low enrollment, however the college board voted towards the plan. Administrators, together with Anderson, had criticized the plan for not partaking sufficient with households doubtlessly affected by the closures.
The college board additionally voted towards closing Montbello Profession and Technical Excessive Faculty final yr. The district initially advisable closing the varsity, saying it couldn’t keep on the identical campus as one other college — Robert F. Smith STEAM Academy — subsequent yr.