Membership
Broad-based Membership
Our coalition exists to tackle the historical distrust that exists between city and school district systems and the communities those systems serve. Our in-person convenings typically have fairly equal representation from the city, the school district, community leaders, and youth; and the solutions we develop have been co-created to address both the real needs of our communities as well as the various constraints imposed by law, policy, and funding. While our formal members are listed below, we often have participation from Aurora, Adams, Jefferson and Douglas counties at our events and are actively working to identify strategies for better coordinating our work. We also regularly get visitors from new organizations looking to learn more about what we do. Our momentum is growing! If you are interested in learning more, contact us.
Community Participation
As we shared in our history, the Denver Resilience Coalition has gone through a few iterations. The community organizations that participate in our work joined during different phases. Some began working with us when we were looking to launch community hubs in every region of Denver in order to provide wrap-around supports to our younger youth and their families. Others became more engaged when we shifted our lens to look more closely at older youth and violence intervention and interruption work. Those who are listed on this page have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at some point in the last few years indicating their commitment to promoting youth and family resilience and a desire to pursue resources to support our collective work together.
All those listed here receive communications from the coalition and invitations to impact teams, advisory panels, quarterly convenings, and relevant grant applications, but most importantly, if we call them, we know that they will respond and engage thoughtfully to support our collective work. They are listed in roughly the order that they joined us.
Phase 1 Coalition CBO Members
A Focus on Our Younger Learners and Their Families
Servicios De La Raza
https://serviciosdelaraza.org/
A CBO service provider that aims to provide and advocate for culturally responsive, essential human services and opportunities. They provide essential services such as nutritious food, baby food, clothing, outerwear, hygiene products, cleaning supplies, school supplies, and pet food and have a wide range of programming in areas that include behavioral health, employment and financial coaching, healthcare access, HIV & STI services, re-entry services, victim services and youth leadership.
They also oversee the community coalition component of the city’s Support Team Assisted Response (STAR) program, which provides person-centric mobile crisis response to community members who are experiencing problems related to mental health, depression, poverty, homelessness, and/or substance misuse as an alternative to police. In partnership with community partners DASHR, GRASP, Face It, Struggle of Love Foundation, and Muslim Family Services, they ensure that services provided are culturally responsive, linguistically specific, and geographically appropriate.
The Spring Institute
A CBO service provider that aims to build a thriving intercultural community through learning, language access, and advocacy. With significant programming aimed at better equipping healthcare organizations to serve diverse populations, their youth programs are centered around empowering young people to change the world around them. These programs serve youth aged 5-26 in the East Colfax corridor of Denver and focus on physical and mental wellness and equitable access to academic and career opportunities. Programs have included martial arts, academic tutoring, poetry lessons with Sidewalk Poets, rock climbing, cooking, swimming lessons, hiking groups, Girls on the Run, Boys on the Right Track, a girls empowerment group, mental health field trips, and summer camps at Stanley British Primary School, the Denver Zoo, and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.
Focus Points
A CBO service provider that aims to build better communities by strengthening families, believing that a strong family is made up of thriving individuals. Their programs serve families’ needs primarily in the greater northeast part of Denver by connecting them to the resources that help them succeed, and include adult education, early childhood education, health and wellness, economic inclusion, and family support services such as goal setting and access to health insurance and food. They also oversee more specialized programs including the Comal heritage food incubator, which is a lunch restaurant and training program that provides skills in culinary arts and business as a pltofrm for economic development to immigrants and refugees, and Huerta Urbana a program that uses Focus Points’ urban farm to train families in local food production and distribution.
Montbello Organizing Committee
https://montbelloorganizing.org/
A CBO service provider that aims to galvanize Montbello residents and provide them with the tools and resources necessary to develop their leadership skills so that they can proactively address the issues affecting their community and quality of life. They help lead the community-driven process to create the FreshLo hub for healthy food, cultural arts, equitable economic development and affordable housing, as well as a community focused approach to clinical and holistic mental health services for youth and adults, efforts to enhance and sustainable transportation, and work to increase food access.
Lifespan Local
https://www.lifespanlocal.org/
A CBO service provider that oversees the Dahlia Campus for Health and Well-Being located in Denver’s Northwest Park Hill, an open space for community members to connect with each other, learn new skills and find the help that they need with a focus on a wholistic approach to well-being that supports mind, body and community. This organization is replicating its framework of deep community listening in Southwest Denver to build a similar center in Westwood through renovation of the local Redeemer Lutheran Church.
WellPower
A CBO service provider that is a place for recovery, resilience and well-being, known locally and nationally as a model for innovative and effective community behavioral health care. Their work enables adults to live more fulfilling and productive lives, children to be more resilient, and families to be happier and healthier. Through multiple community sites, mental health providers in several Denver public schools, collaborations with community partnerships and home-based outreach, they provide treatment, prevention, outreach and crisis services to children, families and adults.
Clayton Early Learning
https://www.claytonearlylearning.org/
A CBO service provider that is an innovation hub that fosters thriving, equitable communities by partnering with families to nurture a whole child, whole family approach to the early years, discover what works, and advance systems change. Clayton’s early childhood education programming is designed to address the particular challenges that exist for economically vulnerable families, and the long-term impacts that has on young childrens’ healthy development and readiness for kindergarten. Our comprehensive programs for children and families encompass all aspects of wellbeing and learning, including social-emotional health, physical wellness, academic success, and family self-sufficiency. Programming may be accessed at their school, at home, and at community locations, including Denver Public Schools’ community hubs.
African Leadership Group
A CBO service provider that selects young leaders with passion, courage, imagination, resilience, and good values, provides them with opportunities to develop leadership skills through hands-on practice, and connects these leaders with access to capital, mentors, and collaborators to amplify their impact. They view the one billion African youth as a massive talent pool with the potential to become a source of untold global innovation, entrepreneurship, and prosperity for the continent and the world.
African Chamber of Commerce Colorado
https://www.africanchambercolorado.org/
A CBO service provider that aims to create economic growth and investment by empowering the African Business community of Colorado by being the premier platform and trusted voice connecting the greater Colorado region with the African continent for business development. Their programs include networking, marketing, fundraising, training, certifications, business development, and community programs
RootED
A funder that supports great schools in Denver, aiming to create an equitable, accountable, responsive Denver Public Schools system where race and income are no longer a barrier to excellent student outcomes. They fund autonomous public schools, support community organizations, and run a grants process.
Phase 2 Coalition CBO Expansion
Including Secondary Students & System-Involved Youth
Struggle of Love Foundation
https://www.struggleoflovefoundation.org/
A CBO service provider that provides opportunities for underprivileged youth and/or families to access year-round services and programs. Diverse programs include competitive sports and mentor teams, school supplies, food initiatives, toy drives, community picnics, and mental health awareness. Struggle of Love collaborates with other local nonprofits to reach and educate under-served communities in the Denver metro area and has been recognized at both a local and national level as being a strong organization for community outreach. S.O.L has been awarded by the federal government for PROGRAM OF THE YEAR, by the Colorado Fatherhood Council’s Program of the year, the Denver Urban Spectrum for top 25 AAWMAD & POWER COUPLE, by Sister Enterprise for RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS, by Michael B. Hancock for MBK25, 1st Place winner of Denver Office of Economic Development Re-Imagine Retail and 1st Place in the first round of Shark Tank.
Life-Line Colorado
https://life-linecolorado.org/
A CBO service provider that assists its local at-risk population in finding love, acceptance and safety. They focus on youth and adults alike. Their mission is to spread love, security and safety throughout Denver, CO, and to see it ripple through our local communities. Their programs include gang-intervention services, community re-entry, sober living and transitional housing services, youth leadership, economic development, and healing support for victims of crime.
Fully Liberated Youth (FLY)
https://fullyliberatedyouth.org/
A CBO service provider that offers both school-based prevention services and community-based intervention services. At the core of FLY's School-Based Prevention Services is eliminating the school-to-prison pipeline. They believe schools can be safe places for all, and we seek to eliminate punitive and oppressive practices that exacerbate harm to our young people. They do this by building deep relationships rooted in empathy, non-judgment, and tenderness. At the community level, they offer Case Management, Mentorship, Individual Therapy, Family Therapy, and GED services
Transformative Justice Project of Colorado
Formerly Colorado Juvenile Defenders Center
A CBO service provider, with a mission to abolish the school-to-prison pipeline by dismantling systemic racism embedded in the existing institutions of education, mental health, and criminal injustice, while helping young people to develop the tools to define their own story. They offer legal services aimed at support for record expungement and legal representation for school-related incidents to prevent unjust disciplinary actions. They also provide education, skill development and wrap-around supports aimed at equipping youth for successful reintegration into society, as well as training for educators on youth rights.
Homies Unidos Denver
https://homiesunidosdenver.org/
A CBO service provider, with a mission to end violence and promote peace in our community through gang prevention and intervention, the promotion of human rights in immigrant communities, and the empowerment of youth and families in Denver to achieve their full potential in a just, safe, and healthy society. Programs include character development training and mentoring. Homies Unidos first began its work in Los Angeles in 1997 and leverages the expertise and resources of Homies Unidos nationally.
Sims-Fayola Foundation
A community organizer and CBO service provider whose mission is to improve the life outcomes of young men of color through direct programming and catalyzing systems change by addressing the root causes of educational inequities and institutional barriers. Direct programming includes open public forums, community mentoring programs that are both in-person and virtual, career academies, and a variety of programs aimed at promoting empowerment and leadership. They also lead the local My Brother’s Keeper work initiated under the Obama administration.
Faithbridge
A community organizer from our faith-based community whose mission is to co-create the conditions to ensure equity of opportunities and excellent outcomes for students and their families in every community. They envision a world where all children receive an equitable and excellent education that prepares them to live well and realize their hopes.
Metro DEEP
A community organizer, Metro DEEP is a community-informed Black Economic Development Organization geared to developing partnerships and cooperation around economic mobility, opportunity, and projects which serve the Denver and Colorado Springs Metro Area’s African-descended community. Metro DEEP was founded to become an infrastructure and ecosystem that develops, connects and sustains an economic ecosystem, including ownership and autonomy, thereby increasing Black wealth.
Spark the Change Colorado
https://www.sparkthechangecolorado.org/
A CBO service provider, their mission is to SPARK CHANGE and INSPIRE A MOVEMENT OF GOOD through the power of volunteerism, service, and civic engagement. They have a variety of program offerings, including several in the mental wellness area that have supported connecting Denver youth with mental health services.
From the Heart Foundation
https://www.fromtheheartco.org/
A CBO service provider that specializes in mental health and behavioral health services.Their mission is to uplift fallen humanity, one man, one woman and one child at a time through community events and purposeful programming. They run the mile high chess club as well as a program called Triggers, which aims to illuminate the often overlooked aspects of trauma through the compelling lens of videography, capturing real-life stories that resonate and educate.
Black Family Advisory Council
https://www.dpsk12.org/page/black-family-advisory-council/
A community organizer whose mission is to collaboratively create a platform to empower families of Black DPS students to ensure informed decisions are being made that positively impact our students through advocacy, information, and active community engagement. BFAC includes Black students, their families, staff, and community members across the district.
Apprentice of Peace Youth Organization
A CBO service provider whose mission is to develop students through a whole-person approach by integrating mentoring, enrichments, and career pathway programs. Programs include mentoring to help students define themselves that focuses on wellness, common sense and social responsibility, as well as summer programs and community classes.
Higher Learning U
https://www.higherlearningu.org/
A CBO service provider that supports educators, schools, communities, and organizations in developing equitable, healthy and healing learning cultures and climates so everyone can learn. Programs include training, coaching, mediation, and curriculum development as well as the African American Young Ladies Summit, which aims to equip young women with the tools they will need for a lifelong journey of personal success and achievement.
R.O.Y.A.L. Mentoring Group
https://www.royalforyouth.com/
A CBO service provider that specializes in mentoring and began as an assembly of a few individuals who all banned together to help curb gang violence in an unpublicized fashion. They connected dots with different groups/gangs/individuals who were at odds and would find peaceful solutions to end the method of using violence to settle disputes.On top of stopping violence, they believe young minds centered on becoming legit business owners will be redirected to be more focused on a trade than being in the streets risking their freedom or lives. Coming from the same background as the majority of the young individuals they work with, R.O.Y.A.L. has been able to identify and create strong bonds with our at risk youth. Mentoring in public schools and juvenile facilities has allowed them to expand their reach to the city’s youth on all levels. R.O.Y.A.L. is committed to destroying the school to prison pipeline that has been filtering young adults at an alarming rate.
The Taskforce for Reimagining Policing and Public Safety
https://www.denvertaskforce.org/
A community organizer that has published 112 recommendations, the Task Force to Reimagine Policing and Public Safety is a team of over 40 different community organizations along with elected officials, faith leaders and youth coming together, over the course of several months to build relationships, have effective dialog, and create solutions surrounding policing and public safety in the city of Denver. This is an inclusive coalition, including African American, Latino, Asian, indigenous American, Jewish, Caucasian, LGBTQ+, individuals with disabilities, and those with lived experiences with the criminal legal system. Members come from a variety of organizational backgrounds, including civil rights organizations, community activists, direct service providers, faith-based organizations, policy advocacy organizations, and youth serving organizations. To our knowledge, this is the largest, most diverse community-led public safety initiative in the nation.
All That I Am & African Service Center
https://africanservicecent.wixsite.com/african-service-cent
A CBO service provider that specializes in peer recovery coaching, CBT coaching and PTSD counseling and management that also oversees the African Service Center which provides services in tax preparation, legal counsel related to car accidents, and health..
Student Voice & Leadership
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/ac8c5d8355424242bb507e174d19ef00
A student organizer, YAALL--known as the Young African American & Latinx Leaders–is a student-led organization under Denver Public School’s Student Voice and Leadership program. They are centered in their identity as Black and Brown students, and their main goal as a group is to combat the school-to-prison pipeline. They accomplish this by working throughout the community, in our schools, and through skills & morals taught to us to support us all throughout our lives. They all come from different areas of Denver; the schools they come from include: North High School, Northfield High School, KIPP Northeast Denver Leadership Academy, DCIS-Baker, and Denver School of the Arts. They all have different backgrounds, different experiences, and different cultures.
The central office DPS team members that help support YAALL are also connected to a wide range of other youth leadership groups throughout the city of Denver, connecting these youth into youth violence prevention efforts as appropriate.
Southwest Denver Coalition
https://swdenvercoalition.org/
A community organizer and convener, they connect underserved individuals in neighborhoods across Southwest Denver to comprehensive resources and services that address their basic needs and recognize their value and importance to our communities. Southwest Denver Coalition works towards this mission by facilitating collaboration between southwest Denver stakeholders. We do this by working with residents, local community-based organizations, nonprofits, schools, businesses, and the City and County of Denver and leveraging resources, expertise, leadership, and passion to create stronger, more resilient, more unified communities.
Kids Above Everything
https://www.kidsaboveeverything.org/
A CBO service provider, they exist to inspire and empower all youth to be their best selves. They create environments where relationships are the foundation of everything they do. They recognize that authentic relationships sustain impact and by doing so, change the life trajectories of young people in our communities. They inspire and empower all youth to be their best selves by teaching, identity development, self-awareness, emotion management, decision making, problem solving, and reflection. They develop these skills through media arts such as photography, videography, digital arts, and radio.
Compound of Compassion
A CBO service provider, they take the resources within the community and connect them to the people that are in need of them, seeking to empower positive change through education, outreach, and innovative programs that support the community.
Legacy Foundation for Family and Community Development
https://legacyforfamilyandcommunity.org/
A CBO service provider, they disarm any weapon formed against our children. They do this by continuing to Honor, Uplift, Inspire and Deliver positive development for the benefit of underserved BIPOC youth, families and communities where barriers and stigma exist in obtaining cultural inclusive services and care. They envision a world where promising health: mental, physical, spiritual, financial is afforded to all and absent of man created barriers.
The Celebrate Life Foundation
https://www.celebratelifefoundationinc.org/
A CBO service provider, they are dedicated to empowering the Denver community with the resources necessary to attain holistic wellness—financially, mentally, physically, and emotionally. Celebrate Life is not merely a name; it's a philosophy we embody and aspire to instill within our community. Life, in all its facets, is precious and worthy of celebration, regardless of scale. Our mission is to unite our community, uplift individuals, and equip them with the tools for success—all while embracing the joy of celebration. Join us as we journey together, honoring life's moments, big and small, and fostering a culture of resilience, positivity, and empowerment.
Crowley Foundation
https://www.crowleyfoundation.org/
A CBO service provider that aims to be the family young men of color have always had, acknowledging that they face social, economic, and health disparities stemming from generations of systemic racism, trauma, a lack of resources, and false narratives. The Crowley Foundation works with each Young King to realize his true potential, transcend life challenges, and become leaders and role models in their communities.
Fatherhood Support Services
A CBO service provider, they develop, plan and deliver training and follow up learning circles to enhance the intentional engagement of fathers during early childhood.
Ktone Cares Foundation
https://ktonecaresfoundation.org/
A CBO service provider that empowers BIPOC children from marginalized populations to use their voices as a means to advocate for themselves, their issues, and their concerns; creates opportunities for youth to become more socially and civically engaged; helps youth see that they are part of the solution, not part of the problem; and builds culturally relevant bridges and raise awareness around what resources are accessible and available to youth in their neighborhoods.
Colorado Nonprofit Development Center
A CBO service provider that specializes in fiscal sponsorship, for more than 20 years, their fiscal sponsor services have benefitted hundreds of emerging and established charitable ventures, as well as the funders and donors who have given more than $250 million for the benefit of partner projects. Today, CNDC is considered an essential part of Colorado’s nonprofit sector. CNDC supports leaders, creates efficiencies, and fosters innovation. CNDC has also become a national leader in promoting fiscal sponsorship best practices as a founding organization of the National Network of Fiscal Sponsors. Formed in 1999 by a group of nonprofit leaders and foundation partners, CNDC accelerates the impact of Colorado’s charitable endeavors to effect positive change.
Systems Participation
While it would be easy to say that we have participation from both the city of Denver and Denver Public Schools, we all know that these are very large organizations with multiple departments, each of which has a different area of focus and often operates with a fair amount of autonomy. Understanding that we need broad participation from our “systems” colleagues in order to make real change happen, we have been very intentional in identifying and engaging contacts who have longstanding influence in their areas of focus and have successfully built relationships with the following:
City Agencies & Initiatives
Denver Afterschool Alliance
A city-lead collaborative, The Denver Afterschool Alliance (DAA) builds the capacity of afterschool programs and professionals to provide high-quality, diverse afterschool programs. Through our three lines of service: DAAlearn, DAAconnect, and DAAadvocate, we work to ensure that all Denver children have access to afterschool programs that keep them safe, inspire them to learn, and prepare them for the future.
For more than 20 years, the City and County of Denver, Denver Public Schools, youth-serving organizations and local and national funders have been working together to build and strengthen Denver’s afterschool community. In 2012, these key partners formally launched the Denver Afterschool Alliance. Today, the City and County of Denver’s Office of Children’s Affairs serves as the Denver Afterschool Alliance's lead agency, working in close partnership with Denver Public Schools’ Office of Extended Learning & Community Schools and advocates from the provider community.
Denver Police Department
The focus of the Denver Police Department is to prevent crime and increase public trust while honoring the responsibilities granted to us by those we serve. The Denver Police Department is a leader in innovative approaches to complex issues facing our city today and we continue to build on previous accomplishments through community engagement, partnerships, and programs. Regardless of the challenges we face, my goal is to provide police services consistent with community expectations. I have spent my career working to build consensus with the community and I look forward to continuing this work.
- Chief Ron Thomas
Office of Community Violence Solutions
The Office of Community Violence Solutions (OCVS) serves as a “think tank” and partner in Denver’s comprehensive and collaborative approach to addressing violence in the community. OCVS convenes an extensive network of federal, state, and local government agencies, local businesses, community-based, grassroots, and faith-based organizations, and residents to work collaboratively to address violence. OCVS supports the development of innovative strategies through coordination and financial support to multiple organizations and efforts around the city that align with the efforts within Denver’s violence reduction model in the areas of community engagement and mobilization, prevention, secondary prevention, intervention, and violence interruption.
Denver Juvenile Services Center
The goal of the Denver Juvenile Services Center (DJSC) is to reduce system involvement and increase successful outcomes of youth by providing immediate and effective services based on the level of need for each individual coming through the DJSC. Depending on the level of risk and needs of a youth, the amount of services may range from basic screening with no referral for services to intensive case management and support services. The following are some of the services available at the DJSC:
Screening and assessment for:
Detention recommendations
Risks and needs
Substance abuse
Mental health
Crisis response coordination
Intervention and treatment referrals
Supervision and case management
Office of Children’s Affairs
The Office of Children's Affairs connects communities, government agencies and other stakeholders to support the safety, well-being and development of young people and their families; advocates on behalf of children, their families, and service providers to remove barriers and increase their opportunities; supports programs that are innovative, equitable and effective through funding and technical assistance; and leads across the child and youth-serving field by engaging youth voice, assessing community needs and innovating the ways in which we work.
Denver Department of Public Health and Environment
The Denver Department of Public Health & Environment (DDPHE) is Denver’s nationally accredited public health agency. We empower Denver’s communities to live better, longer by providing people with opportunities that support their well-being and by improving services that enrich our community.
Community & Behavioral Health (CBH) empowers Denver’s communities to live better, longer by informing, educating, and empowering the community to live a healthy lifestyle, to reduce chronic disease through awareness and prevention programs, and to implement population-based strategies that address social determinants of health. CBH also works to reduce barriers to accessing mental and physical health care. CBH is committed to creating and advocating for equal opportunities for all to grow, develop, and live life to its fullest potential.
Denver Department of Economic Development and Opportunity
Denver Economic Development & Opportunity creates an economy that works for everyone.
Denver Workforce Development serves as a FREE comprehensive employment and training resource for jobseekers and employers throughout Denver. We are a one stop shop to help you take your career to the next level. Along with a strong collaboration with contractors, we connect jobseekers with needed skills to secure sustainable employment, and we connect employers with a trained and ready workforce.
Office of Financial Empowerment & Protection
The Office of Financial Empowerment and Protection (OFEP) strives to achieve economic mobility, financial equity and inclusion, and generational wealth for Denver residents and small businesses through the integration of financial empowerment policies, programs and practices.
There are seven defining programs and initiatives of the Office:
Financial Empowerment Centers (FEC)
Free Tax Services (Denver Asset Building Coalition, Tax Payer Advocate Services)
Bank On Denver (BOD)
Consumer Financial Protection (CFP)
Financial Navigation
Financial Empowerment Innovation Center
Citywide Initiatives
Denver Parks & Recreation
As stewards of a legacy park system, Denver Parks and Recreation (DPR) is dedicated to customer service and enhancing the health of residents and the environment through innovative programs and safe, beautiful and sustainable places. The DPR system includes 30 recreation centers and nearly 20,000 acres of urban and mountain parkland including off-street trails, parkways and natural areas.
Denver District Attorney
Alternatives to Prosecution
https://www.denverda.org/units-and-programs/alternatives-to-prosecution/
Diversion is an alternative to formal court proceedings and is appropriate for non-violent juvenile and adult offenders, focusing on rehabilitation instead of punishment. The program is a voluntary alternative to criminal adjudication that allows a diversion-eligible person accused of a crime to complete a formal program designed to address, treat, or remedy the underlying issues related to the allegations against them.
Restorative Denver is a partnership between the Denver District Attorney’s Office and The Conflict Center, a community-based nonprofit organization. Cases are screened for this program and, if appropriate, referred to The Conflict Center to be handled through this community-based, restorative justice process.
Specialty Courts which are within our Behavioural Health Unit, focus on the mental health or substance misuse issues that are often the underlying contributors to criminal offenses.
Denver District Attorney
Community Programs
https://www.denverda.org/units-and-programs/community-programs/
Denver Anti-Trafficking Alliance (DATA) is a collaborative network housed and supported by the Denver District Attorney’s Office that works to create a victim-centered, multi-disciplinary response to human trafficking in Denver through victim services, collaborative investigation and prosecution, education and awareness, and public policy advocacy.
For over 20 years, the Denver District Attorney’s Office has provided the Courtrooms to Classrooms program to Denver Public Schools 5th grade students. The overarching goal of this program is for students to learn about the criminal justice system, develop problem-solving and decision-making skills, explore career options, bond with positive role models, and help the young people of Denver.
The Denver Victim Assistance and Law Enforcement (VALE) program strives to foster, enhance, and improve the responsiveness of the criminal justice system and community-based programs to victims of crime. The primary role of Denver VALE is the distribution of grants to victim-serving agencies, which amount to approximately one million dollars in awards per year.
Denver Public Schools
Department of Climate & Safety
Serving one of the largest school districts in Colorado, DPS Climate & Safety is creating a safe and secure environment for over 90,000 students, 14,000 staff members, and over 200 schools 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
The department has over 140 team members including an investigator, armed patrol officers, dispatchers, emergency management professionals, campus safety officers, and a prevention-focused support team. Our responsibilities are far-reaching. In addition to training district staff in emergency management, we protect our stakeholders from harm and offer guidance to school administrators to enhance school climate and safety in a wide variety of situations.
Our communications center handles over 25,000 calls for service each school year and also monitors all radio communications between our command staff, patrol staff, and Denver Police Department. We partner with local law enforcement, emergency responders, city officials, and Denver Metro non-profits for a wide range of situations.
Mental Health Services
https://sites.google.com/dpsk12.net/dpsmentalhealth/department-resources-contacts
DPS provides licensed and trained social workers and psychologists on school campuses to support the emotional and social well being of our students. These services are free to students and families, and are available to foster the development of the Whole Child.
The Student Safety Team supports school communities in the following areas of work: Suicide Risk Review Process, Threat Response Process, Individualized Supervision Management Plans, Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Process, Truancy/Deinquency, and the District Crisis Recovery Team. The Team is certified to train in the NASP PREPaRE model, Question. Persuade. and Refer. (QPR), and Sources of Strength. Additional services include weekly office hours, trainings for district and community partners, and community representation on various community teams.
The Behavior Team is a multidisciplinary team of professionals who provide consultation and support, related to student behavior, to school teams on a referral basis.
Strategic Operations
http://thecommons.dpsk12.org/Page/3047
Strategic Operations provides critical support to school staff and central teams in alignment with the district’s strategic roadmap, as well as the Ends Policies established by the DPS Board of Education. The team is responsible for partnering with academic and operational teams to drive equity-based continuous improvement efforts through data collection, analysis, research, program evaluation, and ongoing progress monitoring. The team also provides support to charter and innovation zone schools while facilitating district authorizing and accountability systems. Additional responsibilities include facilitating all aspects of local & state assessment and leading and supporting large-scale operational initiatives.
Culturally Sustaining Curriculum & Instruction
http://thecommons.dpsk12.org/Page/617
The Department of Culturally Sustaining Curriculum and Instruction collaboratively evolves teaching and learning so that all students experience an education that enriches their cultural, cognitive, and expressive identities and becomes lifelong learners who positively impact our world. To accomplish this, our aim is to provide culturally sustaining curricular resources in service of our vision that every student thrives.
To ensure our vision is realized, we:
Work to re-envision education through feedback loops and liberatory design directly with schools
Utilize Transformative Social Emotional Academic Learning (TSEAL) to build awareness of who we are and how our system works to leverage our voices and action to support the liberation of our marginalized students
Focus deeply on the implementation of academic standards and the instructional core
Build the capacity of our educators around content and culturally responsive mindsets
Provide resources and practice guidelines that deeply engage our students in their learning
Family & Community Engagement
http://thecommons.dpsk12.org/Domain/48
Family and Community Engagement (FACE) provides access to resources, information, education and support for everyone in the DPS community at any point in their life's journey, supporting our district’s 93,000 students and their families. Our programs and services include:
Family and Youth Services: We use innovative strategies to support students, families and schools, leveraging a multi-generational approach and partnering with community organizations to provide whole child and wrap-around services to obtain critical life skills that increase their economic self-sufficiency and the academic achievement of their students.
Empowerment and Engagement Team: Developing educated, enagaged and empowered parents and staff who are academic partners in their student's success.
Family Constituency Services: We provide high quality services using culturally competent practices. We provide services to families, schools, and community members who need assistance accessing school and district resources, addressing concerns, and building skills to be strong partners in their students’ education.
College & Career Success
http://thecommons.dpsk12.org/Page/1687
The Career and College Success team works to ensure that every DPS student graduates career and college ready by providing expertise, strategic thinking and ongoing direct service to students, families, school and central level staff.
Our vision is that all students have equitable access to a variety of college and career preparatory coursework, programs, resources and learning environments. We empower students with the skills and opportunities they need to navigate options and take ownership of their learning. We provide tangible support, opportunities and resources to students throughout their time in DPS to ensure that students are not only ready for career and college, but prepared to be successful in their career, including the relevant college experiences.
Office of Schools
http://thecommons.dpsk12.org/Page/3238
The mission of the Office of Schools is to shape the instructional vision for the district in service of an excellent Student Experience. To bring that vision to life, the Office of Schools works collaboratively across central and school-based teams to have the greatest impact on our students and families.
The Office of Schools is comprised of several essential functional areas for the district with the goal of providing the most comprehensive and coherent support and service to our schools: Schools, Academics, Athletics / Activities / Extended Learning, Strategic Management, Universal School Supports, and Exceptional Student Services.
Extended Learning & Community Schools
http://thecommons.dpsk12.org/Page/2567
Extended Learning and Community Schools (ELCS) oversees Discovery Link, ELCS Enrichment Programming, ELCSports and many other Out of School Time (OST) activities. Our programs provide DPS students a safe, enriching place to continue their studies, explore new skills and make friends during out-of-school time. We serve over 60 schools across the district and infuse Social Emotional Academic Learning (SEAL) into all of our programs.
ELCS Mission: Creating opportunities for school communities to engage and inspire Denver youth and families.
ELCS Vision: Provide high-quality programming every day at every site. We will support social, emotional, and academic learning, increase family participation and community engagement and expand middle school programming. In addition, we will develop a foundation and provide structures for DPS Elementary School Athletics, known as ELCSports, through our after school programming infrastructure.
Discipline
http://thecommons.dpsk12.org/Page/948
The goal of student discipline is to teach students to behave in ways that contribute to academic achievement and school success, and to support a school environment where students and staff are responsible and respectful.
The purpose of this policy is to support school discipline that:
Maintains safe and orderly learning communities;
Assures consistency across all schools in the district;
Defines and communicates expectations for student behavior;
Defines and communicates expectations for staff responsibility related to school discipline;
Balances the needs of the whole child, the needs of those directly affected by the behavior, and needs of the overall school community;
Assures equity across racial, ethnic, and cultural groups, as well as all other protected classes (color, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, transgender status, national origin, immigration/citizenship status, ancestry, religion, age, pregnancy, parenting or marital status, veteran status, and disability).
Restorative Practices
http://thecommons.dpsk12.org/Page/3134
A restorative climate and culture is the foundation upon which we can build healthy relationships, engage in community building, and then offer alternative community practices when harm occurs. Restorative practices include alternatives to punitive discipline policies, which have disproportionately affected certain groups of students, including students of color and Special Education students. Restorative practices offer us an alternative to exclusionary methods, such as classroom removal, suspension, and expulsion, which are not only unsuccessful at positively changing student behavior or learning achievement, but instead demonstrate negative effects on a student’s personal and academic achievement.
Restorative practices are not a discipline system and should not be used as such. However, restorative practices do offer a way to hold communities accountable and to address harm. We hope that you will learn more about restorative practices, encourage all educators in the building to engage, and help our students have the most supportive environment possible.
Social Emotional Learning
http://thecommons.dpsk12.org/Page/3268
The tSEL team supports all students in learning and developing the Social Emotional Learning (SEL) skills and competencies as these are an integral part of education and human development. The Collaborative for Academic Social Emotional Learning (CASEL) defines SEL as the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions.
CASEL understands and recognizes that many of the evidenced based and CASEL approved SEL curriculum are not necessarily culturally responsive for all students. DPS embraces the movement to focus on “Transformative SEL” in order to implement the teaching of SEL skills in culturally responsive and affirming practices.
Office of General Counsel
http://thecommons.dpsk12.org/Page/3268
The Office of General Counsel represents the district and the Board of Education on legal matters pertaining to the operations of the district.
DPS strives to create affirming and inclusive learning and working environments. Below are links to the policies and processes we use to walk our talk regarding nondiscrimination