Primary attention is given to the environments and personnel to support learning in the public schools, but learning is broadly defined to include human growth and development in the workplace, community services, and families. The city depends on leaders who can make learning accessible to all its citizens, regardless of race, culture, economic status, or ability. The programs in the School of Education draw upon the rich and diverse resources of Denver's communities and then return graduates to foster innovation and change within learning organizations. Second, leadership for learning is new knowledge about the teaching and learning process. The School of Education emphasizes a scholarship of practice that links faculty, students, schools, community agencies, businesses, and families in common cause for improved learning.
Leadership is also involvement.
Schools and other organizations are constantly challenged to adapt to the changing needs and priorities of the community. These challenges become opportunities for the School of Education to test and share new knowledge, teach in real settings, and apply new ideas. Through partnerships with schools and community services, the faculty work to ensure that both our programs of study and our scholarship have an impact on the difficult problems of practice in Denver's communities. The CU-Denver School of Education faculty is actively involved in current efforts to improve schools and teaching. We participate in national, state, and local reform efforts and attempt to create in our own teaching the kinds of learning environments proposed for schools at all levels.