In three years in Montbello and Green Valley Ranch, the number of English language learners has grown steadily from 561 to 794 to 1,081 students. In 11 schools in southwest Denver, the number has grown over the same three years from 806 to 1,078 to 1,294 students. Prompted by the trends, the department identified a number of concerns. An investigation is needed to discover the reasons why unqualified teachers remain in the program for more than one year. Procedures need to be improved for monitoring the progress of teachers who are working toward becoming fully qualified.
Schools vary widely in the percent of fully qualified teachers.
Board members Lucia Guzman and Bennie Milliner both expressed continued concern with the lack of vigilance in ensuring that teachers obtain the necessary training. The top recommendation for the school's name is for a woman who became the first African American female teacher to be given a contract. Marie Greenwood first received a teaching contract for a first-grade classroom at Whittier School in 1935. She was tenured in 1938. In 1955, she broke the color barrier in DPS and taught at school outside an African-American neighborhood, at Newlon Elementary School.