CTD+ Denver Montessori

Denver Montessori!

Panera for Dinner!

DMHS Families! Panera Trip Fundraiser on 38th and Lowell from
4-8pm Today! - Please Mention DMHS. If you order ONLINE -
make sure to type in the CODE FUND4U.

Thank you for you ongoing support!

DMHS Families! Fall Fest tomorrow, November 1st from 5:30-8:30 in the Courtyard! Lot of fun activities!

Silent Auction and Chili Cookoff!
Chile Cookoff - Entry is FREE and winner gets $100!
Please fill out form for cookoff
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/ /chile+cookoff/FMfcgzQXJswdlJkDjqKMqhFPvrDxSKMN

Hope to see all of you there!

mail.google.com

Denver Montessori Family and Friends!

Upcoming Regional Engagement Sessions-

As you may have seen, over the next several weeks the district is hosting 6 Regional Engagement Sessions that will help to inform the community about why school consolidation is needed, the process that is used and what happens if their students' school closes. Below are the dates of each meeting:

Tomorrow, 9/24 from 6-7pm at South High School
Wednesday, 9/25 from 6-7pm at Manual High School
Monday, October 7th from 6-7pm at CEC Early College
Monday, October 14th from 6-7pm Lincoln High School
Tuesday, October 15th from 6-7pm at Montbello High School
Tuesday, October 22nd from 6-7pm Virtual (Zoom)

Please email me with any questions.

Obdulia

Denver Montessori! Our Silent Auction Items are ready to bid on if you can't make it tonight!

"TOAST TO TRAVEL" FUNDRAISER Silent auction '"TOAST TO TRAVEL" FUNDRAISER' hosted online at 32auctions.

Please join us for Back to School Night! Meet the Staff, Visit our Chickens, Bees, and Farm! Dinner will be served!

DMHS Families & Friends!

We hope everyone had a wonderful Summer Break!

Students 1st day back to school is Monday, August 19th.

Registration will be held here at the school on
Thursday, August 8th and Friday, August 9th from 8am-6pm.

We are excited to see all of our new and returning families!

If you have any questions, please email me at [email protected]

Denver Montessori Staff & Community,

We got our Principal, Sheldon back!

Thank you to our amazing students, community, parents, and staff for supporting, voicing your concerns, & fighting for Sheldon!

DPS reverses decision after teachers rally to keep principal at northwest Denver school
_______________________________________________________________________

By Jenny Brundin
Jun. 7, 2024, 2:06 pm
SHARE:

Jenny Brundin / CPR News
The Denver Public Schools headquarters near downtown.
A popular former principal of the year will now stay at his Denver school just days after Denver Public Schools removed him from the school earlier this week.

Sheldon Reynolds, a celebrated leader with a strong track record of raising achievement at struggling schools, was the “executive principal” overseeing two schools: Denver Montessori Junior/Senior School in the northwest part of the city and an elementary school, Center for Talent Development at Greenlee (CTD) in west Denver.

When the district decided to phase out the executive principal role, Reynolds asked to stay on as principal at DMHS but was told he can instead continue to lead CTD and would be welcome to reapply for the principal position at Montessori.

The decision caused upheaval and grief among Denver Montessori students and staff in the last week of the school year. It rattled many in the Denver school community, especially because Reynolds had moved the school from red to green in performance ratings in less than two years. The school had been through four leaders in five years and Reynolds provided some stability, said teachers, who rallied to keep him.

Friday morning, in a letter to staff and families, the district announced that Reynolds will remain as principal.

“We appreciate your patience as we work through this process to provide Denver Montessori with a solid leadership foundation for the future,” it said.

The district said it came to their attention that Reynolds had already been through a formal interview process to be principal at DMHS. According to the district, when there was a reorganization of supervisory leadership, it was not aware that Reynolds had already been through the interview process.

“We know Sheldon Reynolds is a great leader and will do great things at Denver Montessori, and we’re happy the way that it worked the way it did,” said district spokesperson Scott Pribble.

On Friday, teachers celebrated.

“Everybody was just cheering,” said teacher Caitlin Weaver. “It's just great to know that our voices matter. I think it's so rare that we feel like the district hears us so to feel like the district heard us and we used our voices to make a change just feels really meaningful and empowering.”

Reynolds’ outsized impact on students’ education, school culture
When Reynolds, who was named Colorado’s Outstanding Elementary Principal of the Year in 2022, arrived at Denver Montessori Junior/Senior High, it was struggling, in the lowest performance rating. Reynolds wanted to bring in a new model and recruited a new set of teachers.

As an alternative school model, the school's structure had been very loose, where students had a lot of freedom. For example, they could look at a board each morning and decide what classes to go to. That worked for some students but others didn’t go to classes and as a result, didn’t have the credits to graduate. The new team saw gaps between students based on economic background.

Reynolds and the new team brought in some new structures. That caused pushback from some students who were used to a lot of freedom. It was not always smooth. There were petitions to get Reynolds and some teachers fired.

But the teachers pressed on. The goal was to teach students “productive struggle,” how to overcome failure and fully take advantage of autonomy and freedom within a structure. Reynolds brought in a “talent development model,” which teachers say allows them to step outside of the traditional lesson model. Instead of one lesson one day, teachers are encouraged to move on when students are ready.

“We teach the lesson for as long as it takes for students to have a deep, rich understanding of the content we're teaching,’ said Weaver. “And I think that that has really allowed us to dig deeper into critical thinking with our students and results in a higher-level understanding of the content.”

She said she had to step back and let go of rigorous structure and release control to her students who would ultimately guide her and take ownership over their learning.

“The results were astounding,” she said.

Weaver, a veteran teacher, has worked for principals where she felt her voice didn’t matter or who micromanaged teachers into a certain model of teaching. She said Reynolds trusts teachers as experts.

“Sheldon really pushes us to not believe that there's one way to teach that we all have our own teaching styles and our own personalities and that those are all valid,” she said. “It's about us finding the best way to reach our students and still be us as teachers. And I think that that allows students to see us and trust us so much more because they're seeing us as our authentic selves and not us as robots.”

While some of this year’s graduates still lament the loss of the old school model, many more students were won over.

“By the end of this year, the same students that signed this petition (to get her fired) were crying and hugging me and telling me that I was their favorite teacher,” said Weaver.

Other teachers say they look forward to continuing the vision, plan and structures that are in place at the Montessori school.

“I’m confident that DPS leadership will be proud of this decision and this direction,” said teacher Julie Buck. “It represents what DPS can and should be all about.”

For the first semester of the next school year, Reynolds will still oversee the elementary school CTD until the district hires a new principal by the start of the second semester. At that time, Reynolds will be solely the principal of DMHS.
_____________________________________________________________________

Denver Montessori Middle School and High School families,
After additional discussions with Executive Principal Sheldon Reynolds, he has expressed an
interest in becoming the full-time principal at Denver Montessori Jr./Sr. High School and
continue to support CTD this fall. The Executive Principal role will be phased out during the 1st
semester of the 24/25 school year. Due to the phase out of the Executive Principal role and his
decision to remain as the leader of Denver Montessori, we are confident there isn’t a need for
another hiring process to occur as previously planned.
During the first semester of the 2024-2025 school year, Mr. Reynolds will continue to support
the Center for Talent Development at Greenlee while they search for their next principal. The
goal is to have that person in place by January 2025.
We appreciate your patience as we work through this process to provide Denver Montessori
with a solid leadership foundation for the future.
Sincerely,

Drew Coleman
Associate Chief of Schools: ECE and Elementary
Kevin Greeley
Elementary Executive Director

Denver Montessori,

We want and need him to stay here at Denver Montessori!
Please contact Obdulia at 303-359-2088 if you would like to support the Staff & Community.

Leadership Change 4250 Shoshone St Denver CO 80211 P) 720-424-2600 F)720-424-2620 Hello All, 22 years ago I started my career in education teaching 5th gr...

Families and Friends!

Panda For Dinner & you don't even have to leave your house!

This Friday May 31st is our Panda Fundraiser.
Online orders only.
Must use code 923740 in PROMO CODE box when ordering.

https://www.community-fundraiser.com/virtual-fundraiser/events/promotions/f4bd43a0-d829-414f-fa4a-15898b168915/en/landing

We would like to again congratulate our amazing Class of 2024! We will miss you!

Denver Montessori Friends and Family!

1 week before our Senior Check-Out Day! We are so excited yet sad to see them leave!

Congratulations to our Class of 2024!

If you would like to support our ongoing Senior Basket Tradition, please click on the Amazon Link below.

https://www.amazon.com/registries/gl/guest-view/15DSDKW08LR0T

Please call Obdulia if you have any questions.
720-424-2625

Congrats Seniors! | Amazon Gift List