Denver Journal of Education & Community

Students in Denver are struggling with being heard by their school staff.

The struggles inside a school building are often unseen. Traditional authority and culture suggests students are expected to respect decisions made by school staff.

From the outside looking in, how can the Denver community know about the unique struggles of students?

Furthermore, is there a way to use these experiences to help our public schools grow?

💬 Comment “DJEC” if you want us to DM you a link to our journal. Or click the link in bio.

Students should feel a sense of community inside a school building.

Allan is our Chief Writer and he takes insights from community convos (hosted in the Denver metro area) and writes a main article in response.

From our main article, “One young man noted that his school essentially put him under perpetual surveillance after he had gotten in trouble for fighting with a faculty member. He was accompanied by an adult for all activities within the school, including eating lunch and going to the bathroom” (DJEC, Suspensions & Expulsions, 2024).

“Over time, this system of surveillance wore on him, making him feel as though he wasn’t really a part of the school community but rather that he was a threat to the safety of the community that needed to be carefully monitored” (DJEC, Suspensions & Expulsions, 2024).

We’re curious to learn how school practices related to Suspensions & Expulsions are affecting student outcomes.

So far, the stories we’ve read are that of students feeling even more isolated and problems are not being solved.

Do you work in special education?

Does someone you love receive special education services?

Would you be willing to talk about your experience?

We’ll help you organize a community conversation and provide you with a meal. Insights from this convo will be anonymous and will help inform our upcoming topic on Special Education.

Hit us up and let’s talk!

Young students of color are disproportionately affected by policing inside schools.

Once a mistake happens, are schools welcoming the student with open arms or are schools surveilling the student until they make another mistake?

In theory, suspensions & expulsions exist to help maintain a safe school culture. However, we’re finding in community stories that the opposite is happening. More concerningly, these practices are harming the life outcomes of our students.

“In an effort to promote school safety, school systems often utilize a system of surveillance where students are treated as perpetual suspects who must be constantly watched because they are searching for an opportunity to commit some type of offense” (DJEC, Suspensions & Expulsions, 2024).

“One young man noted that his school essentially put him under perpetual surveillance after he had gotten in trouble for fighting with a faculty member” (DJEC, Suspensions & Expulsions, 2024).

💬 If you want us to DM you a link to our journal comment “DJEC”. Or click the link in bio. 🔗

What path are we leading our young students onto?

How can school leaders create a safe environment for all their students?

Is there such a thing as over-policing a student’s behavior and being too harsh with punishments?

These are questions that came up as we heard about how the student felt when she was handcuffed after a school fight.

“One student who had been handcuffed and detained by police for a school fight noted that the looks she received from her peers when being hauled away, have stayed with her. From that moment on, she felt like many of her peers treated her differently. She thought the involvement of police officers in a simple school fight was a bit extreme and, in part, was an effort to criminalize what they believed to be normal teenage conflict” (DJEC, Suspensions & Expulsions, 2024).

💬 If you want us to DM you a link to our journal comment “DJEC”. Or click the link in bio. 🔗

Hey, change makers in the Denver metro area!

We’re getting community feedback around how school districts are giving special education services.

We’d love to engage more deeply with you. If you have experience with or someone you love has received special education services - hit us up!

The special education community is passionate and their voice needs to be heard. Message us on Instagram so we can get your community conversation set up (we’ll provide a meal)!

Or if you’d like to share your thoughts online, you can write on our website (DM us for more info).

The faces behind our journal! Alongside our many community writers, Dr. Childress and Dr. Jefferson forms our core leadership, with Jadyn supporting our social media efforts.

These pics are from our lunch meetings. Breaking bread is important to us! It’s why we provide a meal to leaders who host community conversations.

We hope you’re having a great Thursday!

P.S. Our new journal topic: Suspensions & Expulsions is live!

💬 Comment “DJEC” if you want us to DM you a link to our journal. Or click the link in bio. 🔗

Kids will be kids. Students are still young and learning about life. How does a school community respond when students are already having a tough time out of school?

Could a student’s tough personal life be the reason why they’re “acting out” at school?

“In fact, many of the discussion participants had experienced being pushed out of a school, and noted that prior to their punishment, they were already experiencing day-to-day circumstances that made it difficult for them to manage their school affairs” (DJEC, Suspensions and Expulsions, 2024).

💬 Comment “DJEC” if you want us to DM you a link to our journal. Or click the link in bio. 🔗

“There’s something particularly scary about being excluded, being alone, being asked to leave. Being pushed out of a school, for many students, is an experience of being judged, rejected and socially isolated” (DJEC, Suspensions and Expulsions).

Loneliness is dangerous for kids. The point of school is to provide space for students to learn with other students and staff who support them.

We have a new article published on Suspensions and Expulsions.

💬 Comment “DJEC” if you want us to DM you a link to our journal. Or click the link in bio. 🔗

From Dr. Antwan Jefferson, on our Newcomer Students issue,

“I’ll stay in my lane here by noting that there is lots of rich information in this issue about what newcomer students face in the region’s classrooms, and I’m still very much learning what this means for my own education practice. Their education requires skills that I didn’t learn in my teacher education program nor study in my doctoral work. I hope that you’ll approach this issue with an open mind and an open heart as well, joining me in recognizing our own lanes and offering what we can to support educators and the families of newcomer students.

Peace, antwan”.

You can read from the likes of Dr. Jefferson, a current student, and community members.

Community voice is what will guide the future of public education. It’s important that decision makers pause and reflect on their perspectives.

💬Comment “DJEC” if you want us to DM you a link to our journal. Or click the link in bio. 🔗

“Prompted by increased enrollment for newly arrived students, many schools are realizing how unprepared they are to welcome newcomers into their communities”.

“Advocates for these families have asserted that the influx of new families in Denver will force schools to implement the necessary reforms to support those families.”

These quotes are from a journal by Alex Boeding. A former classroom educator who holds an M.A. in Educational Foundations, Policy, and Practice from CU Boulder.

Like or save for more posts like this!

Comment “DJEC” and we’ll message you a link to read Alex’s writing. 💬🔗

“A shock for my newcomer students was the liberalism of Denver.” From a journal by Katie Ruiz Gonzalez. An accomplished local educator who’s passionate about diversity, equity, and inclusion. She was awarded as Outstanding Undergraduate Student in CU Denver’s education programs.

These quotes have been resonating with our community members.

Thanks Katie for sharing your experiences!

💬🔗Comment “DJEC” if you want us to send you a direct message with Katie’s writing. 💬🔗