Team,

One of the pieces of feedback we received from last spring’s End of Year staff survey was the desire for more connection between schools, teachers, and the Home Office. Your voice and opinion matters, and we continue to cultivate different ways to strengthen the essential two way dialogue that many of you are seeking.

This year I am doubling down on visiting each of our schools to meet with students, teachers, and leadership and to get a pulse of how the year is progressing. I want to understand the experience our students, teachers and leaders are having in our schools. I have visited four schools so far, and will be visiting schools on a regular basis throughout the year.

An additional part of strengthening the two-way dialogue is a revamp of the annual School Town Halls. Town Halls are yet another way for us to connect with the larger school community, and I look forward to hearing your opinions. This year, we are listening closely to School Directors and Coaches and entertaining new ways of making Town Halls work effectively for your campus. Look out for an email from your School Director with more details on your school’s town hall.

Regardless of format, I look forward to connecting with you all in some way this fall.  Denver is rapidly growing and changing, and we know these changes have great implications for our students, families, and schools. Our work is more important than ever, and we need your questions, your input and your suggestions in order to uphold our bar of excellence and do our best work for our families.  I hope that these connection points will help answer your questions and walk away with a renewed sense of purpose in the important work we do here every day.

In preparation for these town halls I’m including a link to questions that were posed during last year’s Town Halls, and their answers. We hope you will find this helpful as you reflect on what you would like to ask and share this year.

Remember that Town Halls are not the only time you can ask questions. You can always email me or any member of the Senior Leadership Team and expect a response within 24 hours. And finally, if you have a suggestion or question, you can share it through the the brand new Home Office Suggestion Box. We will be checking it daily and will promptly respond to you via email within 24 hours.

I look forward to hearing from you and seeing you this fall.

Bill