Principles

Children in Denver must have the opportunity to fulfill their potential through their experience in a high performing school. A+ Denver will aggressively and relentlessly focus the community on improving academic success for all public school students.

A+ Denver believes:

  • Student Centered -- Our actions and decisions will put the needs and interests of students above all else.

  • Transparency -- We will act transparently, share information openly, and serve as a truth teller, regardless whose interests the facts might affect.

  • High Expectations -- We will expect all of Denver's students to meet high levels of achievement based on international standards for college and career readiness.

  • Accountability -- We will hold ourselves and others at all levels--including school board, administration, school leaders, teachers, parents, students, and the community--accountable for the success of our schools and students.

  • Awareness & Engagement -- We will make education the priority issue for the entire Denver community.

  • Choice & Equitable Access -- We believe that all schools should be excellent and that there should be no bad options; we will ensure high quality school choices for every family and student.

  • Adequate Resources -- We believe that sufficient resources must be available and equitably allocated for all schools, and that they be used efficiently and effectively to guarantee school performance and student achievement.

  • Data-Driven Best Practices -- We will ensure effective planning, evidence-based best practices, and ongoing evaluation drive our decisions and actions.

A+ Denver will conduct a relentless campaign to build and improve Denver’s portfolio of high performing public schools that will provide a superior education.  A+ Denver will hold our public schools accountable for implementing transformative reforms to turn around the low performing schools, close failing schools and open new schools, whether charter, innovation, performance, contract or traditional. A+ Denver will work to develop a culture in Denver where transformative reforms and closing or redesigning chronically failing schools are seen as part of a positive and continuous movement of quality improvement.

A+ members will join together to stand up to special interests and political forces that seek to preserve a failed system. The difficulty of change pales in comparison to the devastating consequences for our current and future students if we do nothing. Action is an urgent moral and economic imperative.