The principal of North High School resigned Monday in the midst of a fight to dramatically reform the high school, citing health reasons.
North principal Darlene LeDoux said she was “deeply saddened to leave the students, teachers and families at North” but that serving as principal requires “150 percent dedication and recent medical issues make it impossible for me to continue in this role.”
Denver Public Schools Superintendent Michael Bennet appointed elementary school principal JoAnn Trujillo Hays to immediately take the helm of the beleaguered high school.
Hays is the principal of Academia Ana Marie Sandoval, a dual-language Montessori program in the same neighborhood.
The change should bring about conversations on student achievement at North High that will include middle- and elementary-school principals in the neighborhood as well, Bennet said.
“I think we have a much broader conversation coming than North itself,” Bennet said. “One thing I’ve heard from teachers and many people in the community is that kids who come to North aren’t prepared. … I cannot think of anybody I’ve ever met in DPS or anywhere more capable of leading that conversation.”
North High School is embroiled in a community debate on what to do about the school’s declining enrollment and low CSAP scores.
Some parents and teachers at the school want to continue a $300,000 reform effort with the Washington-based Education Trust.
Teachers at the school have gone through training to revamp grading and teaching styles. And 2006 CSAP scores improved in most categories, after a year of implementation.
But three Denver City Council members – as well as leaders from Padres Unidos, or Parents United, a northwest Denver advocacy group, and the Northwest Parents for Excellent Schools – are pushing for a school “redesign,” which means that all teachers would have to reapply for their jobs.
Councilwoman Rosemary Rodriguez, who has spearheaded the effort to start over at North, said she wished the best for LeDoux and added: “I hope that with a new leader on track, North can become a school that can prepare every child for college.”
Teachers, who heard the news Monday at an after-school meeting, were saddened at the announcement.
“It’s the kind of turmoil that the kids don’t need to be focusing on,” said Tim Marlatt, director of the school’s computer magnet program. “I don’t know if it’s going to be good for the long run.”
Math teacher Lawrence Garcia said he will continue to work hard to boost CSAP scores.
Cindy Daisley has twin sophomores at North and has worked on the school’s reform effort for two years. She said Monday that LeDoux’s leaving is “the worst thing that could happen.”
“I believe North can be a good school, but you can’t turn anything around overnight,” she said. “My question to the City Council members is where were they last year?”
Staff writer Allison Sherry can be reached at 303-954-1377 or asherry@denverpost.com.
