The traditional end-of-year tears, goodbyes and “good lucks” were more heartfelt and had more finality Thursday at a handful of Denver schools.
Eight elementary school buildings throughout the city will not reopen next year as part of Denver Public Schools’ reform effort.
Last fall the school board chose to shut the schools that have had declining enrollments and woeful achievement. Students will be sent to other buildings with more resources and programs.
While the end for these schools has been on the calendar for months, the final day was heartbreaking for staff and students.
“It didn’t hit me until today,” said Brenda Kazin, principal of Fallis Elementary.
The 48-year-old school in south Denver is predominantly filled with English-language learners and many refugee students. About 90 percent will move on to Place, which is being designed to specialize in providing newcomer services.
District officials have not said what will happen with the abandoned buildings.
Some education advocates are concerned about the district’s plans for the schools that are receiving the relocated students. They fear the schools don’t have the resources to succeed.
“The plans are very good, but I think the implementation will be difficult,” said Brian Weber, who is on the blue- ribbon panel that examines DPS issues.
“They are being asked to do a lot at once, with a lot of the same people who were teaching these kids before,” he said. “I naturally wonder if there has been enough time to really gather the right folks to make this work.”
On Thursday, though, the focus was on celebrating students and the schools that have stood for decades.
“It’s bittersweet,” said Kazin, who will be the principal at Place.
At Fallis’ end-of-year celebration, students sang, danced and wrote out their favorite memories of the school on pieces of paper that were tied to balloons and sent into the air.
At Hallett Elementary, on the city’s north side, the mood was subdued as parents picked up their children.
“This is a pretty miserable situation,” said Jibraaiyl Abdullaah, 36, whose 8-year-old boy, Zadkiel, just finished third grade.
Abdullaah went to Hallett for grades 1-3 and remembers the school as a welcoming haven where standards were high.
“A couple of my friends and me kind of shared some tears over this,” Abdullaah said. “A lot of heart and soul is being ripped from the community.”
Ramon Conner, 7, a small boy wearing a knapsack almost half his size, will go to third grade at nearby Smith.
“I’m sad because it is closing and some of my friends won’t be coming to Smith,” he said.
His mother, Dyan Gules-Conner, 32, fears that the closings will lead to more crowding in other schools, including Smith, where her son attended first grade.
Not everyone was upset that the low-slung, beige brick building will no longer be a school.
“I think it is a good thing — the education here is not good,” said Taneika Campbell, 29, who has three children at Hallett.
The most vocal opposition to the closures was from families of students who attended Smedley Elementary in northwest Denver. Parents regularly crowded board meetings to complain about the process and pleaded for the board to spare Smedley.
But on Thursday, the 106-year-old building was sent away in style.
The students’ rendition of the school song, “The Smedley Medley,” was played over the intercom at the start of school. The day ended with a picnic and formal ceremony.
Even one of the most vocal opponents of the closure, Jennifer Sanchez, said she has found peace with the decision.
“I’m here to support my child and to celebrate Smedley,” she said. “We’re still Smedley Stars, and we will be stars wherever we go.”
Jeremy P. Meyer: 303-954-1367 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com
