The first time Superintendent Michael Bennet asked Jaime Aquino to move from New York to head Denver Public Schools’ academic reform, Aquino said no.
The second, third and fourth times Bennet asked, Aquino also said no.
Eventually, the education superstar from the Dominican Republic agreed and has spent the past three years working to transform the troubled urban district.
Aquino, 43, hired as part of Bennet’s “world-class team,” steps down next month as Denver’s chief academic officer.
He has taken a job at America’s Choice School Design, a for-profit subsidiary of the National Center on Education and the Economy.
He leaves after DPS posted historic gains on the Colorado Student Assessment Program — outgaining the state in almost every test at every grade level.
“A year ago, if he would have said he was leaving, I would have said it was a crisis,” Bennet said. “I don’t feel that now. Jaime has done an enormous amount of work equipping us with the tools we need and leading us down a path.”
Aquino has been an instructional superintendent in New York and a deputy superintendent in Hartford, Conn. He has a track record of raising student achievement, especially for students learning how to speak English.
“Leaving is really bittersweet,” Aquino said. “It’s very difficult. This is really my dream job . . . and I believe in the work we are doing.”
When Aquino was resisting Bennet’s pitch, he visited Denver and shadowed the young superintendent for three days and saw how the preppy Bennet worked hard to convince families of minorities of his dream to make Denver a top school district.
“He was able to relate to them, even despite the fact that he looks so different,” Aquino said. “He was able to transcend those barriers of race and reach them.”
Aquino led the district’s reform effort, called the Denver Plan, getting the district to focus more on training principals, using data and improving teachers’ skills.
He helped put in place a system that gives teachers planning and pacing guides to implement the district’s common curriculum.
He introduced benchmark assessments to provide teachers data to help them decipher areas where students were falling behind.
“Teaching is an art, but it is also a science,” he said. “Good teachers are data analysts.”
Aquino believes he has been a part of developing a culture of high expectations where student achievement is the main goal.
“We’re creating a culture of possibilities,” he said.
The district still has a long way to go. CSAP scores in the district are still about 20 percentage points behind state averages.
Denver is challenged because nearly half of its students are still learning how to speak English.
“How do we make sure we accelerate their acquisition of English?” he asked. “How do we continue to meet the needs of English-language learners?”
Aquino says he believes the district now has the tools and the momentum to fill that gap.
“When I get on that plane, it will be tough,” he said. “My greatest regret is I’m not going to be here to see the transformation of this district. And I know that it will happen.”
Jeremy P. Meyer: 303-954-1367 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com
