Teachers at Rishel Middle School cried and hugged in the hallways today after being told by Denver Public Schools officials that the school was being phased out.
The elimination is part of the district’s shared-campus plan. Teachers were told the news at an hour-long meeting after school finished for the day. DPS says the school will be phased out over the next two years.
“This is a huge shock. They told us we were going to co-locate. There was not a single word about closing the school,” said Lynn Knowles, a seventh-grade language-arts teacher who has taught at Rishel for 12 years.
“I’ve never seen a group of people work so hard. What they’re doing to them is so amazingly sad,” said Elaine VanDeWege, who works with the Balarat Outdoor Education Center, which has its offices at the school.
She said the school’s employees, including custodians, have worked hard to build a school community.
Tonight, the Denver school board will formally announce its recommendations for the Rishel building and other schools it has targeted for co-location.
KIPP Denver College High School and the Math & Science Leadership Academy are expected to be housed in the Rishel building.
KIPP is a charter school, and Math & Science is an innovation school proposed by the teachers union. Rishel has 400 to 500 available seats, according to DPS officials.
Among scenarios under discussion by the board:
The high school program will be for children who would be the first in their families to attend college.
It’s unclear what programs will be located in Lake or Skinner middle schools. Both have meetings set for tonight.
Skinner Middle School may be made available to co-locate students from North High during the high school’s remodeling project, which is expected to begin next year and was made possible by the passing of the district’s $454 million bond.
Skinner has 600 to 700 available seats, according to district officials.
