Denver Public Schools has named Jeannine Carter as its diversity coordinator, part of a districtwide effort to help school staffs better reflect the racial makeup of the student body.
“Diversity is a core value for us,” DPS Superintendent Tom Boasberg said. “We have a very diverse student body. Over 75 percent are students of color, and over 40 percent come from families that speak a language other than English at home. Dozens of languages are spoken.”
Carter, most recently the director of Denver’s Division of Business Development, has served as vice president for diversity and inclusion at Monster Worldwide and also was a co-owner and partner of a global diversity and human resources systems consulting firm in Chicago.
At DPS, her job will be to recruit and retain educators, and work on diversity issues and cultural competency education.
DPS has already been plugging away at the issue.
This school year, more than half the principals hired are Latino or African-American.
The district also has launched the Denver Teacher Residency Program, a new teacher-pipeline effort for such high- needs subjects as math, science and bilingual education. The program is a joint effort by DPS and the University of Denver and has 27 residents. More than half are people of color; 22 percent are bilingual.
“Having a workforce that understands, appreciates and is well-trained to address the needs of this multicultural student body is very important,” Boasberg said.
Colleen O’Connor: 303-954-1083 or coconnor@denverpost.com
