Concerned community members from southeast Denver have been talking to the Denver school board for months about a recommendation that was made formal Thursday to co-locate a new elementary school in Merrill Middle School.
But on Monday, in one of the last opportunities to get through to board members before the Nov. 17 vote, they heard a different opinion on the recommendation from a group supportive of the co-location.
“I have a daughter now in kindergarten. . . . She is very intelligent. She’s going to learn to read and write anywhere, but we want to give her more,” said southeast Denver resident Brian Nelson. “Programs are full. Merrill has the opposite problem.”
The proposed elementary school that would open alongside Merrill Middle and share the building, Creativity Challenge Community, or C3, is a performance school approved in June for opening next fall. Its designation as a performance school gives it some autonomy — but it will still be run by Denver Public Schools, unlike charter schools.
The school is slated to be an elementary school serving 350 children at full enrollment with a curriculum that emphasizes creative thinking and hands- on approaches.
Many Merrill parents opposed to the co-location idea have said at other meetings that they are afraid C3 will crowd the middle school and lead to less support and fewer resources to improve the programs at Merrill.
DPS staff have tried to assure the community that support will increase.
Carson Elementary principal Tamara Acevedo was one of the speakers Monday.
“I see the need and demand for high-quality options,” Acevedo said. “I know the location is not ideal, but I can say at Carson there’s three programs within one school, and it’s one of the most unique places to be, and I know it could be the same at Merrill.”
School-district administrators have said that if the board votes to approve the co-location, they expect Merrill and C3 to work together to leverage their resources — including sharing community partners and after-school activities.
DPS has identified a need in southeast Denver to make room for about 500 new elementary students and for about 1,000 new middle-school students in the following years.
DPS estimates there are about 650 middle-school age students living in Merrill’s boundary and that about 250 of them attend Merrill today.
Students attending C3 would be encouraged to feed into Merrill to help expand its current enrollment.
Board members will discuss the recommendations at Thursday’s board work session.
Yesenia Robles: 303-954-1372 or yrobles@denverpost.com
