Melanie Asmar

Melanie Asmar covers Denver Public Schools. Asmar previously worked as a reporter for Westword newspaper in Denver and for a daily newspaper in her native New Hampshire. She joined Chalkbeat Colorado in 2015.

DENVER, CO - March 16: A Denver Public Schools emblem and sign on the Evie Garrett Dennis Campus that houses five separate schools with 1,600 students in Pre-K through 12th grade in Northeast Denver, Colorado on March 16, 2016.

Denver Public Schools violated the rights of Black boys with disabilities, state finds

September 15, 2022 at 5:56 p.m.

Denver Public Schools systematically violated the rights of Black boys with disabilities who attend specialized programs, state education officials found in a wide-ranging investigation.

Montbello Career and Technical High School shares a campus with the Robert F. Smith STEAM Academy. (Melanie Asmar, Chalkbeat)

Denver Public Schools recommends closing a far northeast alternative high school

September 2, 2022 at 12:49 p.m.

Denver Public Schools leaders are recommending that聽Montbello Career and Technical High School聽shutter at the end of this school year, partly to make room for another school.

Denver Public School脮s new superintendent Alex ...

Frustration with closed meetings, limited debate dog Denver Public Schools’ declining enrollment committee

April 8, 2022 at 8:55 a.m.

As Denver moves toward a fraught debate over closing schools with low enrollment, critics are assailing an advisory committee process they say has been marred by secrecy and frustration.

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock guest teaches a class at South High School on Friday, Feb. 18, 2022.

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock teaches classes to call attention to substitute shortage

February 22, 2022 at 6:00 a.m.

His guest appearance at South had dual purposes: to talk to students about a topic he鈥檚 passionate about and to call attention to Denver Public Schools鈥� pandemic-era substitute teacher shortage.

Denver Public Schools Ombudsperson Sharon Bailey, seen here in a 1987 photo when she was a delegate to the World Congress of Women in Moscow, died Friday, Dec. 3, 2022.

Sharon Bailey remembered as Denver Public Schools鈥� “moral compass”

December 7, 2021 at 9:43 a.m.

Denver Public Schools lost its moral compass with the passing of district Ombudsperson Sharon Bailey on Friday, according to friends and colleagues.

Denver school board members X贸chitl 鈥淪ochi鈥� Gayt谩n, Scott Esserman, Michelle Quattlebaum, and Carrie Olson pose for a photo after being sworn in Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021.

X贸chitl Gayt谩n, Tay Anderson take helm of Denver鈥檚 union-backed school board

December 1, 2021 at 9:59 a.m.

Denver鈥檚聽newest school board members聽were sworn in Tuesday and immediately elected to leadership roles, a move that marks the completion of a political 鈥渇lip鈥� that puts board members supported by the...

A Denver Public Schools emblem and sign on the Evie Garrett Dennis Campus that houses five separate schools with 1,600 students in Pre-K through 12th grade in Northeast Denver, Colorado on March 16, 2016.

Denver school board votes to pay members up to $750 per month under new state law

November 19, 2021 at 9:23 a.m.

Denver Public Schools will pay board members up to $150 per day for as many as five days per month 鈥� or $750 per month each 鈥� for attending regular...

Denver Public School's new superintendent Alex Marrero high-fives young students in the hallway on the first day of school at Marrama Elementary School on Aug. 23, 2021, in Denver.

Denver puts brakes on plan to close or consolidate small schools

October 1, 2021 at 9:54 a.m.

The Denver teachers union praised new Superintendent Alex Marrero鈥檚 decision to focus on pandemic recovery.

Students study during a mixed science ...

Charter school, innovation zone employees can’t get elected to Denver school board

September 27, 2021 at 2:07 p.m.

The next DPS school board election is Nov. 2, and four of the 13 candidates were affiliated with the district professionally last school year.

Activist Xochitl Gaytan, left, addresses a crowd during a news conference about a climate bill on April 19, 2021 in Denver, Colorado. She is running for a Denver Public Schools board seat.

Teachers union endorses four candidates in November’s Denver Board of Education election

September 9, 2021 at 3:48 p.m.

Fourteen candidates are running for four seats on the seven-member school board in the Nov. 2 election.

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