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.

Eight-year-old and gymnast Allie Vanderploeg, left, ...

A majority of students in Denver and Jeffco are engaging in online learning, districts say

May 7, 2020 at 5:39 p.m.

Most students in Colorado鈥檚 two largest school districts are participating in remote learning, according to data from the districts. But statewide, it抖阴ap harder to tell how many Colorado children are...

Facing “dire” budget shortfall, Denver school board may consider pay freezes, school mergers

April 20, 2020 at 8:30 a.m.

The Denver school district is bracing for a 鈥渄ire financial situation鈥� next year, in the likely case that a coronavirus-induced economic downturn decimates Colorado education funding.

Denver high school students can now choose to earn letter grades 鈥� or not

April 17, 2020 at 9:08 a.m.

Students will now have a choice: For each class, they can decide whether they want to receive a letter grade or would prefer their transcript to show that they earned...

Memes and multitasking: How Denver teachers prepared for launch of remote learning

April 7, 2020 at 7:56 a.m.

Denver Public Schools makes the monumental shift to remote learning Tuesday after a three-week 鈥渆xtended spring break鈥� during which classes were canceled. The district announced Friday that online learning will...

Two Denver students under quarantine after contact with family friend with coronavirus

March 9, 2020 at 5:54 a.m.

Two students at Denver鈥檚 East High School who were exposed to a man who tested presumptive positive for the new coronavirus are under self-quarantine, according to a letter sent to...

Colorado schools are “investigating themselves” when it comes to restraining, secluding students

February 26, 2020 at 8:26 a.m.

Nearly every day, Brenna Wann saw staff members take young students, sometimes kicking and screaming, to the 鈥渜uiet room鈥� of her Colorado elementary school.

Denver鈥檚 Lincoln and Manual high schools ordered to follow improvement plans

February 14, 2020 at 10:28 a.m.

For the first time ever, two Denver schools faced state action Thursday after years of low performance. But rather than close the schools or convert them to charters, the State...

DPS Superintendent Susana Cordova answers questions ...

In first year, Denver Superintendent Susana Cordova tried to find common ground in a divided district

January 22, 2020 at 7:10 a.m.

Susana Cordova鈥檚 first year as superintendent of Denver schools was marked by what one observer called a 鈥渢orrent of change.鈥� A month after she took office last January, the Denver...

Language arts teachers Caitlin Weaver, middle, ...

More Denver teachers returned this fall, thanks to 15.7% average post-strike pay raise

January 13, 2020 at 2:01 p.m.

Far more Denver teachers returned to the classroom this fall than in previous years, a retention boost that district officials attribute to pay increases won after a聽teacher strike聽last year.

A new Denver school board takes a softer tone with low-performing schools

December 27, 2019 at 10:57 p.m.

The Denver school board is in the midst of radically changing its approach to school improvement, moving from an inflexible strategy that closed or replaced struggling schools to a more...

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