Community Identifies Need

Our Turn is asking the Denver Board of Education to pass and fund a resolution mandating that all schools hire at least one full-time mental health counselor; train all district staff on trauma-informed practices each year; and hire counselors who are predominately people of color to be reflective of the students they work with.

Partner Response

Our Turn is developing a new generation of civic leaders who are passionate about educational equity. Using the media, they spread the word about their organizing work and campaigns, including the fight for more mental health supports.  

Impact

Our Turn students petitioned the Board of Education last fall to pass their mental health resolution and continue to advocate for reforms. The Class of 2020’s Amelia Federico, of DSST Byers, published this piece in Chalkbeat:  The pandemic has been hard on students like me. It’s time to boost mental health support in schools.

CMAS:What You Need To Know

CMAS: What You Need To Know

Every spring in Denver, a familiar end-of-year exam happens in our schools. Across the city, students sit down to take the Colorado Measures of Success, better known as CMAS. This year, CMAS testing for Denver Public Schools (DPS) runs from April 6 to April 24, 2026. During that window, students in grades 3-8 will take assessments in some combination of English Language Arts, math, science and social studies. Specific school calendars may vary. For some families, CMAS can feel like

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