Our Turn

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.

Student with cell phone in class

Cell Phones, Classrooms and Community Voice: What’s Happening in Denver Public Schools

If you are a Denver Public Schools (DPS) parent, educator or community member, you have probably heard the conversations already—at school pickup, in group chats or maybe around your kitchen table. What should schools do about cell phones? And who gets to decide? By July 1, 2026, House Bill 25-1135 requires every Colorado school district to adopt a formal policy that limits the use of smartphones and smartwatches by students during the school day. The goal of the legislation is

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