News Release
Save American Indian Academy of Denver Families United
Save American Indian Academy of Denver (AIAD) Rally on Tuesday, November 29, 2022 from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM at 1865 WEST MISSISSIPPI AVENUE, AMERICAN INDIAN ACADEMY OF DENVER. The rally is being organized by AIAD parents to demonstrate how important it is to keep AIAD open this year and beyond. The rally is also to raise awareness that the DPS administration is threatening to recommend the closure of AIAD prematurely in December 2022, displacing 134 students and 21 staff members in the middle of a school year.
What: Save AIAD Rally
When: Tuesday, November 29, 2022, 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Where: AMERICAN INDIAN ACADEMY OF DENVER, 1865 MISSISSIPPI AVENUE, Denver, CO
Details:
The rally on November 29th will feature elected tribal officials from 5 tribes whose ancestral homelands are now the front range of Colorado. They will be in Denver to point out the irony of the day (the anniversary of the Sand Creek Massacre) and the irony that these actions are being taken during Native American Heritage Month. The rally will also feature state/local elected officials and Indigenous community leaders who recognize the importance of the continued existence of American Indian Academy of Denver.
Background:
American Indian Academy of Denver is the only indigenized STEAM school in Colorado and the only school in the state that offers Dineh (Navajo) as a language. At AIAD, land-based learning and cultural integration is central to all learning. AIAD serves the most underserved population in all Denver metro area school districts and a population that is often invisible to the broader community.
American Indian Academy of Denver (AIAD) launched in August 2020 as an innovative educational option that meets the demonstrated needs of American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) and Latinx students and families in the Denver metro area. AIAD fills an educational need in Southwest Denver in particular, which has large American Indian/Alaskan Native and Latinx populations and has been identified by the National Indian Education Association as a school choice “desert.”1 During its third year of operation, American Indian Academy of Denver serves a culturally and socioeconomically diverse community of 134 students in grades 6-10, representing 30 unique zip codes across the greater Denver area. Over ninety-eight percent of AIAD students self-identify as an ethnic minority; 59% American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN); 32% Latino; 3% White; 1% Black; 1% Asian; and 4% Two or more races. Over 90% of AIAD’s total student population come from households with incomes below Denver’s self-sufficiency standard.
A high percentage of American Indian Academy of Denver’s target populations of American Indian/Alaskan Native and Latino students fit the criteria of being educationally disadvantaged and/or otherwise at-risk. A sizeable portion of our students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch (FRL), English Language Learner (ELL) education, and/or Special Education. Twenty percent of AIAD students are on an IEP (9% higher than Denver Public Schools average); and 9.7% are ELL students (this number includes American Indian/Alaskan Native students because although English is spoken at home, students’ academic English skills have not been mastered). Approximately 25% of AIAD students qualify for Gifted & Talented, Advance Learning Plans, or are in the Gifted & Talented pool. This is extremely significant given that nationally Latino students are underrepresented in GT by 30%; American Indian/Alaskan Native students are underrepresented by 13%; and students with disabilities and those learning English are underrepresented by 75%.
The COVID19 pandemic crashed into American Indian Academy of Denver’s opening and development, a pandemic that had an inequitable harmful impact on the Indigenous community. The reality of opening a small school during this time is both monumental and unparalleled. AIAD’s founding team had been confident prior to the pandemic (and even during the 2020-2021 school year) that our highly qualified team had the skills, resources, and knowledge to serve a target population with well-documented significant educational, social, and emotional needs. However, as a brand-new school, AIAD was not prepared to meet the challenges of the “post-pandemic” return to full in-person school in 2021-2022. The staff worked incredibly hard opening and sustaining in-person instruction during the 21-22 school year, led by phenomenal school leaders, families, and community members. American Indian Academy of Denver also reallocated resources to hire additional staff: Dean of Students; security guard; and two paraprofessionals. However, despite the best of efforts, there was high staff turnover during the year along with a significant amount of student attrition.
Many other schools across Denver and Colorado had similar experiences American Indian Academy of Denver over this past year. Many other schools across Denver Public Schools are experiencing under-enrollment, high staff turnover and steep financial challenges that are exacerbated by the dramatic increase in student mental health needs. Why is the Denver Public Schools administration treating AIAD’s situation as if it’s unique? Why is the DPS administration being so aggressive toward our school community by threatening a midyear closure?
Denver Public Schools should have given American Indian Academy of Denver time to recover and regroup so that school leadership could have adequately addressed the financial gap and geared up for next year’s enrollment. Instead, AIAD’s leadership team and staff have had to spend all of their time these last 6 weeks assuaging the fears of families, students, and fellow staff members. If the DPS administration is truly committed to equity, they would be finding a way to invest in our school community to ensure its success instead of treating us like we are so easily dismissed.
