Angela Cobian
Angela Cobian was a member of the Denver Board of Education in Colorado, representing District 2. Cobian assumed office on December 21, 2017. Cobian left office on November 30, 2021.
Cobian ran for re-election to the Denver Board of Education to represent District 2 in Colorado. Cobian won in the general election on November 7, 2017.
Cobian participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 school board candidate survey. Click here to read her responses.
Elections
2017
- See also: Denver Public Schools elections (2017)
Four of the seven seats on the Denver Public Schools Board of Education in Colorado were up for nonpartisan general election on November 7, 2017. In her bid for re-election, at-large incumbent Barbara O'Brien defeated challengers Julie Banuelos and Robert Speth. The open District 2 race included Angela Cobian and Xochitl "Sochi" Gaytan, and Cobian won the seat. District 3 incumbent Mike Johnson was defeated by Carrie Olson. District 4 incumbent Rachele Espiritu ran against Tay Anderson and Jennifer Bacon, and Bacon won the seat.[1][2]
Results
| Denver Public Schools, District 2 General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Angela Cobian |
52.44% | 8,142 |
| Xochitl Gaytan | 47.56% | 7,385 |
| Total Votes | 15,527 | |
| Source: Denver Elections Division, "Coordinated Election November 7, 2017 Final Official Results," accessed November 27, 2017 | ||
Funding
Cobian reported $123,144.00 in contributions and $105,200.02 in expenditures to the Colorado Secretary of State, which left her campaign with $17,943.98 on hand in the election.[3]
Endorsements
Cobian was endorsed by the following organizations and elected officials:[4][5][6]
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Campaign themes
2017
Ballotpedia survey responses
Angela Cobián participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of school board candidates.[7] In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on September 27, 2017:
| “ | Candidate did not respond to this question.[8][9] | ” |
Ranking the issues
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues based on how they should be prioritized by the school board, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. Each ranking could only be used once.
| Education policy |
|---|
 |
Click here to learn more about education policy in Colorado. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer eight questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are highlighted in blue and followed by the candidate's responses. Some questions provided multiple choices, which are noted after those questions. The candidate was also provided space to elaborate on their answers to the multiple choice questions.
| Should new charter schools be approved in your district? (Not all school boards are empowered to approve charter schools. In those cases, the candidate was directed to answer the question as if the school board were able to do so.) |
|---|
| Yes. |
| Which statement best describes the ideal relationship between the state government and the school board? The state should always defer to school board decisions, defer to school board decisions in most cases, be involved in the district routinely or only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement. |
| The state should defer to school board decisions in most cases. |
| Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement? |
| Yes. |
| How should the district handle underperforming teachers? Terminate their contract before any damage is done to students, offer additional training options, put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve or set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district? |
| Offer additional training options. Offer additional training options. Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| Yes. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| Against |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Parent involvement. |
Chalkbeat Colorado survey
Cobian participated in the following survey conducted by Chalkbeat Colorado. The survey questions appear bolded, and Cobian's responses follow below.
Tell us a bit about yourself. How long have you lived in the school district? What do you do for a living?
| “ | My roots are in southwest Denver. On my 10th birthday, my parents closed on their first home in the United States. Like many students in southwest Denver, I received free and reduced lunch and learned English as a second language. I was the first in my family to go to college and decided to become a teacher in Denver because I wanted to teach other students like me and help my own community. While I was teaching, I concurrently earned my Masters in Curriculum and Instruction, enabling me to work with teachers in Mexico City on a Fulbright scholarship. I then organized parents at the school I taught in with Together Colorado, as well as organizing parishioners in my home parish. We worked on securing high academic standards at the state Capitol and improving relations between the immigrant community and the Denver Police Department. I am currently continuing my organizing work in education as the Manager of Organizing Strategy for Denver and Memphis at Leadership for Educational Equity (LEE).[9] | ” |
| —Angela Cobian (2017)[10] | ||
Tell us about your connection to the school district.
| “ | I have three distinct connections to Denver Public Schools: student, teacher, and parent organizer. I grew up in southwest Denver as a student who received free and reduced lunch and learned English as a second language. I was the Mile High Scholar and 5th grade Student Body President at Charles M. Schenck Elementary School from 1999-2000. I still remember shaking Mayor Wellington Webb’s hand as I accepted my award alongside my little sister at Civic Center Park. As a teacher, I taught 2nd and 3rd grade English Language Acquisition-Spanish (ELA-S) at Cole Arts and Sciences Academy in DPS. While at Cole, I was elected by my peers to represent faculty on the Collaborative School Council. After my Fulbright experience, I designed a project based learning K-5 curriculum with Education Pioneers as a founding member of the Education Pioneers Cohort. At the end of the summer, I came back to Cole as a school-based organizer, working with parents, including some of the parents of my former students with Together Colorado.[9] | ” |
| —Angela Cobian (2017)[10] | ||
The school board adopted a policy that calls for closing or replacing low-performing schools. Do you agree with it? Is there anything you’d change?
| “ | I worked at Cole (the only school to be closed by the state twice) at a time when there was no standard district policy for supporting or replacing low-performing schools. In both cases at Cole, the number of students reading and conducting math at grade-level was very low, and too many of these students later dropped out. I agree with the adoption of the School Performance Compact as a standard practice to support struggling students. I would change this policy to ensure the district provides supports early on and engages the community. We can look to recent examples of Goldrick and Schmitt – schools identified as chronically low-performing that went through a year of planning and co-designing with community members. This year, students at those schools had impressive growth scores in literacy and math. When schools act as community hubs with strong intervention, students learn more and master more grade-level content. Additional supports should be strategic and centered around student achievement. On the board I would push to ensure interventions target and meet short-, medium-, and long-term goals connected to student outcomes. This means schools are improving and are held accountable to supporting students. The most important stakeholders are students![9] | ” |
| —Angela Cobian (2017)[10] | ||
There are over 200 public schools in Denver. More than half are charter and innovation schools, which operate with increased autonomy. What are your thoughts about the district’s “portfolio” approach?
| “ | The most recent 'Start with the Facts' report by A+ Colorado demonstrates examples of strong schools across school governance types, whether they be district-run, innovation, or charter. I have also seen this in my own neighborhood, as well. My neighbors across the street send their children to Munroe (district-run), GALS (charter), and CEC Early College (innovation). They have shared positive experiences with all three and feel like each school fits the needs and interests of their individual kids. Considering both the A+ Colorado study and the scenarios above, my position on a portfolio model is nuanced as all three model types have examples of success and others needing significant improvement. For the portfolio model to live into its intention, we must ensure that we are providing the adequate resources and supports to make them successful and that all public schools are responsible for meeting the needs of their students, regardless of governance type.[9] | ” |
| —Angela Cobian (2017)[10] | ||
How should DPS rate schools? What factors should be taken into account and how much weight should they be given? Do you agree with adding an “equity indicator” that bases ratings partly on how well schools are educating traditionally underserved students?
| “ | The SPF can be a useful indicator for parents trying to find a school that best meets their child’s needs. My neighbor across the street has daughters who have attended GALS, Munroe, and CEC Early College. He told me that he decided on these options because they knew the school was “verde.” It can also be useful in engaging whole-school communities to improve student outcomes. When I started working at Cole, the parents and faculty celebrated the school was “green.” When the school was “yellow,” the parents knew that our scores were down and worked with the school to better growth and proficiency. However, I have heard school leaders say that the purpose of the SPF is confusing: Is the SPF a tool for evaluation? A tool for support/growth? For parents in school choice? Additionally, while I support the Equity Indicator in its attempt to ensure schools are meeting the needs of all students, I have heard from school leaders that is not as useful for schools with homogeneous populations. I would engage school leaders and district officials to align on the purpose of the SPF and its communication to the community.[9] | ” |
| —Angela Cobian (2017)[10] | ||
Denver is gentrifying, and the district has formed a committee to investigate how those changes are impacting schools. What policies would you consider to combat the segregation and decreasing enrollment occurring in some schools?
| “ | Our public school system is a relic of the industrial era, when schools reproduced class and racial structures. Only wealthy white men were encouraged to pursue higher education, schools in middle-class neighborhoods produced middle-managers, and schools in low-income and black and brown neighborhoods were either forgotten or set up to prepare students to do factory labor. This is further exacerbated by a history of legal racial segregation. A New York Times article from 1995 describes how Denver schools didn’t desegregate until 1975, and the busing that followed in Denver caused record-levels of white flight of students to the suburbs. This legacy continues today because of a lack of affordable housing, gentrification, and an outdated school funding formula. The district must act as a partner with the city and county to change the school funding formula at the state level, to add additional resources for the schools that have been historically under-served, and develop an inclusive housing plan in our city in tandem to integrate schools.[9] | ” |
| —Angela Cobian (2017)[10] | ||
What is DPS doing particularly well right now?
| “ | I have family members who are undocumented students in DPS and I taught students in mixed-status families who were living in fear even before November 2016. DPS is doing a great job of taking steps to protect students and working to dismantle the school-to-prison/deportation-pipeline. I strongly support the recent DPS Board resolution to protect undocumented students’ confidential information and ensure that schools are not disrupted by immigration enforcement actions. This policy could be furthered by implementing recommendations from the Sanctuary Schools Coalition, including training staff on rapid response policies when ICE is near campus and entering into lock-down, and increasing socioemotional supports for impacted students and families. Similarly, the recent DPS resolution to dramatically reduce and eliminate expulsions for students in K-3 is a good start towards reforming current discipline inequities but doesn’t go far enough. We need to find ways to reform discipline policies for students in older grades by using restorative justice and alternative methods, keeping kids in the classroom. As a teacher I was trained in restorative justice practices and had a dynamic restorative justice coordinator on campus. It is important to pass policies with supports in place for implementation.[9] | ” |
| —Angela Cobian (2017)[10] | ||
What is the most pressing thing the board should change?
| “ | The most pressing thing the board should change is ensuring that all students have access to the best teachers and that our schools are being led by the best principals. All students in Denver, especially those in schools with high-needs, deserve a principal and teacher like Ms. Lugo of DCIS Fairmont. The daughter of Mexican immigrants, Vanessa reflects the identity of the students she taught and has a great track record of improving student outcomes. The challenges to having a “Ms. Lugo” in every classroom include targeting supports for their development, a special focus on teachers of color, and adequate compensation. We must start by investing in the recruitment of effective teachers like the Make Your Mark program and programs that help paraprofessionals become teachers. We can retain teachers by enhancing the Teacher-Leader program and LEAP. When we identify content-specific growth areas and coaching, we can then provide targeted professional development in STEM subjects and TNLI. We must ensure that the district provides competitive wages and benefits to effective teachers who want to live in the communities they serve.[9] | ” |
| —Angela Cobian (2017)[10] | ||
What are the most pressing issues in the geographic area you’re seeking to represent and what policy changes would you suggest to address them?
| “ | I was the first in my family to attend and graduate from college. After me, my sister and several of my cousins followed. In October, my cousin Ivan will take his exams to be a journeyman electrician with IBEW Local 68. I have firsthand experience that a great education can lift families and communities. As Denver continues its growth, we must equip our students to grow with it. Gentrification is starting to hit southwest Denver, and our schools can be units of change. We must ensure all D2 students have access to a high-quality education. At present, there is a lack of quality seats for students in the context of a city that is on its way to becoming a world-class city. My top priorities are centered around students and their outcomes - primarily, college and career readiness from start to finish! This starts by expanding ECE and continues with students attending good schools and increasing access to apprenticeships and college-aligned coursework. Students should be able to follow their dreams and not be bound by circumstance. Families and teachers will be critical partners in this effort and I am excited to integrate their expertise when informing policy changes.[9] | ” |
| —Angela Cobian (2017)[10] | ||
Candidate website
Cobian highlighted the following issues on her campaign website:
| “ | College and career readiness
Students should have the academic and social foundations to be leaders and entrepreneurs I was the first person in my family to go to college. In high school, I took all honors classes, and was able to take advantage of important college-preparatory programs. By 2025 75% of all jobs will require some college, and we need our students to be ready for those exciting jobs. Starting from the time they enter preschool, students should have a great education and real world experiences that prepare them for success after high school. Money and circumstance should not stop students from doing what they want in their future. Every student should be prepared to go to college or make the decision to pursue a career pathway.
Schools as community hubs Schools should reflect the communities they serve. I know that parents must be partners in shaping inclusive school communities – as a community organizer, I coached parents to facilitate know-your-rights workshops on immigration and work with principals to improve conditions for families at school. I know that at their best, students, families, and communities know school as a safe and welcoming place. We can support families by providing wrap around services and meaningfully engaging parents as partners. Parents are experts in their children and can be the best advocates for their child’s success.
Quality learning environments Students and teachers require dignified places of learning and teaching. My first day of teaching second grade students who spoke English as a second language was inside a classroom that reached 98 degrees by 10 am! I understand that we must upgrade facilities so that schools are dignified places of learning. The physical infrastructure of schools in southwest Denver require upgrades. There are students in mobile classroom units, teachers teaching in hot classrooms without air conditioning, and only one primary school has an elevator for students with disabilities. In the classroom, instruction must be aligned to the unique student profile of students in District 2. We must ensure investments are being made from a district level lead to the highest quality learning environments and experience for all students, and especially those with high needs. This means supportive classrooms for students and quality infrastructure in our school buildings!
Access to Early Childhood Education A Teacher Working for Early Childhood Education for All Students Expanding Access to Early Childhood Education in Southwest Denver
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” |
| —Angela Cobian (2017)[11] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Angela Cobian Denver Public Schools school board. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
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Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Denver Public Schools, "Running For School Board: Candidate Tracking," accessed September 2, 2017
- ↑ Denver Elections Division, "Election Summary Report," accessed November 7, 2017
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "TRACER: Candidate Search," accessed December 15, 2017
- ↑ Chalkbeat Colorado, "Stand for Children chooses not to endorse in northeast Denver school board race," September 19, 2017
- ↑ Angela Cobian for Denver Public Schools, "Endorsements," accessed October 23, 2017
- ↑ The Denver Post, "Support these reformers in Denver schools election," October 20, 2017
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2017, "Angela Cobián's responses," September 27, 2017
- ↑ 9.00 9.01 9.02 9.03 9.04 9.05 9.06 9.07 9.08 9.09 9.10 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7 10.8 Chalkbeat Colorado, "We sent surveys to all the 2017 Denver school board candidates. Read their answers here." October 5, 2017
- ↑ Angela Cobian for Denvery Public Schools, "Priorities," accessed October 23, 2017
| Denver Public Schools elections in 2017 | |
| Denver County, Colorado | |
| Election date: | November 7, 2017 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Barbara O'Brien • Julie Banuelos • Robert Speth District 2: • Angela Cobian • Xochitl "Sochi" Gaytan District 3: • Incumbent, Mike Johnson • Carrie Olson District 4: • Incumbent, Rachele Espiritu • Auon'tai Anderson • Jennifer Bacon |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
