Rachele Espiritu

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Rachele Espiritu

Prior offices

Denver Public Schools Board of Education District 4

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Personal website

Rachele Espiritu is the former District 4 representative on the Denver Public Schools school board in Colorado. First appointed in 2016, Espiritu lost a re-election campaign in the by-district general election on November 7, 2017.

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.

Results

Denver Public Schools, District 4 General Election, 4-year term, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Jennifer Bacon	41.88%	10,471
Rachele Espiritu Incumbent	32.99%	8,248
Tay Anderson	25.13%	6,282
Total Votes		25,001
Source: Denver Elections Division, "Coordinated Election November 7, 2017 Final Official Results," accessed November 27, 2017

Funding

See also: Campaign finance in the Denver Public Schools election

Espiritu reported $94,195.98 in contributions and $87,840.50 in expenditures to the Colorado Secretary of State, which left her campaign with $6,355.48 on hand in the election.

Endorsements

Espiritu was endorsed by The Denver Post Editorial Board and state Rep. Alec Garnett (D-2).

Campaign themes

2017

Candidate website

Espiritu highlighted the following issues on her campaign website:

“	Quality education for ALL children Every kid deserves a world class education regardless of school model. Kids and parents should have real choices in where they send their kids to ensure their individual needs are met. Rachele believes DPS and the community need to implement the clearly articulated metrics DPS has put into policy that create equal levels of accountability for charters and district run schools, a plan for improvement, and a clear path forward. Our district should have or make room for schools of all types, whether it’s STRIVE, KIPP, McGlone, DSST, Manual, DSA, Noel, or Northfield, so that we can meet kids where they are and get them excited about learning while preparing them for whatever comes next in their lives. All schools, charters and district run, should be held to high standards and judged by whether they are providing students with a high quality education. Culturally Competent Education Rachele supports curriculum that reflects the identities of all students in the district and is interested in exploring a policy that would create an ethnic studies program for DPS high schools. For too long, our courses have focused on the achievements of the predominant culture, leaving out the accomplishments and perspectives of different racial and ethnic groups. The opportunity to learn about one’s own or another culture’s history helps students understand the importance of different cultures and the intersection with power in shaping our past, present and future. Ethnic studies courses would help prepare ALL students, not just students of color, to be successful in our increasingly diverse country and global economy. Opportunity Gap/Equity As a school district leader, Rachele’s job is to set the vision and expectations that all students can succeed. The opportunity gaps and inequities that exist in our district are complex challenges that require the shifting of mindsets and the attainment of knowledge and skills. This work requires us to assess the current status and needs of our students, educators, and leaders; reflect on root causes and historical context; and integrate this information into action. Change needs to happen at all levels – in our policy making, leadership teams, our curriculum and instruction, human resources, and community engagement. Rachele will work to ensure that the District’s work on equity includes the allocation of resources, talent, and time. She will hold the administration accountable to full implementation of an expanded equity indicator in school performance frameworks. High standards and an equitable allocation of resources will help to eliminate the opportunity gap, and ensure that all kids, regardless or race, language, or ability, get the education they deserve. Rachele believes that in order for a school to be considered among the highest achieving in DPS, they need to be ensuring that ALL students are getting a great education, not just those who are at the top of the socio-economic ladder. Whole Child Supports Rachele is committed to supporting policies that provide equitable and inclusive environments where students are Healthy, Supported, Engaged, Challenged, Safe, and Socially and Emotionally Intelligent. As a respected expert and systems builder in the field of children’s behavioral health, Rachele knows that a focus on meeting the physical, mental, and emotional needs of our students will result in greater academic success for all students. She will ensure that district resources are committed to these vital programs and spread throughout all schools in the district. Rachele was a vocal advocate of the whole child support investments which Denver voters passed as a part of the 2016 Mill Levy Override. As a part of her continued work, Rachele helped work with the district’s Whole Child Support team to implement a policy which would prevent the suspension and expulsion of ECE- 3rd grade students. Teacher Recruitment and Training Rachele believes that it is absolutely critical to attract and retained teacher talent to support the success of our students. Denver has struggled historically to ensure that our teachers are representative of our communities, and Rachele agrees with the recommendations made in the Bailey report that DPS teachers must be trustworthy, competent, diverse, culturally-sensitive and hold high expectations for all children. To be effective in diverse classrooms and schools, teachers must be able to engage students of diverse backgrounds, understand different norms of behavior and communication, relate the teaching and content, and address the implicit biases that they have. This means a shift in mindset and beliefs, and obtaining new skills and practice. School leaders, teachers and staff must create an inclusive school culture, with high expectations of all students. In addition to ongoing training and coaching, we must also actively recruit, support, and retain diverse and bilingual teachers and leaders who are representative of our student bodies. Every single student in DPS is capable of learning and growing, and Rachele will continue pushing the district to ensure that every student – in every part of the city – has an excellent teacher leading their classroom. Immigrant Students As the first immigrant to serve on the DPS School Board in a hundred years, Rachele is deeply committed to ensuring that our schools are safe and welcoming places for all of our students. Rachele came to the US when she was a toddler; her husband and his family are political refugees from Vietnam. Rachele understands the silent suffering and anxiety that is happening for so many of our students and families. Putting forth the 'Safe and Welcoming Schools' resolution and Immigration Rights FAQ for Families was an especially meaningful opportunity to reassure our students, families, and educators that the board is here to protect their rights. Student Discipline Rachele was proud to support the passing of a resolution in March that stated DPS’ intent to end suspensions and expulsions for students in Early Childhood Education (ECE) through third grades in favor of more thoughtful disciplinary practices. The resolution states 'it is well-established that removal from school through discipline negatively impacts engagement and connection to school in the early years of a student’s life. These earliest exposures to education are intended to develop students’ perceptions and trust of school and teachers, and to instill fundamental social-emotional and academic skills that will become the foundation for success.' Knowing that there are significant racial disparities in discipline, Rachele supports the district’s discipline reform efforts, especially the emphasis on creating supports and strategies to promote positive behavior and prevent problems and the use of restorative justice approaches. Suspension and expulsion should only occur in the limited circumstances where the safety of students or staff are threatened. Far North East Sports Rachele understands the importance of great sports programs that create a sense of pride in the school and community. That’s why Rachele supported dedicating funds from the 2016 Bond and Mill to build more seats, locker rooms, and stadium lights at the football field on the Evie Dennis Campus. She is committed to gathering and implementing more ideas and strategies from the community to continue to strengthen the sports program.	”
—Rachele Espiritu (2017)

Chalkbeat Colorado survey

Espiritu participated in the following survey conducted by Chalkbeat Colorado. The survey questions appear bolded, and Espiritu'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?

“	I am a first generation Filipina who came to America with my family when I was a toddler. A product of public schools from kindergarten through graduate school, I was the only student of color in my elementary school and graduate school classes. I decided to pursue a degree in clinical psychology at the University of Colorado from 1992-1998 to address the stigma of mental health, especially in communities of color. I then moved to California to do substance prevention work, served on faculty at Georgetown, and later lived in Houston with my husband and sons before returning to Colorado. We have lived in Denver for six years now, while my boys have attended elementary, middle, and now high school in DPS. I am one of the owners of a small business that focuses on systems change and behavioral health. My partners and I consult organizations of every size, including the federal government, in areas of behavioral health disparities/equity, cultural and linguistic competence, leadership development, program evaluation, family and community engagement, and systems change. I proudly brought this experience to the board when I was appointed last year and will continue to do so for the next four years.	”
—Rachele Espiritu (2017)

Tell us about your connection to the school district.

“	My most important connection to Denver Public Schools is as the mom of two students. My sons, Jeremy and Andrew, attend middle and high school at Bill Roberts K-8 and Denver School of Science and Technology (DSST) Stapleton High School, respectively. When we moved to Denver, I understood how important it would be to be involved in my kids’ school to support them with the transition. I served as a room mom all through their elementary years, volunteered in their classrooms and library, and have been a member of the PTA and Collaborative School Councils. My connection to DPS became deeper when I stood up to serve on the board to bring my lens as a mom, a professional in behavioral health and systems change, and as an immigrant. I have had the privilege of representing District 4 for a year and 4 months. During this time, I have visited with students, educators and leaders in nearly all of the schools in my district, as well as numerous schools in Denver, met with countless community leaders and groups, and listened carefully to the voices of the community to help inform my work on the board.	”
—Rachele Espiritu (2017)

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?

“	We know that students and families in Denver will thrive when every student has access to a high quality school. This is why the board created the School Performance Compact policy - to create a transparent system of how the district will identity the most persistently low-performing schools (both district-run and charter) and decide if the school will be restarted (or in rare cases, closed) to give students a better opportunity to succeed. If schools are not able to show improvement, despite significant support efforts over time, our students deserve a major change in their learning environment. School closure is only considered when low and declining enrollment is a factor. We have seen that there is room for improvement in aspects of this policy, particularly in how we engage communities earlier in the process and explain what the district has done to try to improve schools facing interventions. When the board and district do decide that it is necessary to restart a school, I would like to see more effort from the district in engaging families and community in the decision-making process and setting clearer expectations for all stakeholders involved in giving a new start for our schools.	”
—Rachele Espiritu (2017)

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?

“	Denver Public Schools is responsible for effectively serving the diverse needs of ALL children in our communities. We can do this by offering a variety of high quality schools (district-run, innovation, and charter) that are accountable for results and prepare students for success in life. The district has seen steady improvement for more than ten consecutive years -- not by accepting things as 'good enough,' but by constantly seeking to improve upon the systems we use. DPS continues to be the fastest-growing urban school district in the nation; as a result of this, we have sought to grant our school leaders greater flexibility and decision-making authority on what’s best for the constantly changing student population. Last year, we introduced a new “innovation zone” of four innovation schools that now have even greater autonomy to make the best decisions for their schools. At the end of the day, I am interested in policies that work, policies that improve outcomes, and opportunities to learn from innovative, best practices in schools. I am excited to see what further successes we will have as we continue to give greater autonomy with accountability to the school leaders who are closest to the needs of students.	”
—Rachele Espiritu (2017)

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?

“	Our board created the School Performance Framework (SPF) as as way to rate how well schools support student growth and achievement, and just added the equity indicator to shine a light on closing the achievement gap in every school. Our SPF has been beneficial in identifying schools that need our attention and support, and schools that are performing well. We need to do a better job at raising the bar for increasing performance, while also ensuring our district is doing our part in supporting school leaders and the kids who need wraparound services to succeed. I advocated for the use of the equity indicator to highlight performance discrepancies across student groups. ALL students should be performing well in order for a school to be considered a high-quality school. We also include non-academic factors like parent and student satisfaction/engagement and should consider whole child factors, while ensuring that academic results are weighted most heavily. I believe the framework is a good accountability tool, and will work with the district and stakeholders to simplify the SPF, improve its use for accountability purposes, and develop communication tools to make it more accessible to parents, community members, and advocates.	”
—Rachele Espiritu (2017)

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?

“	A significant driver of school segregation is that Denver neighborhoods are experiencing significant shifts in demographics and increases in housing prices. As neighborhoods become gentrified, changes in demographics are reflected in the school-aged children who attend our DPS schools. I am committed to inclusive schools in our communities. We know that giving students choice and access to high-quality, inclusive schools helps achieve better educational outcomes. Students are more prepared as global citizens in our world. DPS has a role to play in driving greater inclusivity in our schools. Through the leadership of myself and my colleague Lisa Flores, (the district) has engaged a city-wide Strengthening Neighborhoods committee to provide recommendations for this complex issue. As these are complex challenges that require innovative solutions and strategies, I look forward to receiving their best thinking and recommendations and recognize that we will need to take a phased approach to the work. I will support making changes to our enrollment policies and structures that support access to high-quality schools; ensure the use of culturally responsive curricula to support inclusive classrooms and school environments; and increase the diversity of our educators by creating benchmarks for the district.	”
—Rachele Espiritu (2017)

What is DPS doing particularly well right now?

“	DPS has the highest combined academic growth rate of the state’s largest school districts for the seventh year in a row. Our deliberate focus on early literacy, through setting clear and common expectations, professional development and tools to monitor performance, led to tremendous gains in growth - the highest year-to-year growth DPS has ever had on the ELA state test. The District has also taken great strides towards preparing our kids for life after graduation, whether that means college readiness or career readiness. The number of DPS graduates who are college-ready (as determined by AP and IB scores, ACT scores, and other benchmarks) has increased by more than 80 percent since 2013. Two years ago, DPS CareerConnect programs for students who might not be interested in a traditional four-year college served just over 5,000 students. This school year, they serve more than 18,000 students. If our primary objective is ensuring that our kids are ready to enter the world after leaving DPS, the growth we have seen in college and career readiness is a major stride towards that overarching goal -- and a testament to the policies that have helped us achieve these successes.	”
—Rachele Espiritu (2017)

What is the most pressing thing the board should change?

“	Deepening family and community partnership with DPS schools is a priority for the current members of the board, which is why we included it in the superintendent’s performance evaluation and developed a new Family and Community Engagement Plan. I have visited nearly every school in my district, attended countless community meetings, and directed the formation of the Far Northeast Education Commission. But we must do a better job of meeting the community where they are instead of expecting them to come to us. Relationships between the home and school don’t just occur by asking families to come to back to schools. They also occur when our educators visit homes, which occurred over 11,000 times last year with the Parent Teacher Home Visit Program. I support the expansion of this program to strengthen personal contact. Strengthening partnerships with the city, business leaders, nonprofit organizations, and community groups will help us to ensure that every child succeeds. We also need to eliminate systemic barriers to educational opportunity that widen the achievement gap. By focusing on whole child policy, we can also ensure that kids are ready and able to start each day ready to learn regardless of their situation outside of school.	”
—Rachele Espiritu (2017)

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?

“	District 4 is the largest and most diverse director district in all of DPS, presenting us with challenges and opportunities to improving student achievement. I think the most pressing challenge is ensuring that we are improving the results for all students in the district, thus decreasing or eliminating the achievement/opportunity gap. Our diversity is our strength in this. We should work to increase cultural diversity in our curriculum and diversify school programming options to meet the interests and needs of all kids. We should improve transportation options so that kids are more easily able to attend the schools of their choice. We should work to recruit and retain teachers of diverse backgrounds to take advantage of the role model effect in improving outcomes for kids of color and from low-income backgrounds. In short, we should continue the policies that have been put in place over the last several years and accelerate implementation of policies that are showing promise, including a trauma-informed district policy, while not being afraid to shed policies that aren’t working as we would like.	”
—Rachele Espiritu (2017)

Recent news

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Rachele Espiritu - Google News

See also

• Denver Public Schools, Colorado
• Denver Public Schools elections (2017)

External links

Suggest a link

• Denver Public Schools

• Campaign website
• Campaign Facebook page