Xochitl Gaytan

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Xochitl Gaytan

Nonpartisan

Denver Public Schools Board of Education District 2

Tenure

2021 - Present

Term ends

2025

Years in position

3

Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 2, 2021

Education

Bachelor's

Metropolitan State University of Denver, 2014

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

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Xochitl Gaytan (also known as Sochi) is a member of the Denver Board of Education in Colorado, representing District 2. She assumed office on November 30, 2021. Her current term ends in 2025.

Gaytan ran for election to the Denver Board of Education to represent District 2 in Colorado. She won in the general election on November 2, 2021.

Gaytan completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Xochitl Gaytan earned a bachelor's degree from the Metropolitan State University of Denver in 2014. Gaytan's career experience includes working as a real estate agent.

Elections

2021

See also: Denver Public Schools, Colorado, elections (2021)

General election

General election for Denver Public Schools Board of Education District 2

Xochitl Gaytan defeated Karolina Villagrana in the general election for Denver Public Schools Board of Education District 2 on November 2, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Xochitl Gaytan (Nonpartisan)	53.2	9,130
	Submit photo	Karolina Villagrana (Nonpartisan)	46.8	8,027

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 17,157
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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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 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

See also: Campaign finance in the Denver Public Schools election

Gaytan reported $28,977.81 in contributions and $28,934.10 in expenditures to the Colorado Secretary of State, which left her campaign with $43.71 on hand in the election.

Endorsements

Gaytan was endorsed by the following organizations and elected officials:

• Caucus Of Today's Teachers
• Colorado Blueflower Fund
• Colorado Latino Forum
• Denver Area Labor Federation
• Denver Classroom Teachers Association
• Denver Federation For Paraprofessionals And Nutrition Services Employees
• Denver Firefighters Union Local 858

• Fraternal Order Of Police #27
• Our Denver, Our Schools
• Our Revolution Metro Denver
• Working Families Party
• State Rep. Joseph Salazar (D-31)
• State Rep. Jonathan Singer (D-11)
• Denver Councilwoman Deborah Ortega

Gaytan was also endorsed by former elected officials. Click here for a list of her supporters.

Campaign themes

2021

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Xochitl Gaytan completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Gaytan's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am Mexican-born and now a proud naturalized U.S. Citizen-- I lived the experience of being an undocumented child within DPS schools. My husband and I are products of Denver Public Schools ( DPS ), graduating from Lincoln High School in Southwest Denver. After earning my B.S. in Business Management from MSU Denver, I now work in real estate where I have been representing working families in Southwest Denver for the past 19 years. Harvey Park is the community I have chosen to live, work and raise my family in. Like many of you, having the right to a quality school was one of the top reasons we chose the neighborhood and house we live in now. Denver families still want to move into a safe, strong neighborhood where they can count on a quality school. Buying a home and choosing a neighborhood are important life decisions and having a quality school has always been a key factor in those decisions. Strong schools have also been a foundation to build and maintain stronger communities. Whether you have kids in school today or not, every family in Denver deserves the opportunity for an excellent, equitable education opportunity within their neighborhood. Making sure your tax dollars are reaching the classroom will be a top priority for me as your Board Director. The integrity of our communities depends on strong schools.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Re-allocate funds to classrooms: Maximize your tax dollars where it matters most
• Support our teachers, paras, and nutrition service workers: Support school staff's rights for a better work environment, creating a healthier learning environment for all students.
• Prioritize student well-being: Prioritize smaller class sizes, increase culturally relevant curricula, increase arts/music/sports/civic education.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Protecting Public Education:

1. Early Childhood Education - affordable and high quality, comprehensive programs from birth - 4 years old to properly prepare children for elementary school.

2. Safe, warm and welcoming school environments - resources to teachers, smaller classroom sizes, and additional wrap-around services such as counselors and nurses.

3. Nutrition services programs - improve the nutrition program equitably in every neighborhood school.

4. Charter School Accountability - requirements for private funding/grant funding disclosures, and set standard for transparency, oversight and equity to school board and vice-versa.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

✓ DPS parent

✓ Graduate of Lincoln High School and Metro State University of Denver with a degree in Business Management
✓ Small business owner
✓ Community leader - President of the my neighborhood organization
✓ 25-year homeowner
✓ Strong advocate for public education
✓ Warrior for education justice

✓ Mother, daughter, sister, wife, aunt, neighbor, friend

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign website

Gaytan's campaign website stated the following:

“	CORE VALUES ON EDUCATION: Public education leads us all into economic stability. Education creates confident, civic-minded leaders that will make a positive impact in their communities. Equitably-funded public school education is a right for all. Students from all communities, backgrounds, ethnicities should have a quality school to attend in the community they live in. Teachers should have more growth opportunity, provided with a more secured master contract and financial support from the administration and the Board of Education of the school district they work in. Parents and communities should also get involved and support their local schools.	”
—Xochitl Gaytan

2017

Candidate website

Gaytan highlighted the following issues on her campaign website:

“	An Equitable Education ACCOUNTABILITY I will hold the DPS Board accountable for the monies spent so that we, as taxpayers, get the value we deserve in our neighborhood schools. I will host more town hall meetings so you have more power and access to your school board. I will ensure that we respect and understand our diverse student-body and their cultures. I will ensure that we respect and become partners with our teachers and be a voice for their concerns. BUDGET DPS Board spends over $1 billion dollars of your money every year. Taxpayers and families deserve to get that return on their investment. We deserve to have the value of quality neighborhood schools. Each year, the DPS Board is supposed to spend $25 million dollars on Pro-Comp to pay teachers to teach in challenging schools. Where is that money being spent? During the last 10 years, Denver voters authorized over $1 billion dollars in bond money to build new schools. Dozens of schools have been closed. Where are the new schools? The DPS Board spend millions of dollars on administrative overhead. Let's cut the waste and transfer the money to the classroom where it belongs. I will require an independent auditor to conduct an immediate financial audit of the Denver Public Schools to answer these and other important questions. EDUCATOR SUPPORT Teachers want a classroom size cap This allows teachers to give more individual attention to different types of learners. Also allows students feel heard and understood by their teacher. The need to connect 1x1 with their teacher is fulfilled. Compensation & Healthcare Benefits I will question the Pro-Comp plan to pay teachers and find out if it's benefitting any teacher in our district. Teachers need to have different healthcare options. The school board should research and provide better options. Diversity Increase the number of teachers of color in our classrooms. In order for your child to feel heard and understood, they need to see a teacher that looks like them and knows about their culture. Increase the diversity training provided to teachers. Teachers raise thousands of dollars each year for textbooks, art supplies, and programs. We need to value our teachers by giving them the tools they need. CURRICULUM/STUDENTS Less than 25% of ninth graders will graduate high school on time, fully ready to attend college. Denver has the worst achievement gap of any major city in the United States. ACT scores have only increased from 17.1% to 18.6% after 12 years and millions of dollars spent on corporate testing. Less than 4 out of 10 3rd graders read at a proficient level. Needed solutions to increase graduation rates!: More mentoring, tutoring and Para-Professionals for at-risk youth. Decrease the classroom size cap, this will improve student learning. Spend more monies toward after-school programs to support the whole-child/whole-student and instill pride in our communities. Less testing and more time spent on arts, music, and civic lessons. Provide more support on extra-curricular and after-school programming for students of all ages. PARENT INVOLVEMENT Many families need both parents working full-time. It's difficult for parents/caregivers to be present at a school event. The school board and Administration should make it easier for families to attend events by providing different day-time and evening time participation options. Provide all communication in the family's language. FREE PRE-K/KINDEGARTEN! SUCCESSFUL NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS IN OUR COMMUNITIES Higher graduation rates – especially for kids of color. More mentoring, tutoring, and Teacher’s Assistants for at-risk youth. Smaller class sizes. All education studies conclude that small class sizes improve individual attention. Each student learns differently. Respect and support for teachers – they are partners – not the enemy. Be a voice for the teachers so their concerns are heard and respected. Less testing! More arts, music, and civics lessons. Respect and empathy for diverse students and culture.	”
—Xochitl "Sochi" Gaytan (2017)

Chalkbeat Colorado survey

Gaytan participated in the following survey conducted by Chalkbeat Colorado. The survey questions appear bolded, and Gaytan'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 mother of two sons. The eldest graduated from DPS and is attending CU, and the youngest is currently attending elementary school in Harvey Park. I am a product of DPS, as is my husband Jaime Estrada, and we graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in the 1990s. I also earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Metropolitan State University of Denver. I am a small business owner and real estate agent in southwest Denver. I have the great honor of being President of the Harvey Park Improvement Association where I live. I work in and serve the community that I live in. Being Mexican-born and now a proud United States Citizen, I lived the experience of being an undocumented child within DPS schools. I attended several elementary schools, one middle school and two high schools; Knapp Elementary School, Valverde Elementary School, Cheltenham Elementary School, Valdez Elementary School, Lake Middle School, North High School, and Abraham Lincoln High School. Due to minimal education and low paying jobs, my parents always had to look for an affordable rent option. As we moved around Denver, I quickly realized I had to learn to socialize, make friends, adapt to new beginnings, and learn to be tolerant and empathetic to children of all communities. Being part of the under-served, and living on the margins of society was a difficult experience for me as a child, however as an adult I realize that it helped shape me into the empathetic, strong leader I am today.	”
—Xochitl "Sochi" Gaytan (2017)

Tell us about your connection to the school district.

“	My husband Jaime and I purchased our first home in Ruby Hill in southwest Denver over 20 years ago. Our next home was chosen because Doull Elementary School is such a great neighborhood school and we looked forward to raising our son in Harvey Park. Like many of you, having the right school for our son was one of the top reasons we chose the neighborhood and house we live in today. Denver families still want to move into a neighborhood where they can count on a strong neighborhood school in the area. That is why I am running to represent our community on the school board. I also worked as a paraprofessional for DPS in the 1990s, served as a member of the Collaborative School Committee at Doull Elementary and volunteered many hours of my time at Sabin World School.	”
—Xochitl "Sochi" Gaytan (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?

“	Excessive closings destabilize both communities and students. DPS is prematurely closing schools without enough community consent and support from them for this process. Local schools are a public good and a community resource. We need a foundation of neighborhood schools that are strong, stable, community anchors. For example, some want to close Abraham Lincoln High School, which is an anchor to the Brentwood, Marlee, Harvey Park and Sharon Park neighborhoods. You can count on me to fight to keep this school open and thriving because closing it will also affect property values. The policy does not acknowledge the factors that affect test scores or appreciate the value that a stable school provides for children and a community. Test scores, such as CSAP, TCAP and PARCC do not adequately measure the success of a school. I believe that we should rely less on test scores and instead create individual learning plans, a rigorous curriculum, more critical thinking skills and a well-rounded education that includes the arts sciences, music, math, and athletics. Also, more exposure to both college prep and vocational/trade schools should be available for students.	”
—Xochitl "Sochi" Gaytan (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?

“	The 'portfolio' approach has produced the highest teacher turnover rate of any school district in the Front Range. Hundreds of teaching positions are vacant and principal turnover rates are at a record high because of this portfolio theory. DPS needs to build strong neighborhood schools with small class sizes, well-trained and accountable teachers, and definitely more parental involvement.	”
—Xochitl "Sochi" Gaytan (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?

“	DPS should include an equity indicator to reflect the reality of diverse economic conditions and the diverse student population in southwest Denver. DPS should also weigh schools based on a student’s subject matter proficiency instead of overemphasizing growth. The current weight assignments in the School Performance Framework -- nearly twice as much to growth as to proficiency -- create a misconception among parents and students that schools with very low proficiency are doing well because they are growing. Many of the schools do not have access to the latest measure. The criteria of the SPF changes yearly and is a moving target. This is inequitable and needs to be more transparent to all.	”
—Xochitl "Sochi" Gaytan (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?

“	DPS is the most segregated in 40 years. The district has invested substantial resources to bus students within “enrollment zones.” This form of busing reduces students' choices. The district should revisit its commitment to magnet programs. If families and students want real choice, the choices need to be real. The District needs to do a better job of soliciting input from families and local communities.	”
—Xochitl "Sochi" Gaytan (2017)

What is DPS doing particularly well right now?

“	The district does a good job of supporting Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The district has provided courageous statements to protect undocumented students and permission to prevent ICE from entering a school.	”
—Xochitl "Sochi" Gaytan (2017)

What is the most pressing thing the board should change?

“	The most pressing element I believe the board should change is reducing excessive, ineffective, and expensive standardized testing. Teachers spend nearly a third of their year preparing, administering, and reviewing multiple standardized tests. Additionally, students are tested on subjects that they have not been taught or, in the case of our English language learners, in a language they may not ready for. Redundant standardized tests reduce curriculum options and course offerings. I believe that education leads us all into prosperity, that education creates confident, civic-minded leaders that will make a positive impact in their communities, and that equitable public school education is a right for all. I believe that children from all communities, backgrounds, ethnicities should have a strong neighborhood school to attend in the community or neighborhood they live in.	”
—Xochitl "Sochi" Gaytan (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?

“	We have many schools threatened with closure in the next several years due to low performance scores. Simply closing schools and turning them over to corporations to run is the easy way out and is abdicating the School Board’s responsibility. The changing criteria behind the SPF rating needs to become transparent so that teachers, parents, school leaders, and community can work on increasing the scores and removing the schools from the chopping block. There is a huge need to increase and expand English language learning and bilingual education programs. Gentrification and rapid growth have also threatened many families with homelessness. DPS needs to partner with other nonprofits and agencies to ensure that students have the stability of a safe home and other caring resources as a foundation from which to learn and grow. My knowledge of the issues in Southwest Denver and long-term commitment to our community is why I have garnered the support of former elected leaders like the Honorable Fran Coleman and Polly Baca, former auditor Dennis Gallagher, Representatives Joe Salazar and Jonathan Singer, and as well as current City Councilwoman Deborah Ortega. We all understand what is at stake in Southwest Denver.	”
—Xochitl "Sochi" Gaytan (2017)

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Denver Public Schools Board of Education District 2

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