Colorado / School Districts / Cherry Creek School District No. 5 in the county o
More than two dozen commenters urged the board to pursue independent audits, remove insiders and improve transparency, alleging long-standing nepotism, retaliation and safety problems; speakers included paraeducators celebrating union recognition and parents and staff recounting safety and special-education concerns.
Colorado / School Districts / Cherry Creek School District No. 5 in the county o
The Cherry Creek School District board affirmed an interim superintendent and announced internal and external reviews and policy changes after the resignation of Superintendent Chris Smith and placement of HR director Brenda Smith on administrative leave. The board said investigations and stricter procurement and contract-review rules are underway as community members demand accountability.
Colorado / School Districts / Cherry Creek School District No. 5 in the county o
District data presenters told the board STAR interim assessments show fall-to-winter increases in students meeting benchmark in literacy and math and identified 36 schools with above-average growth, but median growth percentiles for some early grades remained below the state-average benchmark.
Colorado / School Districts / Cherry Creek School District No. 5 in the county o
Two public commenters at the Jan. 12 meeting raised concerns about large late change orders (including a cited $471,000 warehouse change order and nearly $5,000,000 in earlier change orders) and a proposed policy shift to move the board's official spokesperson role to district communications; despite the objections the board approved the consent agenda by roll call.
Colorado / School Districts / Cherry Creek School District No. 5 in the county o
At the Jan. 12 board meeting, Latoya Tolbert presented district discipline data showing disproportionate exclusions for Hispanic, Black and multiracial students and outlined short-term actions — including restorative practices and referral standardization — aimed at reducing multiple-incident rates for male students from 21.6% to 17.3%.
Colorado / School Districts / Cherry Creek School District No. 5 in the county o
Executive director Christy Hart described Veterans Week events across Cherry Creek schools, including Quilts of Valor, an honor bell tradition, partnerships with Buckley Space Force Base and field trips to the Center for American Values.
Colorado / School Districts / Cherry Creek School District No. 5 in the county o
Communications staff described tactics to reach families and neighbors, shared bond-reporting tools including an interactive bond map and new dashboard tied to a $950 million bond, and outlined crisis-communications templates and language-translation capabilities.
Colorado / School Districts / Cherry Creek School District No. 5 in the county o
Multiple public commenters urged the board to investigate a twice-exceptional (2e) pilot at High Plains Elementary, requested an independent review due to an asserted conflict of interest with Tony Poole, and alleged an unresolved black-mold problem at Cherry Creek High School while multi-million-dollar projects proceed.
Colorado / School Districts / Cherry Creek School District No. 5 in the county o
The Cherry Creek School District board approved the Dec. 8 agenda, minutes and a consent package, heard opening remarks celebrating veteran events and bond projects, and welcomed newly seated directors Mike Hamrick and Terry Bates.
Colorado / School Districts / Cherry Creek School District No. 5 in the county o
District staff told the board they have expanded instructional coaches to 65 and are rolling out a '15-day challenge' tied to professional learning communities, with the goal of moving toward one coach per school, aligning common formative assessments and supporting literacy goals for 2030.