Dear DPS School Board and Administration, as well as all concerned members of the larger Denver School Community:

We write to petition for the immediate halt to the hiring process that will replace Dominique Jefferson as Principal of Hallett Academy. The current timeline and method of this hiring process is unfair to Hallett students, parents, and community. In place of this opaque and rushed replacement, we ask that Denver Public Schools hold themselves accountable to the mounting concerns brought by Hallett families throughout this process.

For seven years, Dominique Jefferson has served as principal of Hallett Academy, a majority-Black elementary school in Denver’s North Park Hill Neighborhood. Despite not having a neighborhood boundary to guarantee automatic enrollment, families from across Denver choose Hallett for their children, sometimes driving great distances to do so. Under the leadership of Principal Jefferson, herself a Black woman, Hallett has soared. Among the school’s recent achievements are earning a “green” rating (the highest available in the state) based on their most recent test scores. Principal Jefferson’s strategy has been to use respect and love as the foundation upon which students can learn and grow: “Here at Hallett, we will love your child into learning,” Jefferson told Chalkbeat Colorado. “That is the commitment I make to you. And I keep my word.” Hallett parents credit Jefferson with “[making] every kid feel seen throughout the day,” “ensuring my kids have safety and belonging,” “fostering strong humans,” and much more.

With no notice or preparation, Principal Jefferson was placed on leave in September 2023. Families learned this news in a vague message from the district, and members of the school faculty and staff have privately stated that they learned about this sudden change to their working conditions mere minutes before students and families were told. For the next half-year, faculty and interim principals were tasked with maintaining flagging morale in the face of non-answers, all while tackling the already considerable workload of their positions. Families who advocated for Hallett alongside Principal Jefferson for years began to worry that her sudden leave was a form of district retaliation against the work she’s done to keep the school succeeding even when it increasingly appeared to be a target for intended closure.

After six months of waiting, a second email was sent to families on March 22, informing them that Principal Jefferson would not be returning – a fact she herself was not made aware of until a concerned parent sent her a screenshot of the district email. A source close to the case says that the Colorado Civil Rights Division has made a complaint against the school district on Principal Jefferson’s behalf, and that their investigation of DPS is underway. The community’s response of concern and grief has been covered on local news and voiced before the school board.

Despite community outrage, the district is moving forward with hiring Principal Jefferson’s replacement. Families received an email with a survey in which they could voice their hiring preferences on April 3, with a response deadline of April 12. Aside from this nine-day email window, the district has not engaged the community in this process. Despite taking six months to dismiss Principal Jefferson, they are moving through the hiring process with alarming speed, and have set a deadline of May 27 for naming her replacement.

Hallett Academy, despite its achievements, is vulnerable. The district’s inaction on the school’s lack of neighborhood boundary, inaccurate projections of declining enrollment, attempts to change start times by 90 minutes, and consistent funding shortfalls have made this sanctuary for Black families and others a site of constant tug-of-war between school community and district. Removing our vocal and beloved school leader has shaken our already eroding trust in the district’s plan for us. In order to protect the future of Hallett Academy, it is imperative that the district halt this flawed and rushed replacement plan.

Before the district can continue and hiring process, they must do the following:

1. Allow any investigation into district-level discrimination against Dominique Jefferson to fully conclude. To replace her before this is done is legally dubious and morally irresponsible. If DPS is found to have dismissed her inappropriately, they are ethically bound to reinstate her with full apologies to both her and the school she serves.

2. Conduct a full and appropriate engagement with the school community regarding the needs and future of the school. This means more than an email to families with less than two weeks to respond. This means open meetings and town-hall discussions in which the district holds themselves accountable for the enormous blow our community has just suffered, alongside an acknowledgement of the history of harm and mistrust between the district and our school which forms the context for these events.

3. Make a firm commitment to Hallett above and beyond this hiring process. Rather than put the task of keeping our doors open solely onto the shoulders of some new school leader (one who may have neither the background nor skills to continue Dominique Jefferson’s years’ long battle against structural inequity), the district needs to show that its hopes for our school’s success are more than lip service. That means a neighborhood boundary, sensible and culturally-sensitive districting choices, and adequate funding to retain and attract the dedicated professionals who keep our children cared for as learners and human beings (no more slashes to our teaching and support staff).

Signed,
The students, parents, workers, alums, and community of Denver Public Schools