Schmitt parents keep kids home to protest teacher firings

Parents upset that five probationary teachers at their school will not have their contracts renewed next year kept their children home from school Tuesday in protest.

Teachers and staff confirmed Wednesday that about 100 of the school’s 413 students were absent from classes at Schmitt Elementary in southwest Denver.

Several teachers and parents burned the midnight oil late last week in a marathon school board meeting to raise concerns about the  teachers who were losing their jobs. Some were also put on a controversial “do not rehire” list, which bans them from ever working for DPS again. The school board and district staff are now re-evaluating the policy due to questions about its fairness.

The school board this week accepted the list of 220 probationary teachers districtwide whose contracts will not be renewed, including the Schmitt teachers. About  80 of them ended up on the district’s “do not rehire” list.

Read the EdNews story on the 10-hour board meeting that focused on these decisions.