Editor’s note: This is the August contribution from Boardhawk columnist Alexis Menocal Harrigan.
Last week, parents like me were running around doing the things parents do the week before school starts. We were trying to squeeze in last-minute summer fun, finalizing back-to-school shopping, and arguing with a 10-year-old why he can’t wear his new Jordans, which I caved and bought, to the splash park.
Okay, okay, that last one is probably just me. I was also silently stewing, hoping my kids would be happy, challenged, and safe in school this year. In the middle of the madness, I received six emails, each from a DPS chief cabinet member. You can find the content of the emails using the links below.
- Celebrating DPS Communications Achievements
- Office of General Counsel Accomplishments and Reflection
- Celebrating Achievements from the DPS Office of Operations
- 2024-25 Start-of-the-year Finance Updates
- Celebrating our Employees and Achievements from the Office of Talent
- Our Focus on Instructional Framework
I’m over here schlepping these kids around in 96 degrees, and the powers that be at DPS think this is the right time to spew self-congratulatory propaganda. Not very mindful or considerate of you, DPS.
The emails mostly highlight the accomplishments of the DPS administration’s internal operations. This campaign diverts attention away from critiques the district is facing around safety, academic equity gaps, and the upcoming bond measure.
While there does seem to be some good stuff in these emails, worthy of celebrating in a staff meeting or in an internal email, the content provides little substantive information that directly reassures DPS stakeholders that things are on the right track and that student academic achievement and well-being is at the forefront of the district’s priorities.
The email from DPS Chief Communications Officer, Bill Good has an excessive focus on awards and achievements, some of which don’t seem worthy of even acknowledging. The email is also the longest by far at 1227 words.
By comparison, the email from the Chief of Operations, Trena Marsal was 283 words. (Trena is no nonsense, get-straight-to-business kind of woman. I’d like to imagine she rolled her eyes at the request to write this email and wrote it in short order because she needed to get back to the work that matters.)
For example, Good’s email promotes the launch of La Raza Report, “a monumental moment for DPS and the Communications Department.” The report was commissioned by DPS, thanks to the advocacy of the Latino Education Coalition (an external advocacy group), conducted by external Latino researchers and submitted to DPS earlier this year.
Saying that the DPS Communications team “launched” the report makes it seem like they had any role in drafting it or really anything having to do with its creation. Technically, the communications team “launches” anything that is published on DPS channels. The accomplishment itself is apparently creating a launch strategy to share the findings of the report.
The real DPS accomplishment is actually the establishment of the Latinx Student Success team and the hiring of Dr. Patricia Hurrieta to lead the team. Neither of those things were mentioned in the emails, however.
I can only speculate that the idea behind these emails came not from the communications team, but from the very top. The tone of self-promotion and arrogance are the modus operandi of our overconfident and self-promoting superintendent, Alex Marrero.
If the DPS top executive insists on sharing these emails’ mostly irrelevant accomplishments publicly, there are better ways to get across his message.
Any communications expert should know that it is better for others to highlight your accomplishments than doing it yourself. The leadership team could have asked key allies to submit op-eds about DPS on their behalf. The content of the emails could be reformatted for a briefing document to the editorial board of the Denver Post. This is the more demure and understated way of doing things.
A better email to replace these six would have been one focused on welcoming students and families back to school (which hopefully, by the time this article is published will have already been sent out).
Such an email should prioritize addressing the immediate concerns and needs of students and families as they prepare for the new school year. It should offer practical tips for how students can be ready for learning, such as setting up a study space at home, establishing consistent pre- and post-school routines, and how to mentally prepare for the transition back to school. It should provide a clear and comprehensive update on the district’s safety plan. It should have focused on the district’s academic goals for the year, outlining specific strategies for improving student outcomes and addressing learning gaps.
To the credit of the Office of Schools leadership team, they provided the most useful information to DPS families, grounded in student learning and academic achievement. They encouraged readers to familiarize themselves with the district’s Instructional Framework. This office’s email also did the least grandstanding, instead communicating how they are taking steps to improve student outcomes.
Very mindful of you Dr. Smith, Dr. Wright, and Mr. Cedillo. Very considerate.
Do you want to know who is very considerate, and very mindful? Classroom teachers!
They are sending detailed emails introducing themselves to their students and families. They aren’t like these other girls (the DPS Cabinet). The emails are very classy, with colorful and bold text to denote important information.
They have attachments with accessible and inclusive language, that includes the daily classroom schedule, the classroom curricula being used, and the daily/weekly homework policy.
It’s clear this email campaign did too much and missed the mark by focusing on self-promotion and not the immediate needs of students and families. When parents like me are seeking reassurance and helpful information as the school year begins, we were instead met with a barrage of grandstanding that did little to address anything we are concerned with at present.
The district’s communications office should use its resources to instead prioritize transparency, relevance, and support – things that would resonate with community members. The communications team could learn a few lessons from classroom teachers who are working hard to set the right tone with their thoughtful and student-focused emails, which they don’t have the luxury of being written and vetted for them by a giant communications shop.
