Monica Hunter, a former teacher in Denver Public Schools (DPS) and a proud alumni, is launching her campaign to represent northeast Denver on the school board.
At 37 years old, Hunter is contesting the District 4 seat currently held by Michelle Quattlebaum, who is seeking re-election. Hunter is poised to face at least two other candidates in the upcoming election.
Frustrated by the decisions made by board members who lack first-hand experience as DPS students or teachers, Hunter felt compelled to run.
“I entered the race sort of late because for me, this is not a stepping stone,” Hunter explained. “I’m doing this out of a need. I was hoping for someone to run that was connected more to kids and to families and to teachers, and that did not happen.”
With crucial elections set for November 4, four out of the seven seats on the Denver school board will be up for grabs. The timing is particularly significant, as DPS is grappling with declining enrollment that has resulted in over a dozen school closures in the last two years. A newly instituted policy targeting low-performing schools may lead to further closures.
While it is true that the district’s graduation rates have seen improvements, many students are still recovering from the academic losses incurred during the pandemic. Moreover, DPS has recently been in the spotlight for various issues, including criticism from President Donald Trump regarding its all-gender restroom policy and its advocacy for immigrant students. An internal investigation has also been ordered by the board concerning racial discrimination allegations against one of its members.
Hunter’s own educational journey began in Denver, where she graduated from George Washington High School.
Her initial teaching experience as a student teacher at Willow Elementary starkly contrasted with her first-grade teaching position at John H. Amesse Elementary. Hunter recalled the disparities in resources between the two schools. Willow was equipped with modern facilities such as new buildings and iPads for every student, aided by a supportive parent community that contributed to hiring additional teachers. In contrast, Amesse faced significant challenges, lacking these resources and teetering on the brink of closure due to low test scores.
“Closing a school and penalizing it for not having the same amount of resources, it just isn’t equitable,” Hunter asserted. “I cannot reduce any student or school to a test score. Does reading need to improve? Absolutely. Do we need to close the achievement gap? Absolutely. Is shutting down their school really going to close it? No, it’s not.”
Despite its hardships, Amesse avoided closure, allowing Hunter to later transition to Green Valley Elementary, another DPS school where she worked until 2020. Currently, she serves as the director of human and civil rights for the Colorado Education Association, the state’s largest teachers’ union. In that capacity, she played an instrumental role in establishing a mental health hotline for educators and a fellowship program aimed at supporting teachers of color.
Hunter has a deep connection to her local union, having been actively involved with the Denver Classroom Teachers Association. She co-founded the DCTA’s Black Educator Caucus, which advocated for teachers at semi-autonomous innovation schools to maintain their union contract rights—a change that the school board eventually adopted.
As a mother of a blended family with six children, five of whom will be attending DPS this fall, Hunter expresses her commitment to education from both personal and professional perspectives. Her children’s ages span from preschool to fifth grade, and they are enrolled in a mix of traditional district-run and innovation schools, with her eldest attending a private institution. To protect their privacy, Hunter opted not to disclose the specific schools they attend.
If elected to the school board, Hunter plans to focus on ensuring that any necessary budget cuts from state or federal funding do not adversely affect DPS classrooms. Prioritizing mental health support for students and educators is also high on her agenda.
“We cannot afford any more cuts to education and to classrooms,” she remarked. “I just want to start there because I think people can promise a lot of things.”
Looking ahead, DPS anticipates an 8% decline in enrollment by 2029, which could lead to further school closures. Hunter admitted that voting to close a district-run school would be “very hard” for her and emphasized the necessity of exploring alternative solutions.
Regarding Superintendent Alex Marrero, Hunter refrained from expressing a personal opinion but did raise questions about the board’s decision to renew his contract in May, especially given that it occurred before the district reached a tentative agreement with the teachers’ union in June.
“From a parent lens, I did not understand the rush,” Hunter questioned. “We want good board members, we want superintendents who want to do a good job … but we can’t have a school without students and teachers and support staff. Those are the essential heart and soul of schools.”
image source from：denverite
