In alignment with our guiding principles, our 2020 Return plan has been developed to address the following Crisis Priorities, which were confirmed by the Board of Education in June 2020:

• Crisis Priority 1: The superintendent will address the health and safety needs of all students and employees, focusing on our most vulnerable students.    

• Crisis Priority 2:  The superintendent will address the social-emotional and mental health needs of all students and employees, focusing on our most vulnerable students. 

• Crisis Priority 3: The superintendent will engage all students in learning and mitigate unfinished learning, focusing on our language learners, students with disabilities, students experiencing poverty, and students of color who have historically been marginalized and underserved.

Through the COVID health crisis and in planning for the 2020 Return, we remain committed to our core values, and have aspirations and commitments about good outcomes, despite the challenges presented by COVID-19 and an anticipated decrease in funding. The following principles guide our work in this time: 

• EQUITY. In our design, planning, instruction, and resource allocation, we will prioritize our most vulnerable students so they can thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. This includes our students who have historically been marginalized and underserved including students learning English, students with disabilities, students experiencing poverty, and students of color. It also includes students who are experiencing the impacts of COVID-19 most acutely. 

• PEOPLE FIRST. Across our family of schools, we will support the social and emotional needs, health, safety and well-being of students, employees, and families, as we navigate how to learn and work together to ensure all students thrive.

• COOPERATION. We will build unity and create connections so that we emerge as a stronger Team DPS. We strive to establish a culture and system of cooperation (as opposed to competition) among our family of schools and Team DPS. Externally, cooperation includes working with our city and state counterparts, as well as community organizations, to add capacity in the implementation of our crisis priorities. 

• RESPONSIVENESS. We will be realistic about what we can take on successfully and focused on achieving our goals. This means being responsive to data and adapting to address the lived experiences of our students and staff. We will also be realistic about, and accountable to, the uncomfortable realities this crisis exposes about our systems and structures.

• STEWARDSHIP. In conversation with our Budget Advisory Committee, we will be thoughtful and strategic about our use of taxpayer dollars, as a resource provider, employer, and education provider. We will be mindful of the ways our decisions affect the community during this unstable and uncertain time. We will be good stewards of district funding in both the short and long term, as we work under constantly evolving financial scenarios and outlooks based on the federal and state response.