Our Vision: To celebrate and honor diverse perspectives and knowledge, we aim to provide learners with a global representation that fosters cultural awareness and equips them with the skills needed to navigate an increasingly diverse world.

Mission: By integrating international educators into our academic and support programs, we strive to create a model of global collaboration that enhances educational excellence and global competency within DPS, ultimately empowering a thriving global community through educational success.

We are thrilled to announce an incredible opportunity to recruit, hire, develop and retain qualified and talented individuals to support our highest needs areas. Denver Public Schools strives to provide student scholars with Racial and Educational Equity that is paramount to their ability to become contributing Global Citizens after graduation. The newly launched DPS - International Educator Institute will do just that by providing comprehensive and complete services to support new, international and globally competent Team DPS individuals. This program has been carefully designed to support extended onboarding, professional development, cultural transition assistance and social and emotional support for our new and current international educators. 

Our current Visa Sponsorship Program continues to be an essential part of our work to bring talented individuals to serve and develop our globally competent student scholars. This Visa program has seen incredible growth this school year -- bringing a 48% increase in our H1-B and J-1 visa sponsorships - that’s 58 new international educators that have joined Team DPS! We strive to continue building upon this growth through the new programs we will offer under the DPS - International Educator Institute. 

The Office of Talent will be posting a director position to lead the work of the DPS - International Educator Institute and build the new team. This team will consist of experienced specialists focused on this initiative. As the Office of Talent works to build this team, we are pleased to announce that Leticia Levi -- current Manager of Talent Acquisition Pathways and Operations -- will step in as Interim Director of the International Educator Institute. Leticia and her current team have been critical to the success we have seen in our existing Visa Sponsorship program and we are excited for her ideas and passion in supporting international educators. Leticia will work in close partnership with Bridgett Bird, Director of Growth and Performance, who will spearhead developmental programs and other wrap-around services. This is most important to ensure the immediate success of international teachers for our scholars.  

We remain committed and aligned to our Strategic Roadmap and Ends Statements. We are focusing all of our recruitment, hiring and retention strategies around these goals. We are supporting our students and the Student Experience by focusing on recruiting globally competent, talented and diverse educators for our highest needs areas, such as ELA-S (Bilingual Spanish), Special Education, Math, Science, and Special Service Providers (SSPs). Learn more about our recruiting efforts here.

We will continue to enhance the Adult Experience for our team members by focusing on their social and emotional well-being, as well as opportunities to learn and grow. Our commitment to educational equity, inclusion and belonging is unwavering as is evident in our Values Based Leadership Programs and other initiatives. Learn more here. 

We are thoughtfully modifying our structures and systems to build the System Experience throughout each of our departments, programs and initiatives. This work looks at our business processes, our system structures and the way we can continuously provide equity-focused support to Team DPS. 

Across all our efforts, I am excited to see my vision come to life and where the new DPS - International Educator Institute will take us as we can continue to get better at getting better for our students, our staff and our communities. Thank you for your support, feedback and encouragement to continue this challenging and rewarding work. 

In collaboration, 

Dr. Alex Marrero

Superintendent