Mission

In Denver Public Schools, young learners are engaged in comprehensive rigorous early education, creating the foundation necessary to be contributing members of the global community. It is the mission of the DPS Early Education Department to ensure the delivery of an integrated, comprehensive, high-quality early education in every classroom.

In addition to staff actively involved in the early education community in the city, Denver Public Schools Early Education Department provides state-funded preschool slots to about 22 community agencies around the city of Denver. 

Our core beliefs

The Early Education Department is guided by the following core beliefs:

• Young children need time to grow and develop through play and experience.
• Supporting families in their roles as nurturers and first teachers leads to greater academic achievement for their children and more parental involvement in DPS and the community.
• Rigorous early learning requires that instructional activities are planned with intention and classroom environments and experiences are designed to meet specific learning outcomes.
• The building blocks of rigorous early learning programs include children’s development of cognitive processes, receptive and expressive language, fine and gross motor skills, positive behaviors and interactions, and self-regulation. This creates the foundation of all learning.
• The development of young learners requires that teachers in early learning programs continually differentiate instruction to support the advancement of the developmental continuum.
• Early learning standards link content and desired outcomes to specific ages or developmental periods.
• A comprehensive, high-quality early education continuum, birth through eight, closes the achievement gap.