Julie Bañuelos

My name is Julie Bañuelos, I served 15 years in Denver classrooms, as a teacher, a union leader and an advocate for our community.

I’m running because it’s finally time to put the perspective of a public school teacher on the board. Just like so many of the kids in our classrooms, I come from a working-class and immigrant background. I was born in El Paso but, grew up here in Denver, in Curtis Park, where I lived in the East Village public housing projects. I attended Ebert and Gilpin elementary schools.

Today’s public school picture in Denver is pretty bleak. Privatization is pushing out experienced and passionate teachers, producing mayhem for our most vulnerable students and their communities through school closures and, exacerbating segregation through choice that benefits just a few.

I’m calling for a moratorium on charters because our traditional public schools deserve the commitment of equitable sustainable resources instead of siphoning funds to pop-up models that are a one-size-fits-all and have a track record of failing our students with disabilities and our English language learners.

I will fight for the right of all employees to collectively bargain, I will advocate for students and their families, I will commit to keeping our students safe in schools free of police officers and, instead fully-funding restorative justice programs and wrap-around services.

It’s time to create a different reality, one of diverse and inclusive school communities full of energetic kids whose teachers love to come to work, where students think critically about the world around them and develop their academic and individual potentials while parents and taxpayers feel respected and heard.

That’s why I’m running. I want to build that vision into a new normal. I ask for your support today and your vote in November. Thank you.

 

Biographical information provided by the candidate in the A+ Colorado Candidate Survey.

Candidate’s website:  juliedps.com

Denver Public Schools School Board Candidate Survey – Denver – At-Large – 2017 Election