Denver Public Schools will close the Robert F. Smith STEAM Academy after the school board voted 4-2 on Thursday, according to Denverite citing Chalkbeat. The school, which opened in 2021 and was modeled on historically Black colleges and universities, has only 24 students enrolled this year.
Board split and teacher concessions
Board Vice President Monica Hunter and member John Youngquist voted against the closure. Hunter, a former teacher and union member, asked for a pause to finalize teacher concessions, including two paid days off for non‑tenured staff to interview elsewhere. Superintendent Alex Marrero said the district had already reached a verbal agreement on a $1,000 payment to teachers and visa protections for international staff, but rejected further requests.
Financial and enrollment challenges
Marrero noted that DPS funding is based on per‑student enrollment and that the school had become financially unsustainable. Declining district enrollment has prompted the superintendent to consider additional school closures.
History of the school
The school was founded by Black parents and coaches in far‑northeast Denver and opened without a defined attendance boundary. Early administrative errors and a later relocation away from its core community contributed to enrollment drops. The founding principal left, and a parent‑founder, Brandon Pryor, successfully sued the district after being banned from school grounds.
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