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Superintendent Alex Marrero said in a statement Friday that he doesn’t intend to leave Denver Public Schools after the Chicago Sun-Times reported that he’s one of two finalists for the job of Chicago Public Schools’ next CEO.
“While I have great respect for Chicago Public Schools and appreciate the professional recognition implied by recent speculation about my potential candidacy for superintendent, I want to be clear that my dedication remains firmly with Denver Public Schools where I am proud to continue serving as superintendent,” Marrero said.
One finalist for the Chicago job is Meisha Ross Porter, who led New York City Public Schools in 2021, three sources with direct knowledge of the situation told Chalkbeat.
Finalists are set to interview with Chicago Board of Education members, a community panel, and the mayor next week. Chicago’s selection will mark the first time its new 21-member school board chooses a new leader for the nation’s fourth largest school district.
Earlier on Friday, Denver Public Schools sent a statement saying Marrero “has no plans to leave the district.” The statement said he was attending the Global Cities Symposium in Asia “and will be extending his trip for a brief, but well deserved vacation prior to returning to Denver.”
Marrero is excited to work with the newly elected Denver school board members, the earlier statement said. Three candidates backed by the teachers union were elected Tuesday to the seven-member board.
Marrero has been superintendent of the 89,000-student Denver Public Schools since 2021. Graduation rates have risen in his four-year tenure, and the district’s state rating jumped this year to “green,” the second highest, for the first time since 2019, before the pandemic.
But concerns about school safety and a string of shootings in and around Denver’s largest high school have sown discontent among some parents. Unpopular school closures and cuts to the central office have hurt morale among district employees, according to Marrero’s latest performance evaluation.
Before coming to Denver, Marrero was the interim superintendent of a much smaller district in New Rochelle, New York. He was previously the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction in New Rochelle and an assistant superintendent in East Ramapo, New York.
Marrero began his career in the country’s biggest school district, New York City, where he served as a guidance counselor, assistant principal, and principal. It’s also where he attended school as a child growing up in the Bronx.
Marrero identifies as Afro Latino and is bilingual. More than half of the students in Denver are Latino and about a third are learning English as a second language.
Marrero’s contract with Denver Public Schools runs through 2028. The board has extended it twice, most recently in May, which was five months before his latest performance evaluation in October. The board also voted in 2023 to give Marrero a raise. His salary this year is $346,529.
Marrero is the president of the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents and serves on the executive committee of the Council of Great City Schools.
Melanie Asmar is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Colorado. Contact Melanie at masmar@chalkbeat.org.
