DPS superintendent out of the running for Miami job

Dr. Alex Marrero has been with Denver Public Schools since 2021.

DENVER — The superintendent of Colorado’s largest school district is no longer a candidate for a similar role with Miami-Dade County Public Schools in Florida, a spokesman for Denver Public Schools confirmed.

Last month, Dr. Alex Marrero, who has been with DPS since 2021, told the school board he had applied for a role with the Florida district. However, on Wednesday, a spokesman for the district confirmed he was out of the running for the job.

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Around the same time Marrero notified the board of his application, he also sent an email to the board president, where he wrote about “ongoing concerns.” Those included concerns that the board was taking on roles related to operations rather than policy oversight.

He noted that he felt the issues raised serious concern about whether the district was compliant with his contract. He pointed to an executive session he was excluded from and said his contract “guarantees” his participation unless the meeting is specifically related to his employment, compensation, or evaluation are being discussed.

Marrero provided the following statement to 9NEWS:

I remain fully committed to the students, families, educators, and staff of Denver Public Schools.

My former candidacy for the Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent position does not diminish my focus on Denver or the work we have led together. I entered that process as exactly who I am, with a record and a set of values I will never minimize, sanitize, or rewrite for another opportunity.

Denver’s record was before them.

Graduation rates at an all-time high. Math recovery matching or outpacing statewide trends. Stronger ELA growth. Fewer schools on the state’s accountability clock. National recognition through NAEP and TUDA. Improved early literacy outcomes. And DPS earning a green rating on Colorado’s District Performance Framework for only the second time.

The hard but necessary work of closing schools.

But our work is bigger than test scores and right-sizing.

We have unapologetically invested in Black and Latino student success, supported our LGTBQ+ communities, welcomed thousands of newcomer students, stood with immigrant families, expanded multilingual education and family empowerment, elevated student voice, and made equity inseparable from excellence.

I recognize that these values may not align with the increasingly conservative ideology shaping public education in certain parts of this nation. If that made me less attractive to Miami-Dade, I can live with that. Although I feel for the historically underserved communities.

I will not retreat from equity because it has become politically inconvenient. I will not rewrite my leadership to fit a political moment.

Denver knows exactly what it has in me.

Our progress is real. Our work is worthy of celebration. And our work is not done.

I remain here. I remain focused. And I remain unapologetically committed to the students of Denver.

Back in November, the Chicago Sun Times reported that Marrero was a finalist for a job in Chicago, but he would not confirm or deny that at the time and instead released a statement saying he was dedicated to DPS.