Barbara O'Brien
Barbara O'Brien was an at-large member of the Denver Board of Education in Colorado. O'Brien assumed office in 2013. O'Brien left office on November 30, 2021.
O'Brien ran for re-election for an at-large seat of the Denver Board of Education in Colorado. O'Brien won in the general election on November 7, 2017.
O'Brien previously served as lieutenant governor to Colorado Governor Bill Ritter (D) from 2007 to 2011.
Biography
O'Brien earned a bachelor's degree in English from the University of California at Los Angeles. She also earned a master's degree and Ph.D. in English from Columbia University. She began her career as a speechwriter for former Gov. Richard Lamm (D) and as an administrator at the University of Colorado. O'Brien was president of the Colorado Children's Campaign from 1990 to 2006. O'Brien went on to become the president of Get Smart Schools. She was involved with the Colorado P-20 Education Coordinating Council and the Race to the Top Initiative during her time as lieutenant governor.[1]
Elections
2017
- See also: Denver Public Schools elections (2017)
Four of the seven seats on the Denver Public Schools Board of Education in Colorado were up for nonpartisan general election on November 7, 2017. In her bid for re-election, at-large incumbent Barbara O'Brien defeated challengers Julie Banuelos and Robert Speth. The open District 2 race included Angela Cobian and Xochitl "Sochi" Gaytan, and Cobian won the seat. District 3 incumbent Mike Johnson was defeated by Carrie Olson. District 4 incumbent Rachele Espiritu ran against Tay Anderson and Jennifer Bacon, and Bacon won the seat.[2][3]
Results
| Denver Public Schools, At-large General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Barbara O'Brien Incumbent |
40.49% | 49,283 |
| Robert Speth | 35.23% | 42,878 |
| Julie Banuelos | 24.28% | 29,559 |
| Total Votes | 121,720 | |
| Source: Denver Elections Division, "Coordinated Election November 7, 2017 Final Official Results," accessed November 27, 2017 | ||
Funding
O'Brien reported $117,464.34 in contributions and $115,654.22 in expenditures to the Colorado Secretary of State, which left her campaign with $1,810.12 on hand in the election.[4]
Endorsements
O'Brien was endorsed by the following organizations and elected officials:[5][6][7]
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O'Brien was also endorsed by former elected officials. Click here for a list of her supporters.
2013
- See also: Denver Public Schools elections (2013)
O'Brien sought election to the board against fellow newcomers Michael Kiley and Joan Poston.
Results
| Denver Public Schools, At-large General Election, 4-year term, 2013 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Barbara O'Brien |
59.3% | 63,554 | |
| Nonpartisan | Michael Kiley | 31.2% | 33,440 | |
| Nonpartisan | Joan Poston | 9.4% | 10,112 | |
| Total Votes | 107,106 | |||
| Source: Denver County Clerk and Recorder, "Final Official Election Results," accessed December 13, 2013 | ||||
Funding
O'Brien reported $198,609.00 in contributions and $197,112.27 in expenditures to the Colorado Secretary of State, which left her campaign with $1,496.73 on hand in the election.[8]
Endorsements
O'Brien received the following endorsements during her 2013 campaign:[6]
- Congressman Jared Polis (D-Colorado)
- Congressman Ed Perlmutter (D-Colorado)
- Former Gov. Bill Ritter (D)
- Former Gov. Roy Romer (D)
- Former First Lady of Colorado Jeannie Ritter
- Former First Lady of Colorado Bea Romer
Campaign themes
2017
O'Brien participated in the following survey conducted by Chalkbeat Colorado. The survey questions appear bolded, and O'Brien's responses follow below.
Tell us a bit about yourself. How long have you lived in the school district? What do you do for a living?
| “ | My husband Rick and I moved to Denver in 1982. We raised our two sons, Jared and Connor, here in Denver, and they are proud graduates of Denver’s East High School. I worked on health and education for Colorado’s kids for sixteen years as the head of the Colorado Children’s Campaign and then served as Lieutenant Governor in 2007 with Governor Bill Ritter. When I left office, I wanted to continue to help young Colorado children get a good start in life. After serving as lieutenant governor, I decided to head Catapult School Leadership to help build strong principals in Colorado public schools. I am currently self-employed and consult on national education issues.[9] | ” |
| —Barbara O'Brien (2017)[10] | ||
Tell us about your connection to the school district.
| “ | I have dedicated my entire career to strengthening our public schools at the national, state and local level. In addition to having two sons that graduated from East High, over the years I have served on numerous Denver non-profit boards and projects including Clayton Early Learning, Mayor’s Leadership Council on Education, and A+Denver. I also helped pass the Denver Preschool Program. When there was an opening on the school board in 2013, I decided to step up to serve the community that has given my family so many opportunities. Our kids are essential in ensuring a bright and prosperous future for Denver, and I will never stop fighting for the education and well-being of all our kids.[9] | ” |
| —Barbara O'Brien (2017)[10] | ||
The school board adopted a policy that calls for closing or replacing low-performing schools. Do you agree with it? Is there anything you’d change?
| “ | Closing a school is difficult and disruptive to the community. We need to make sure that closing a school is the absolute last resort. However, Denver’s kids need every opportunity to attend a great school and it is my responsibility to ensure that we are not letting kids fall through the cracks. In an effort to improve a struggling school, it receives several years of extra financial support from the district, intensive instructional support for teachers and the principal, and extra social-emotional supports for the students. If the board decides that we must resort to closing or redesigning the school, we involve the parents and community leaders in deciding what kind of school model should replace it to best fit the needs of the students.[9] | ” |
| —Barbara O'Brien (2017)[10] | ||
There are over 200 public schools in Denver. More than half are charter and innovation schools, which operate with increased autonomy. What are your thoughts about the district’s “portfolio” approach?
| “ | I support more autonomy for principals over their budgets, professional development and curriculum, more shared leadership with teachers in their schools, and more responsibility for results. Autonomy lets principals be flexible and fast in using his or her budget to meet the unique needs of their students. It creates the opportunity to innovate or to adopt a successful practice from another school. It allows them to change strategies when something isn’t working. Principals and teachers appreciate the trust and professionalism that increased autonomy has given them. At the same time, the district holds all schools accountable for meeting the district’s core values of equity and transparency. Elementary schools in particular have improved due to principal and teacher leadership. DPS was recognized in a national report for having the second-highest growth in academic achievement of any large school district in the nation. The number of students who are expelled or suspended has dropped dramatically. Denver was rated as having the best school choice system in the nation, with more than 80 percent of families getting their first choice of school. These are indicators that our policies and strategies are moving the district forward and that students are benefiting.[9] | ” |
| —Barbara O'Brien (2017)[10] | ||
How should DPS rate schools? What factors should be taken into account and how much weight should they be given? Do you agree with adding an “equity indicator” that bases ratings partly on how well schools are educating traditionally underserved students?
| “ | Denver created a School Performance Framework (SPF) that evaluates student achievement, teacher satisfaction, parent satisfaction, student engagement, and equity (now called the achievement gap indicator). Our SPF has been successful in identifying schools that are good for students and schools that need to improve. The academic gaps between groups of students is now being highlighted in the SPF and we have the opportunity to learn from schools that are closing their gaps. I hope that my focus on adding meaningful SPF measures for school culture and the social-emotional health of students will give parents a better understanding of their children’s schools and give the district better insight into each school’s performance. I support the new achievement gap metric in the SPF to increase accountability for closing the gap in every school. I also spearheaded an early literacy program to ensure our kids are reading and writing at grade level. We are evaluating the right things, but the bar must be raised higher.[9] | ” |
| —Barbara O'Brien (2017)[10] | ||
Denver is gentrifying, and the district has formed a committee to investigate how those changes are impacting schools. What policies would you consider to combat the segregation and decreasing enrollment occurring in some schools?
| “ | Denver’s growth has been difficult for some communities in part because of increasing housing costs. We have 92,000 students in DPS; 22,000 students had to switch schools last year alone because of challenges such as unstable housing and inadequate transportation. DPS has worked to support students with the wraparound services they need to be successful. We have created 11 enrollment zones to ensure kids living in poverty have access to high-quality performing schools. Significant changes to the school enrollment process are underway that will reduce paperwork for parents and speed up the enrollment process. I am committed to addressing issues affecting families and the DPS workforce that are outside of the classroom. The Strengthening Neighborhoods committee is developing recommendations for the board to address ways to strengthen neighborhoods through affordable housing initiatives, transportation and integrated schools. I support the ideas coming from the Strengthening Neighborhoods committee that will involve partnerships with community and transportation groups.[9] | ” |
| —Barbara O'Brien (2017)[10] | ||
What is DPS doing particularly well right now?
| “ | I called for a study of reading achievement in elementary schools that led to a new literacy and reading curriculum, a new system of progress monitoring for young students, and redesigned professional development in the teaching of reading for all elementary paraprofessionals and teachers. The results from the first year of full implementation show record gains in literacy for young students and a significant increase in teacher satisfaction. The board made educating and supporting the “whole child” one of our priorities by shifting more of the budget out of the central office and back to schools where teachers and principals know their students’ needs best. I’m excited about a new program to make paid apprenticeships available to juniors and seniors in high school, the new bi-literacy certificate for students that is taking the district closer to my goal of bilingual high school graduates, and the new partnership with the city to create a smooth path toward reading proficiency for early learners even before they enter kindergarten.[9] | ” |
| —Barbara O'Brien (2017)[10] | ||
What is the most pressing thing the board should change?
| “ | We need to do a much better job at engaging and communicating with the community. I support the board’s expectation for improved communications in the superintendent’s evaluation. Several new community and communications additions to the superintendent’s senior team are promising for this renewed focus. I will not let up on pushing for faster reading achievement for young students because the ability to read by the end of third grade is essential for students’ ability to learn from textbooks and other challenging materials that are introduced in fourth grade. In addition, DPS must give the same intense focus to math and science and make changes to the curriculum and professional development to get the results students deserve.[9] | ” |
| —Barbara O'Brien (2017)[10] | ||
2013
O'Brien explained her themes for the 2013 campaign on her website:
| “ |
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” |
| —Barbara O'Brien (2013)[11] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Barbara O'Brien Denver Public Schools school board. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Denver Public Schools, Colorado
- Denver Public Schools elections (2017)
- Denver Public Schools elections (2013)
- Lieutenant Governor of Colorado
- Lieutenant Governor
External links
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Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Barbara O'Brien for Denver Public Schools, "About Barbara," accessed October 25, 2013
- ↑ Denver Public Schools, "Running For School Board: Candidate Tracking," accessed September 2, 2017
- ↑ Denver Elections Division, "Election Summary Report," accessed November 7, 2017
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "TRACER: Candidate Search," accessed December 15, 2017
- ↑ Chalkbeat Colorado, "Stand for Children chooses not to endorse in northeast Denver school board race," September 19, 2017
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Barbara O'Brien School Board, "Endorsements," accessed October 23, 2017
- ↑ The Denver Post, "Support these reformers in Denver schools election," October 20, 2017
- ↑ Colorado TRACER, "Candidate Detail," accessed December 20, 2013
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 9.8 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7 Chalkbeat Colorado, "We sent surveys to all the 2017 Denver school board candidates. Read their answers here." October 5, 2017
- ↑ Barbara O'Brien for Denver Public Schools, "Issues," accessed October 29, 2013
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jane Norton (R) |
Lieutenant Governor of Colorado 2007-2011 |
Succeeded by Joseph Garcia (D) |
| Denver Public Schools elections in 2017 | |
| Denver County, Colorado | |
| Election date: | November 7, 2017 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Barbara O'Brien • Julie Banuelos • Robert Speth District 2: • Angela Cobian • Xochitl "Sochi" Gaytan District 3: • Incumbent, Mike Johnson • Carrie Olson District 4: • Incumbent, Rachele Espiritu • Auon'tai Anderson • Jennifer Bacon |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
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