Manual High School (Denver)
| Manual High School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| 1700 East 28th Avenue, Denver, CO 80205 | |
| Coordinates | 39°45′24″N 104°58′03″W / 39.75654°N 104.96744°WCoordinates: 39°45′24″N 104°58′03″W / 39.75654°N 104.96744°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Established | 1894 |
| School district | Denver Public Schools |
| Principal | Nickolas Dawkins |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Color(s) | Blue and red |
| Athletics conference | Denver |
| Mascot | Thunderbolts |
| Information | (720)-423-6441 |
| Website | manual |
Manual High School is located in the Whittier neighborhood on the east side of Denver, Colorado, United States.
Manual High School is one of the oldest schools in the area. The original building was located near the current one, and opened its doors in 1892. It was an institution deeply woven into the fabric of the community. Manual was also one of the first schools in Denver to educate African-Americans.
Once a model of educational excellence and community, Manual High School fell on hard times after the school district ended bussing for integration. Test scores dropped and gang related violence troubled the school and community. For these reasons, the Denver Public Schools (DPS) administrators made drastic changes to Manual. In 2006, after several failed attempts to fix the problems, Manual High School was closed. When the decision was made public, several hundred students from Manual High School rallied outside the headquarters of Denver Public Schools to protest. Students were disappointed and angry because they couldn't finish the school year.
Students shouted "Hell, no. We won't go" and "Go T-Bolts" as they marched for about an hour in sub-freezing temperatures outside DPS headquarters at 9th and Grant. Some students suggested that the decision to close Manual was motivated by race. In the end, the displaced students were given the option of attending other higher performing schools. The school then reopened in the fall of 2007.
A 2007 article by Katherine Boo in The New Yorker described efforts by then-superintendent of school Michael Bennet to turn Manual back into a high-performance school.
Manual High School was re-opened in the fall of 2007, starting with a freshman class in the 2007-2008 school year, then adding a class of students every year thereafter. In the 2010-2011 school year, Manual was once again a 9-12 grade high school. Dr. Robert Stein, a Manual graduate and top school leader in Colorado, was tapped to lead the new Manual High School in 2007. Stein created a new program for the school modeled after high-performing charter schools where students' performance data is scrutinized and students must follow clear guidelines for behavior. This program was a success for the first three years, and helped Manual to post the third-highest growth in test scores in the city. However, after three years, Stein left the school in 2010.
Joe Sandoval led the school for the 2010-2011 school year, until administrators of DPS could find a principal for the school. For the 2011-2012 school year, the principal selection committee chose Brian Dale, former principal of Bruce Randolph, to lead the school.
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