The Kaplan Family (from left to right):
Jeannie, Michael, Steve, and Leslie

     I was born in Youngstown, Ohio on September  2, 1945.  Both of my parents were public school teachers:  my mother was a music teacher, my father a history/social studies teacher. I attended public schools and graduated from the University of Michigan with a B. A. in American Culture.  I have lived in Denver for 33 years and am married to Stephen H. Kaplan.  We have two children Leslie, 29, and Michael, 26.  Both of them have attended DPS from first grade through 12 except for one year of middle school and two years when we were in Washington, D.C.  (They attended public schools there, too.) 

     While raising our children I worked in television news part time as the director of the Colorado Electronic Election Pool.  I have also worked for the Summit of the Eight in 1997, as well as volunteering for various political campaigns throughout my years in Denver. While living in Washington, D.C. I worked as an assignment editor for CBS News.    

    During my 33 years in Denver I have been very active in Denver Public School matters, both at the local school and the district level.  As a parent I have served as PTSA president, a member of the very first Collaborative Decision Making team (CDM), After-Prom co chairman, as well as many other school committees. I have also served on several district-wide committees where I was a strong advocate for small classes and parent involvement.

 

 

 

      Public education has been my passion for as long as I can remember.  I strongly believe that public education is a major cornerstone of our democracy, a cornerstone that is under great stress and one whose future viability is very uncertain. As a school board member for the past 4 years I have worked to ensure a lessening of the achievement gap and drop out rate and an increase in student performance by all students by emphasizing small classes, school-business/government partnerships for supplemental programs and hours of operation, less reliance on CSAP's and more individual diagnostic evaluations. I have continued to search for ways to increase family/parental involvement.

                                                      
(Jeannie with Leslie, Steve and Einstein the family dog)

 

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