Morey Middle School

Please visit the link below to learn more about our new principal!

Morey Middle School Principal Announcement

 

 

Please join us Friday, April 28th at History Colorado for the most fun you will have at a Middle school auction with our Live Auctioneer Marissa Walters, Owner of Wild Hair Auctions and Events! There will be an online Silent Auction and a Live Auction; Games to win fun prizes; Adult beverages & Light Snacks; and Wine Wall! Plus, the opportunity to mingle with our Morey Community and just relax for an evening out in our beautiful City.

Book your sitters – doors open at 6 pm!.

Tickets are on sale NOW! https://www.32auctions.com/Moreymiddleauction2023

Please see this letter for information on the Morey Candidate Presentations & Survey. Video and bios for the principal candidates are available here.

Dear Morey Middle School Community,

We hope this communication finds you well and looking forward to the holidays! The purpose of this letter is to update you on the principal hiring process. As you know, Principal Dori Claunch kindly agreed to serve as our Interim Principal for the start of the 2022-2023 school year. She has helped us continue our strong course forward and we will forever be indebted to Principal Claunch for her invaluable strength, service, and care for the Morey community. Please join us in thanking Principal Claunch for her continued service. We will begin searching for Morey’s next principal in the upcoming weeks by posting the principal vacancy on the DPS Job Boards.
After winter break, you will receive communication that asks for your input in identifying the characteristics for the next principal you seek to lead Morey Middle School. We will work with the Collaborative School Leadership Team (CSLT) to gather input on candidate characteristics.

We know this transition may be difficult for staff, students, and families. We also know that this approach is the best option in creating an opportunity for stakeholder voice, given the time of the school year and the need to plan for the upcoming school year. We will focus on remaining flexible as we do our best to select the next principal to lead Morey Middle School. Again, we thank you for your support and we look forward to engaging with you in this process. If you have any questions, we encourage you to reach out to the Family & Community Helpline at 720-423-3054 or FACE@dpsk12.org.

Sincerely,

Hillary Niebauer
Collaborative Director, Middle Schools

Scott Wolf
Operational Services Director

Dear Morey Families,

It has been my honor and privilege to serve as Morey’s principal the last 5 years.  I have been offered the opportunity to serve as the Middle School Director for Denver Public Schools and accepted the position. My last day at Morey will be Friday, September 9th. 

While the timing of this is not ideal, we have a strong plan for my replacement. Former Morey principal, Dori Claunch, will be the interim principal.  Ms. Claunch has experience as a teacher, Dean of Students, and Assistant Principal in Adams 12 Five Star Schools and Adams 50 Schools. In 2005, Ms. Claunch joined DPS to serve as the principal at Morey and would later become the Instructional Superintendent of Middle Schools and Operational Superintendent. Most recently, she was the interim principal at Dora Moore ECE-8. Ms. Claunch’s previous experiences, successes, and commitment give me confidence that she will be an asset to the Morey staff and community. Please join me in welcoming Ms. Claunch back to Morey!  Ms. Claunch is an amazing educator and leader and will keep Morey going in the right direction until we can conduct a full principal search.

I could not be more proud of what our Morey team has accomplished together over the past 7+ years of my tenure:

• Innovate culture and instructional systems that transformed the student experience
• We moved from a failing school (Orange on the district SPF) to an effective school (Green on the SPF)
• We grew enrollment from 200 students to 460 (with a waitlist of 60+ students the last 2 years)
• Consistently grew student achievement in literacy and math every year. We grew math proficiency levels by 30% the last 5 years and ELA proficiency levels by 12% the last 5 years.
• We redesigned the school with innovation status to become a personalized learning school
• We increased students of color receiving gifted programming by 30% in the last 2 years
• We created and then became the model for tiered systems of support at the middle school level that decreased out of school suspension rates by 90% percent the last 7 years
• We provided consistent, safe, and strong learning systems for students during the pandemic years
  

Morey and its people will always be in my heart and I’m grateful I had the opportunity to lead this special school for so many years. My time as Morey’s leader may be coming to an end, but my support of Morey is only getting started. As the Middle School Director, I will be leading the process to find the next permanent principal at Morey and will work with that new leader to ensure success for years to come.

The future of Morey is bright and I have no doubt that the systems and culture we built the last 7 years will continue on and adapt into more great things for our kiddos. 

Please be on the lookout for additional communication regarding a meet and greet with Ms. Claunch in the coming weeks.

Thank you so much for all your support in my time here at Morey and with Morey moving forward.

All my best,

Hillary Niebauer

Hello Mustang Families,

We hope you have had a wonderful summer and we welcomes you to the 2022-23 school year.

Please see this letter for information about the start of the new year.

We are excited to see you all in a few short weeks.