DENVER — The front doors of North High School loomed large over Nayeli López in May as her first year of high school came to an unexpectedly chaotic close.
López found herself at the forefront of a student protest movement that swept her Denver high school in the spring after classmates learned beloved Chicano teacher Tim Hernández had been let go and would not be returning the following year.
Students frustrated by what they saw as school leadership pushing out teachers of color organized sit-ins, walkouts, flyer distributions, meetings with district leadership and marches through the city advocating for better recruitment and retention of teachers of color and for Hernández to be brought back.
