Principal Announcement

Posted June 14, 2021

Dear Denver Discovery School Community, 

After a robust and thorough principal selection process, we are excited to announce that Dr. Aaron Carter has been selected as the new principal of Denver Discovery School. We are confident Dr. Carter will build upon the many strengths of DDS and that he will effectively lead the powerful work of becoming a truly transformative community school! 

As Dr. Carter shared in his biography and video presentation, he began his career in

education as a teacher at the Athens Montessori School where he worked with elementary and middle school students. In addition, Dr. Carter started a band program at the Montessori School when he saw the need to invest in the performing arts for his students. Dr. Carter graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in African American Studies in 2008. After graduating from UGA, Dr. Carter immediately began his Master’s degree program in addition to beginning his career in public schools as an interrelated special education teacher. Dr. Carter graduated from the University of Phoenix with a degree in Secondary Teacher Education in 2011 and began a five year stint as a general education classroom teacher where he taught United States History, American Government, and Sociology. He also served as the Social Studies Department Chairperson for three years. Dr. Carter received the teacher of the month award several times and was a finalist for teacher of the year. 

Dr. Carter also worked as a mentor teacher for teacher candidates and helped to start the teaching careers of more than 10 teachers. Dr. Carter’s heart, his impact on student performance, and instructional leadership led him to pursue school-level leadership. He subsequently enrolled in and graduated from Capella University with honors of distinction in Educational Leadership and Administration in 2015. Dr. Carter began his school-level leadership journey in 2015 and has served in many administrative roles including 9th Grade Academy Principal, Curriculum Assistant Principal, Associate Principal of Instruction, Interim Principal, and in his current role of Coordinator of Education. Dr. Carter has extensive experience in school operations, master scheduling, school-wide testing, budgeting, teacher evaluation, community relations, mentoring other leaders, positive behavior intervention systems, visionary leadership, building rapport with students, and school improvement strategic planning. As an administrator, Dr. Carter led his school to the honors of

an AP School of Excellence, helped to demonstrate growth in seven out of eight end-of-year high stakes testing areas, and facilitated the steady growth in Lexile scores over three years. The aforementioned accomplishments are due to his successful implementation of school-wide professional learning communities that focused on data-driven improvement cycles. Dr. Carter has served as a member and the co-chair of the local school governance team which focused on the partnerships between the school and the community to serve the best needs of students. Dr. Carter recently finished his doctoral program (2021) from The American College of Education in Educational Leadership to ensure his leadership credentials are at the highest level to serve the school community.

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who contributed input and feedback during the selection process. Our sincerest gratitude goes out to the Collaborative School Committee and the School Principal Selection Advisory Committees for their hard work and being an integral part of this process. Their unwavering commitment to the ongoing success of DDS throughout the hiring process was apparent at every turn. We also want to thank the greater DDS Community for providing such rich feedback after viewing the candidates’ videos. We appreciate your engagement in this remote setting. Also, again, a huge thank you to Mrs. Charmaine Keeton for her legacy of love and service to DDS students and families.  

Please look forward to a letter from Dr. Carter over the summer, sharing his transition plans and opportunities to meet.  Please join us in welcoming this talented leader to Denver Public Schools! 

Respectfully yours,