North High’s Model Student

"The reason I don't have a lot of hope is that I don't know the people controlling it," he says. "I don't know Bennet; I don't know Principal Hays that well. A better North has to be an equal dream that everyone needs to pursue. I want it to be a top-notch school, but for the people who have worked so hard for it all along."

Still, as the diplomas are awarded and some students drop marbles on the floor before shaking school administrators' hands — to symbolize how they dropped the ball at North — Aron keeps his marble in his pocket. "It was just a gut feeling," he says afterward.

Tony Gallagher

Home schooling: Maria Luisa Chavez tells her children Ruthie and Aron that they must take it upon themselves to learn.

Tony Gallagher

Northwest Parents for Excellent Schools' Jennifer Draper Carson (left, with Henry) joined with Ricardo Martinez and Julieta Quinonez of Padres Unidos and Jovenes Unidos to demand drastic change at North High.

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North High School

2960 N. Speer Blvd.
Denver, CO 80211

Category: Schools

Region: Northwest Denver

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More About

• Estimado Aron
• Denver Public Schools
• North High School
• High School Education
• Education Standards

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When Hays presents the Class of 2007, the crowd erupts and graduation caps spiral through the air. Aron's extended family and his friends and mentors shower him with hugs and photos. "I'm happy right now," he gushes, grinning. And when many members of the Class of 2007 climb onto waiting school buses that will take them back to North, Aron hangs back. He's leaving with his family, but soon enough he'll return to North.

There's a long white wall in the central atrium — a blank slate at the heart of the school — waiting for him to leave his mark. "I have to finish the mural," Aron says. "I feel like it's destined."