Andrea Merida, rule breaker: Profile of Denver Public Schools' controversial board member

Denver Public Schools board member Andrea Merida has shaken things up at DPS. In ten months, she's butted heads with administrators, stood up for teachers when no one else would, and survived two recall attempts. Some think she's too abrasive and divisive, and after failing to disclose that she was...

By Melanie Asmar

September 22, 2010

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Denver Public Schools board member Andrea Merida has shaken things up at DPS. In ten months, she's butted heads with administrators, stood up for teachers when no one else would, and survived two recall attempts. Some think she's too abrasive and divisive, and after failing to disclose that she was a paid staffer for former U.S. Senate candidate Andrew Romanoff, perhaps unethical. Others, however, call her a hero. Read more about her in the feature, "Andrea Merida's Classroom Behavior has Earned Her a Seat Apart on the Denver School Board."

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Melanie Asmar is a staff writer for Westword. She joined the paper in 2009 and has won awards for her stories about education, immigration and epic legal battles. Got a tip? She'd love to hear it.

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