Colorado district hires deferred action teachers

Colorado’s largest school district is reaching out to immigrants who came to this country as children without documents to teach.

In an interview Friday with The Associated Press, Denver Public Schools Superintendent Tom Boasberg said the initiative began soon after President Barack Obama took steps last year to allow young people living in the U.S. illegally to stay and work. Two teachers who qualified under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy started work in Denver this school year. Boasberg says more will be hired this coming year.

Boasberg says he knows any step that touches on immigration can be controversial. But he says the teachers bring crucial languages skills and can inspire students whose circumstances mirror theirs.

KUSA-TV reports that the Colorado Alliance for Immigration Reform questioned the Denver project’s fairness.