August 30, 2004

As part of his back-to-school effort, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper recorded a phone message reminding all Denver Public School students of the opening day of school on August 16, 2004. Each student received this message on their home phone prior to the opening of school. In conjunction with the phone message, the mayor mailed a post card, in English and Spanish, to all students and their parents that included three messages for the coming school year: (1) Let's aim for perfect attendance during the first 100 days of school; (2) Make sure your child reads every day; and (3) Share a family meal together at least once a week around the dinner table. To further awareness the mayor had yard signs posted at schools announcing the first day all around Denver, as well as advertisements in community newspapers, public service announcements on radio in English and Spanish, and the Denver Public Library distributed first-day-of-school bookmarks.