Dean of Culture
Email:
zach_serrano@dpsk12.net
Phone:
720-424-2497 ext 42497
Department(s):
Administration
Zach (he/him/él) joined Northeast Early College in September 2024. Previously he worked for an Oakland based non-profit called the National Equity Project (2018-2024), and prior to that he was an educator and leader in Denver Public Schools (2008-2018). His purpose and passion is rooted in education. He entered the classroom with a vision of what bell hooks refers to as “education as the practice of freedom” and continues to see his work as activism rooted in a long standing, intergenerational struggle for social justice. During his time in DPS, he was recognized as a Mile High Teacher of the Year (2012), and identified as a “Distinguished Teacher” (2015-2018).
Zach holds a bachelor’s degree in Ethnic Studies with an emphasis in Chicanx and American Indian Studies from the University of Colorado at Boulder (Summa Cum Laude, 2008). He earned his master’s and a certificate in teaching for Cultural and Linguistic Diversity from the University of Colorado at Denver (2010) where he studied Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Urban Pedagogy and Leadership.
Outside of school, Zach is a member of Kalpulli Mikakuika, a Denver based Mexica/Aztec dance group and is a proud father of two amazing teenagers, Xavier and Ze.