Denver Public Schools parent Diana Kessel is happy with the school her child attends, the “small and mighty” Palmer Elementary School in the city’s Hale neighborhood. She’s happy with the teachers, the extracurriculars and after-school enrichment, and most of all the small-school culture that comes from having around 200 students enrolled. “We got the governor’s Distinguished Improvement Award, so that tells you we’re doing something right,” Kessel joked. Kessel wasn’t initially worried about Palmer closing when the DPS Board of Education passed a policy about school closure and consolidation in June, but her worries have grown. Parents and teachers from Palmer Elementary school listen during the first Denver Public Schools community engagement meetings for families at South High School in Denver on Sept.