Danyelle Charles’ impact will remain long after her final Smarty Party. photo by Sony Calhoun
Charles’s impact and passionate spirit will continue to be cherished throughout TJ’s hallways.
Danyelle Charles has been the beloved Office Manager at Thomas Jefferson High School for the past 12 years and a part of Denver Public Schools for the past 25 years.. She was born and grew up in Colorado for the first nine years of her life. Her mother joined the Air Force and she began moving often, spending a lot of time on the west coast, specifically in California. She also spent a number of years in Spain as well as in South Carolina. Throughout those years, she would alternate between spending time in Colorado with her father and grandmother and living wherever her mother was at the time. Charles ended up graduating from Thomas Jefferson High School before pursuing higher education at a technical college in South Carolina. Later she also got a cosmetology license in Virginia. Charles stated her favorite thing to do was hair, specifically “braiding and finger waves.”
Charles started her career at Montbello High school as part of the office support team, a new job they had created in counseling centers. She compared it to the Denver Scholarship Foundation (DSF) before DSF was incorporated into DPS. Her mother, who also worked at Montbello at the time, had told her about the job opening. Charles worked in that position for about five years until a new principal came in and began restructuring the school. As he restructured, he incorporated DSF into the school, so there was no longer a need for the office support team. Charles then became the principal’s secretary for approximately five more years. After that, she moved to the DPS superintendent’s office as his executive secretary. After three years of working as the executive secretary, Suzanne Morris-Sherer, the former principal of TJ, was looking to hire someone and Charles was recommended to apply. Morris-Sherer then brought Charles on to be a part of the TJ community, and the rest is history.
Charles noted that her favorite thing about TJ is the people, specifically the staff. She also likes the students, saying that, “Most of the kids here are really respectful. I find TJ to be like a hidden little gem in Denver Public schools.” She continued to explain how most of the kids at TJ come to learn and do right, and for that reason “it makes for a good culture and environment.” In her time at TJ, Charles has been a vital contributor to the warmth, fun, and uniqueness of the school.
She created and runs First Friday, an event looked forward to by all students and staff of TJ which came about after the COVID years as an effort to boost the morale of the students and staff alike. But her favorite contribution while here is the Smarty Party. After the Honor Roll assembly, students with cumulative GPAs of 3.0 or higher have the privilege of going to the cafeteria and enjoying an immense amount of food and drink options, along with games and prizes, all thanks to Charles. Before she created the Smarty Party, there was only an assembly where everyone was invited and the students received certificates. Charles came up with the idea to create something “where the kids that were excelling actually felt like they were getting something other than a certificate.” Although Charles is the creator of these fun events, she credits principal Mike Chirstoff with giving her “the space to grow” and letting her “ideas flourish.” She states that the partnership they have built over the years have evolved to a friendship for which she is very grateful.
A lifelong love for Charles has been going out and dancing. When she was younger, she would go out often but noted that as the years have gone by she doesn’t go out as much. Her love of dancing started at an early age due to her participation in ballet and tap, tap being her favorite. Even as she grew up and left the lessons behind, her love for dancing never went away. “I just love to listen to music and dance,” Charles expressed. Clubs and nights out were able to fuel her passion. It was through this affinity for going out that she met her husband in a club while he was DJing.
Charles identifies as a non-denominational Christian and attributes a lot of the success in her path in life to God. Throughout her life, Charles stated that she “never really had goals.” Everytime she felt as though a chapter in her life was coming to its end, God would create the opening for a new one to begin. For example, after a while of working at Montbello, Charles started to become overwhelmed, not knowing how much longer she would be able to work there. Then her phone rang and it was the assistant superintendent telling her a new job opened up. Later, the same thing happened again.
For the past few years, Charles has been thinking of becoming a customer service agent for Southwest Airlines after her 25th year of working for DPS. However, there were no job openings. She decided that she was going to have to stay at TJ for another two years before retiring, but recently a job opportunity became available. Charles interviewed for it and got the job. “I believe that God has been guiding me every step of the way,” and that “he has placed me everywhere I’ve been,” she explained. She went on to say “I’m very thankful for TJ. TJ has been amazing.” Charles will be dearly missed as she prepares to step into a new chapter of life, TJ has been lucky to have her these past few years and her contributions will be remembered and cherished eternally.
Charles hopes to work as a customer service agent for Southwest Airlines for approximately ten years before she retires. Her son, Tahj Dillard-Watkins, has worked at TJ alongside Charles for the past few years and is also leaving this year for separate reasons. Charles said that being able to work in the same school as him has been great as she’s been able to see him often. Although they’ll no longer be working in the same place anymore, her new job will allow her to visit him as well as his kids often.
Though Charles is stepping away from TJ, her presence will never truly leave. The traditions she created, the culture she helped shape, and the warmth she brought to the building will continue on. As she begins her next chapter, TJ can only say thank you for the years, the laughter, and the lasting impact.
