Author: Ann Schimke Chalkbeat Colorado
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Pueblo Republican resigns from Colorado State Board of Education 3 months before his term expires
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Stephen Varela resigned from the State Board of Education on Tuesday, about three months before his term representing Colorado’s Third Congressional District is set to expire. The Pueblo Republican resigned to take a job working with students with disabilities in the Pueblo 60 school district, according to a press release from the Colorado Department of…
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More Colorado children will get state-funded full-day preschool classes this year
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State officials say more than 11,000 Colorado children will get free full-day classes through the state’s universal preschool program this year, more than double the number last year. The increase means progress towards one of the state’s original goals for the preschool-for-all program: extra hours for 4-year-olds with the greatest needs, like those from low-income…
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State bill seeks to combat child care shortages by cutting local red tape
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Under state rules, Stacey Carpenter can care for nine children at Barnyard Buddies Family Childcare, which she operates out of her Weld County home. But for the last 11 years, she’s only had eight. That’s because of local zoning regulations, which she says have cost her thousands of dollars in lost business and loyal customers…
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Colorado could get a state-level early childhood agency
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Colorado could get a new stand-alone state agency dedicated to early childhood programs if lawmakers act on a recommendation approved Tuesday by a state advisory group. The idea is to consolidate programs and services for children birth to 5 and their families in a single cabinet-level department. Currently, early childhood programs are spread among multiple…
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Nearly all Cherry Creek elementary schools use state-rejected reading curriculum. Change is coming.
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Most Cherry Creek elementary schools rely on reading curriculum that has been rejected by the state and criticized by experts because it relies on debunked methods. Eighty percent of the district’s 45 elementary and K-8 schools use the program — called Units of Study For Teaching Reading, or more commonly Lucy Calkins. District officials acknowledge…
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Colorado child care centers see rise in COVID-19 outbreaks as cases increase across metro area
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The rate of COVID-19 outbreaks in Colorado child care centers more than tripled in October, prompting reminders from the state about key health and safety precautions. State officials tallied around three dozen outbreaks in child care programs in October, compared with 10 in September. There were a dozen outbreaks Denver, with smaller numbers in Adams,…
