Author: ANN SCHIMKE Chalkbeat Colorado

Many Colorado school districts, including Jefferson County, Cherry Creek, Aurora, and Adams 12, plan to offer free school meals to all students starting in the fall of 2023 through a new state program funded with a voter-approved tax measure affecting high earners. Of two dozen districts surveyed by Chalkbeat, 16 plan to offer universal free…

Colorado children from low- and even middle-income families likely will be eligible for 20 hours a week of free preschool next year. That’s double the 10 hours a week guaranteed to all 4-year-olds under the state’s preschool law. Children who speak languages other than English at home or who have disabilities will also be eligible…

When hundreds of Colorado child care providers recently filled out surveys about their financial well-being, the desperation was palpable. One wrote, “This is so stressful.” Another said, “We are behind on rent.” A third delivered her message in all-caps: “NOT ENOUGH FUNDS TO KEEP DAY CARE ABOVE WATER.” After nearly two years of pandemic-related problems,…

The Cherry Creek school district will not require students or staff to wear masks at school this fall, but district officials strongly encouraged face coverings in a letter sent Wednesday to families.  The district, Colorado’s fourth largest with 54,000 students, is the latest to release guidance on masks for the coming year, as coronavirus infections…

Colorado’s landmark 2012 reading law led schools around the state to spend more time helping struggling readers, an external evaluation found. But the report leaves some key questions unanswered, including a specific accounting of how hundreds of millions of state dollars for struggling readers were spent and which interventions actually worked. State officials said the…

There are 67 scholarships available through the program, 65 of them for $1,000 and two for $5,000. Colorado leaders on Wednesday announced a new scholarship program for community college students in the state who have been vaccinated against COVID-19.  There are 67 scholarships available through the “Shot at a Scholarship” program, 65 of them for…

Nearly a decade ago, Colorado lawmakers passed a splashy new reading law that sent tens of millions of dollars a year to school districts statewide to help struggling readers.  The money paid for summer school, full-day kindergarten, and tutoring programs for students in kindergarten through third grade, but those efforts barely made a dent in…

Colorado soon will require prospective elementary, early childhood, and special education teachers to take a more in-depth exam on reading instruction to earn their state teaching licenses.  The State Board of Education voted unanimously Wednesday to adopt the new exam, called the Praxis 5205. The requirement will take effect Sept. 1 for all teacher candidates…