Author: Chalkbeat Colorado
-
A late surge in demand overwhelms Colorado’s state-sponsored online school
Colorado’s state-sponsored online school has been overwhelmed by demand as a diverse collection of districts turn to the nonprofit provider to serve students whose parents don’t want them in a classroom during the pandemic. Colorado Digital Learning Solutions had to suspend registration just a few days after it opened last week to work through a backlog…
-
Metro State, Colorado’s second largest teacher preparation program, ordered to revamp reading courses
For the second time this summer, state officials ordered one of Colorado’s largest teacher preparation programs to change the way it covers reading instruction after a review found significant shortcomings. The decision, unanimously approved by the State Board of Education on Aug. 12, means Metropolitan State University of Denver will not receive the state’s full…
-
Denver school board: Learning pods will make segregation and inequality worse
The Denver school board issued a statement Thursday that urged parents to keep their children enrolled in public schools and think carefully before forming learning pods and micro-schools. “We are deeply concerned about the pods’ long-term negative implications for public education and social justice,” the board members said in a statement posted to the district…
-
New Colorado quarantine guidance would allow more students to stay in school
Colorado public health officials have revised their quarantine guidance for schools in ways that would send fewer children home and allow them to return to school more quickly — in situations where cold- or flu-like symptoms are unlikely to be COVID-19. State public health officials said the new guidance, issued Wednesday, was developed through feedback…
-
Pods for all? Some districts and nonprofits are reimagining the remote learning trend
After the Adams 12 district north of Denver announced it would start the school year fully remote, an official raised a novel idea: school-run learning pods. Administrators in the district of 39,000 students, where about 40% of children are eligible for subsidized meals, were initially overwhelmed at the thought of creating pods akin to those…
-
Facing a big budget gap, Denver school district cuts spending but avoids layoffs
The Denver school board unanimously approved a budget Monday that cuts $65 million while still giving raises to teachers and low-wage workers. Top district administrators will see their salaries reduced, with the superintendent taking a 10% pay cut. School districts across Colorado are having to slash their budgets for next school year. Schools get significant…
-
Meet the two candidates who want to represent Denver on the State Board of Education
The former head of the Colorado Association of School Executives and a retired data analyst and accountability manager with the Colorado Department of Education are competing to represent Denver on the State Board of Education. Both women have long careers in education and extensive experience with the accountability system the board oversees. Lisa Escárcega previously…
-
Chalkbeat: Aurora students want bus passes to put more college classes and internships within reach
Chantelle Lewis, a 12th grade student in Aurora, has a clear goal of what she wants to pursue as a career. She wants to be a medical lawyer. But in the last two years, she’s had one big thing on her mind when she considers what opportunities to take and which ones to skip: transportation.…
-
Polis pitches preschool expansion, insists Colorado can afford it
Surrounded by parents of preschoolers, early childhood teachers, and school district officials, Gov. Jared Polis didn’t have to make the case for universal preschool. Instead, they made it for him. “Kids that come into kindergarten and haven’t been to preschool are behind,” said Kathleen Ambron, director of elementary education for Littleton Public Schools. “Our district…
-
Denver school choice: What are enrollment zones? And are they working?
All Colorado students have school choice, meaning they can request to attend any public school in the state for free. For the vast majority of students, whether or not to participate in school choice is, itself, a choice: Families happy with their assigned school don’t have to take part. But for some families in Denver,…