Author: ERICA MELTZER Chalkbeat Colorado

 dozens of districts have switched to remote learning in recent weeks, superintendents around the state feel squeezed between angry parents who want their children back in school and state rules that require them to send entire classrooms into quarantine when a student or teacher tests positive.  Along with rising cases and a substitute shortage, those…

Colorado school districts are planning for the start of the school year as new COVID cases increase around the state. On Tuesday, the head of Colorado’s public health department said the state’s “early warning system has begun to blink red.” How opening school to roughly 860,000 students around the state might affect the trajectory of…

Colorado schools and universities could see dramatic budget cuts, as the severe measures taken to combat the spread of coronavirus have caused state revenue to plummet.  Budget documents prepared by legislative analysts and made public on Monday lay out a range of scenarios, the worst of which could threaten funding for full-day kindergarten, enacted statewide…

Colorado schools will be closed for the rest of the school year, even as Gov. Jared Polis laid out a plan for a partial reopening of many non-essential businesses. The governor’s office announced the extended closure hours after Polis held a press conference describing a phased approach that would allow many non-essential retail businesses, manufacturing…

The Colorado Education Association announced late Tuesday that it would not hold a major teacher really scheduled for March 19. “Be assured this difficult decision was made out of an abundance of caution and concern for the safety and welfare of our students, members and families,” union President Amie Baca-Oehlert, said in a press release.…

David Quinlan’s 9-year-old son, who has autism, has experienced great progress in how he communicates and copes thanks to 30 to 35 hours a week of applied behavior analysis therapy. But the only way Quinlan can fit that much specialized therapy into the week is to pull his son out of his Cherry Creek School…

Colorado lawmakers agreed to pay for full-day kindergarten, put $100 million toward reducing the state’s outstanding obligations to school districts, approved a slew of grants to address students’ mental health needs, and stepped up efforts to improve student reading. With a new governor pushing an aggressive education agenda and Democratic control of both chambers, Colorado…

Colorado’s controversial teacher evaluation system is likely to get a closer look, even if legislation to reduce the importance of test scores in that system is not successful. Gov. Jared Polis said Monday that he expects to convene people with a range of perspectives to suggest changes so that the teacher evaluation system “works for…