Join The Colorado Sun as we talk to Colorado lawmakers, health experts, scientists and more about issues affecting Colorado.

Upcoming Events:

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Join The Colorado Sun’s Politics Team for an evening of lively discussion on Colorado’s politics. Connect with fellow Unaffiliated Newsletter readers, state lawmakers, news enthusiasts and The Colorado Sun’s team!

There will be appetizers, and a cash bar.

The event is free to join, but registration is required.

This event is sponsored by Aponte & Busam Public Affairs Consultants and Western Resource Advocates.

Aponte & Busam Public Affairs Consultants is a government affairs firm with expertises navigating the legislative and regulatory policy arenas on behalf of a wide variety of clients. Aponte & Busam provides services in healthcare, local government, nonprofit and business arenas. 

Western Resource Advocates is a regional nonprofit organization fighting climate change and its impacts to sustain the environment, economy, and people of the West. We drive state level action with policies that protect Colorado’s air, land, water, and wildlife.

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Sunshine Week Transparency Slam!

Friday, March 20 | 6 p.m. | Denver Press Club

Share your Colorado open government gripes, cheers and solutions! 

We’ve joined with Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition to cohost a “transparency slam” moderated by Denver7’s chief investigative reporter, Tony Kovaleski. 

Participants will have 3 minutes (just like a legislative hearing) to tell their story, then get feedback from our panel of open government experts. Don’t have a story? Not a problem. Join the party to listen and laugh along.

The event will be Friday, March 20, at the Denver Press Club, 1330 Glenarm Place, Denver. It will begin with cocktails at 6 p.m. followed by the slam at 6:30 p.m.

Sunshine Week is a nonpartisan collaboration among groups in the journalism, civic, education, government and private sectors that shines a light on the importance of public records and open government.

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Four-day school weeks have become the norm in most Colorado districts, particularly in rural areas that struggle to draw teachers to their remote communities. In recent years, larger districts have also migrated to four-day weeks, hoping to attract and keep teachers at a time when they can’t afford to pay them as much as other districts.

The shift to a four-day week is at the center of an ongoing debate about what kind of school schedule sets students up to excel. That debate has left policy experts, educators and district leaders in different parts of Colorado clashing over what is best for not only kids but also their families and schools.

The Colorado Sun will lead a virtual conversation about why so many Colorado districts have made the move to a four-day week and whether compressing the school week has helped or hurt districts in both staffing their classrooms and improving student achievement.

We’ll explore a variety of questions, including:

• How do districts on a four-day week make sure kids are in class the same number of hours as their peers in schools running on five days?
• Does a four-day week have any impact on how well students learn and on their ability to meet state learning standards?
• Have districts operating four days shown success in recruiting and retaining educators?
• What do families do on the weekday their child is not in school?
• Do the benefits of a four-day schedule outweigh the drawbacks?

Join Erica Breunlin, education writer for The Colorado Sun, on Tuesday, March 31, at 6 p.m. as she interviews a statewide panel featuring district leaders, a policy expert and an educator about how four-day school weeks are reshaping the classroom:

• Van Schoales, senior policy director for the Keystone Policy Center
• Luis Murillo, assistant superintendent of Alamosa School District

This event, sponsored by the Colorado Education Association, is free and open to the public.

We encourage you to submit your own questions about four-day school weeks for our panelists to answer.

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