In a dimly lit classroom, students hunch over laptops, watching YouTube videos on repeat as they try to translate song lyrics into sign language. One girl calls over Rosine Niyoyishura to help her choose between different meanings of the word “fight.” Then Niyoyishura moves to a boy, who is having a hard time concentrating. She […]
Erica Meltzer, Chalkbeat
Erica Meltzer is Bureau Chief of Chalkbeat Colorado, where she also covers the legislature and statewide education issues. Erica was a founding editor of the local news site Denverite. Before that, she covered everything from housing and energy policy to crime and courts for newspapers in three states. She served in the Peace Corps in Paraguay.
Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news organization covering schools and education. The news organization believes education is a local issue, and roots its coverage in local communities. Chalkbeat reports from and about eight locations: Colorado, Chicago, Detroit, Indiana, Newark, New York, Philadelphia and Tennessee.
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Posted inEducation, News
Colorado’s effort to expand mental health first aid training for teachers moves forward
Facing alarming teen suicide rates, Colorado could put another $1 million a year into training teachers in what’s known as mental health first aid. The Senate Education Committee on Thursday unanimously supported two related bills, one authorizing spending on training for teachers and another that would allow students to take an excused absence for mental health needs, like […]
Posted inEducation, News, Politics and Government
Colorado is weighing whether to cap school board campaign donations
After unprecedented spending in the Denver school board election, Colorado lawmakers are considering limits on how much money donors can give to school board candidates. But the legislation, which a House committee passed Thursday, won’t affect spending by independent expenditure committees or prevent wealthy candidates from funding their own campaigns. While individual candidates sometimes receive substantial […]
Posted inEducation, News, Politics and Government
What happened to free? Colorado Gov. Polis has changed how he talks about preschool
When Colorado Gov. Jared Polis was running for office, he called for free preschool for all 4-year-olds whose families wanted it. “We must provide free full-day preschool and kindergarten for our children and our economy to truly thrive,” he wrote in response to Chalkbeat’s candidate questionnaire. But since taking office, that rhetoric has shifted. In his State […]
Posted inEducation, News, Politics and Government
Gov. 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 […]
Posted inEducation, News, Politics and Government
We now know the full cost of Colorado’s full-day kindergarten expansion
More Colorado children than predicted have enrolled in full-day kindergarten, but these additional students are unlikely to break the state budget — in part because Colorado has fewer students in the older grades. Complete pupil counts for the 2019-20 school year won’t be released until later this month, but early numbers provided to legislative analysts […]
Posted inEducation, News
Colorado releases school ratings amid ongoing debate about how to measure performance
Colorado school ratings finalized Wednesday show that slightly fewer schools this year earned one of the two lowest ratings. Those that did — 154 schools serving almost 70,000 students — have an unwelcome status that qualifies them for additional assistance and advice from state education officials but also opens them up to outside intervention if […]
Posted inEducation, News, Politics and Government
Many Colorado teachers willing to walk out to protest school funding, union survey finds
Colorado’s largest teachers union says most of its members are prepared to participate in walk-outs if the state does not significantly increase education funding and teacher pay. In its first Colorado State of Education report, the Colorado Education Association laid out a number of legislative priorities for 2020 based on a member survey and a 13-stop […]
Posted inEducation, News, Politics and Government
On eve of Colorado school board elections, youth coalition renews push to lower voting age
Asked how they feel about Denver’s pending school board election, some student activists use words like “hopeless” and “frustrated.” “It’s a decision that is made for you, and you want to have a voice in it, but you can’t,” said Madison Ordonez Erives, a senior at Denver’s East High School and a member of the Student […]
Posted inEducation, News
Large achievement gaps remain in Denver, even as students’ scores tick up on national test
Denver students improved their performance this year on the math and reading tests known as the nation’s report card, but the district continued to demonstrate some of the largest test score gaps based on race, ethnicity, and family income among large urban districts. That’s according to results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or […]