Education
Colorado plans to dramatically expand COVID-19 testing in schools next year, even as restrictions go away
The state is looking for companies to operate a massive testing program backed by $173M in federal funding
Colorado schools, child care centers must test water for lead, make fixes
Schools and child care facilities will have until May 31 to test their water and will have to make fixes if lead levels are 5 parts per billion or higher
Colorado schools’ hardest jobs to fill: Bus drivers and special education
With less than two weeks to go, Denver Public Schools’ director of talent acquisition is still looking to hire 150 teachers, 275 paraprofessionals and up to 45 bus driver
Aurora Public Schools becomes latest Colorado district to pay its board members
The Aurora district is one of the most diverse in the state with students of color representing 86% of all students
Colorado students have recovered some academic ground since COVID arrived but deficits remain, test results show
The state education department has released results of standardized tests from the spring. Student scores improved over 2021 in some grades and subjects but still lag behind pre-pandemic outcomes.
How a Colorado Springs school co-op saves hundreds of thousands of dollars in health insurance costs
Partnering with a Littleton-based firm that provides a partially self-funded insurance plan, the cooperative has “cut out the fraud, waste and abuse within the health insurance world.”
“At a crisis point”: Homes are out of reach for many Colorado teachers. What does that mean for schools?
A new report highlights how houses have become too expensive for teachers and other workers. Raising wages alone won’t fix the affordability issue.
Colorado’s COVID guidance for K-12 schools: minimize disruption, stay alert
New guidance released Wednesday largely treats COVID like other communicable diseases, continuing a policy the state established in February at the end of the first omicron wave
Rural Colorado school administrators investigated sexting between students. Now they’re charged in a child porn case.
After a Safe2Tell tip came in, two administrators saved images on a secure school server in Brush. Cops and the DA say it violated porn possession laws.
Nonprofit offers $750,000 in grants to support nontraditional schools in 4 states including Colorado
Past recipients include La Luz, a Denver "micro-school" where students learn outdoors, at the Denver Zoo and elsewhere
Colorado school funding measure won’t be on November ballot after supporters fail to gather enough signatures
Tracie Rainey of the Colorado School Finance Project said the failure was particularly frustrating because the measure had polled well
Colorado FAFSA rate rebounds but falls short of national average
Overall, Colorado’s Federal Application for Financial Aid completion rate increased by 2.2 percentage points for the Class of 2022 over last year
Tentative Jefferson County teacher pay deal sets starting salary at $50,000
Jeffco Public Schools and the Jefferson County Education Association reached the agreement late Wednesday, two weeks before the start of the school year
Colorado FAFSA rate rebounds but falls short of national average
Colorado ranks 44th in the nation for the 2022 school year in getting high school students to finish the FAFSA, the federal application for financial aid.
Food trucks are helping keep Grand Junction kids fed while school’s out for summer
About half the students in Mesa County Valley School District are eligible for free lunch. The Lunch Lizard food truck is helping make sure they get them in summer.
Denver Public Schools to pay $2.1M settlement after allegations the district lied to obtain AmeriCorps funds
The school district falsely reported that a significant portion of the district’s members had performed the necessary service hours to qualify for an AmeriCorps education award in 2015 and 2016, federal prosecutors said
A first look at Denver Public Schools’ new strategic plan
Alex Marrero said in an interview that he intentionally framed the plan as a fluid roadmap, with goals to be accomplished by 2026, rather than a rigid plan with annual benchmarks
Denver, Jefferson County school districts raise hourly wages for support staff struggling to afford food and housing
Denver school district is raising hourly wages to $20 an hour and Jeffco is moving toward $18 an hour.
Boulder Valley schools punish Black and Latino students at higher rates than most Colorado districts. Parents want more accountability.
Latino students at BVSD are about 3.5 times more likely to be suspended than white students, a Boulder Reporting Lab analysis of district data shows. The district and parents are not in total agreement on how to address the longstanding problem.
Here’s how COVID-19 affected the way in which Colorado students head to college
The rate at which Colorado students are going to college right out of high school has dipped, and those who do go are less prepared
