In Denver, with the school-choice window now open, thousands of families are struggling to decide where their kids should go to school next year. And this is after nine months of many families feeling as if they were on their own, scrambling to support their children’s education with what would be best described as a […]
A+ Colorado
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Learning from the 2020 election how to teach democracy
About 157 million Americans voted for president this month, the largest turnout ever for a presidential race. Unfortunately, there remains a large number of Americans that believe that the election was rigged, and a recent survey suggests that about one third of Americans are open to QAnon conspiracy theories. We are a country more divided […]
Posted inColoradans, COVID, Education, News
Colorado teachers are working twice — sometimes three times — as hard when their students learn both in person and online
Rhiannon Wenning’s school days have grown longer with the pandemic, and in her 20 years of teaching, she’s never worked as hard. Her usual 50-hour work weeks have notched up to between 60 and 70 hours. Recently, the Jefferson Junior/Senior High School social studies teacher clocked an 80-hour week, committing at least 16 hours to […]
Posted inColoradans, COVID, Education, News
Colorado students are improving in literacy — possibly to the detriment of their math skills. That’s bad for the economy.
Colorado students have inched forward with progress in reading following a statewide focus on improving literacy, but their math skills aren’t moving in the same direction — or, really, in any direction. A report released by A+ Colorado this week highlights how stagnant math scores have been on the Colorado Measures of Academic Success assessments, […]
Posted inColoradans, COVID, Education, News
Many Colorado school districts struggled to keep families fully informed during remote learning, report says
Colorado school districts trying to leap to online learning this spring faced an endless list of competing priorities, from training teachers and staff on digital platforms to ensuring students had the technology and internet connections needed for coursework. But one priority appears to have fallen toward the bottom of the list for many of them […]
Posted inColoradans, COVID, Education, News, Politics and Government
How much should the state spend to learn how far Colorado kids have fallen behind during the pandemic?
How do you measure the academic strides a student has made since last spring or clarify how much they’ve fallen behind? It’s a complicated question in a summer bookended by uncertainty, with the coronavirus having forced Colorado students into remote learning this spring and many districts still pinning down their instruction plans for the fall. […]
Posted inColoradans, Education, News
Colorado families are getting a taste of homeschool thanks to the coronavirus crisis. Could it stick?
House Majority Leader Alec Garnett now spends his mornings exploring nature in his backyard or venturing out on walks. His days continue unfolding with arts and crafts projects, coloring and storytime. As the state lawmaker has shifted to working from home with the legislative session suspended because of the new coronavirus, he’s taken on another […]
Posted inColoradans, Education, News, Politics and Government
A bill is coming that would change enrollment rules for Colorado charter schools. Could it also deter more from opening?
A lawmaker worried that charter schools aren’t offering kids with disabilities the same opportunities as traditional public schools wants to change the rules. But education advocates say Rep. Shannon Bird’s proposed changes unfairly target charter schools and are trying to solve a problem that doesn’t exist. Through legislation she plans to introduce next week, Bird, […]