Carolina Galvan nears the outer edge of her dream each time she steps into her classroom at Valdez Elementary School in Denver. She wants to be a teacher with her own classroom of students, but since she was unable to finish the schooling required to earn a teacher’s license, her role as a paraprofessional sets […]
Amie Baca-Oehlert
Posted inColoradans, Education, News
No Colorado charter school has a union. That could change as New America School teachers rally to form one.
Most of Stephanie Ernst’s students at New America School in Aurora are immigrants who are still learning English, but after a rash of teacher and staff departures this school year, her students no longer have a Spanish program in which they can practice their first language. Nor do they have a school nurse. Or a […]
Posted inEducation, News, Politics and Government
Colorado’s teacher shortage highlights need for more school funding, union boss says
Colorado will continue to face a critical teacher shortage unless state leaders make good on their constitutional obligation to increase education funding, the head of Colorado’s largest teacher union says. “We’re at a crisis point that requires bold action by our legislature,” Colorado Education Association President Amie Baca-Oehlert told The Colorado Sun in an interview […]
Posted inEducation, News, Politics and Government
Proposition 119: Colorado voters will decide whether to raise marijuana taxes to pay for out-of-school learning
Colorado voters will decide next month whether to raise taxes on recreational marijuana to help fund a new state program aimed at providing Colorado students with out-of-school learning opportunities. The program, called Learning Enrichment and Academic Progress, or LEAP, would pay service providers, like private tutoring companies or even public school teachers looking for extra […]
Posted inColoradans, COVID, Education, News, Politics and Government
Colorado plans to dramatically expand COVID-19 testing in schools next year, even as restrictions go away
Colorado plans to launch a massive, new coronavirus testing program available to schools statewide starting this fall, a measure health officials and educators say is crucial to minimize disruption to the education of kids too young to be vaccinated, particularly as a new Delta variant spreads across the state. Officials at the Colorado Department of […]
Posted inColoradans, Education, News, Politics and Government
Colorado education groups split over proposal to raise marijuana taxes to boost out-of-school learning
A battle is brewing over a proposed marijuana tax increase to provide tutoring to mostly low-income students even before it makes the November ballot, dividing educators, lawmakers and community organizations on the best approach to help Colorado’s most vulnerable pupils make academic gains. Advocates are touting Initiative 25 as a solution to closing learning gaps […]
Posted inColoradans, COVID, Education, Health, News, Politics and Government
Should every Colorado kid get a mental health exam after enduring coronavirus? It won’t be easy.
When Mark Sass has a parent-teacher conference these days, the discussion often isn’t immediately focused on grades. It’s focused on wellbeing. “We need to lead with that mental health concern before we jump into the academics,” said Sass, a part-time social studies teacher at Legacy High School in Broomfield who also runs the Colorado branch […]
Posted inColoradans, COVID, Education, News
Colorado teacher salaries rank well below the national average. The recession is likely to keep them there.
When Jan Vigil bought a used truck from his brother-in-law about seven years ago, it had already seen 170,000 miles of road. His odometer now reads 229,000 miles. The Center High School history teacher, 33, purchased the vehicle because it was affordable. He and his wife, who teaches English at Sangre De Cristo High School […]
Posted inColoradans, COVID, Education, News, Politics and Government
“At a breaking point”: Colorado schools plead for help as stress of pandemic teaching piles up
Barely a month into the school year, many Colorado teachers are at a breaking point as they try to balance new responsibilities like temperature checks, juggle classes of students both in person and online and manage dozens of kids over a screen. The stress levels have gotten so high for some teachers that they’ve called […]
Posted inBusiness, News, Politics and Government
Now that Colorado lawmakers have put Gallagher repeal on the ballot, will they actually be able to pass it?
When the General Assembly two years ago agreed to study the state’s dysfunctional property tax code, reform advocates were optimistic that years of warnings would finally lead to action. A bipartisan panel came up with a variety of options to repeal and replace the Gallagher Amendment, the constitutional measure that for decades has squeezed essential […]