Colorado Department of Education
Colorado wants to help kids move past coronavirus learning challenges. But funding is a big hurdle.
A bipartisan bill seeks to meet the costs of intensive tutoring across districts. Lawmakers say they’ll need more funds from the Colorado Department of Education.
Colorado students will take modified CMAS exams this spring following federal approval
Lawmakers also are seeking another waiver to pause accountability tied to the tests, whose results could threaten struggling districts
Coronavirus set back Colorado schools already battling to improve student performance
About 150 Colorado schools and four districts are on the state’s accountability clock. Without a pandemic, some administrators believe their schools would have soon met expectations.
Opinion: Colorado charter schools stand out during a hard year for public education
The pandemic has caused many of our state’s students to regress. Innovative programs like the ones our charter schools have proposed can be an important step to mitigating that impact.
Coronavirus is straining Colorado kids’ mental health. The state hopes free counseling sessions will help.
Two plans have been floated to address increased instances of depression, anxiety and suicide attempts among school-age children and, in some cases, their teachers.
Colorado’s rules on reading curriculum apply to Aurora, but that was news to district officials
One-third of Aurora’s district-run elementary and K-8 schools, enrolling more than 5,000 students, use unacceptable reading curriculum and are out of compliance with the law.
Opinion: To save the lives of children and families, Colorado needs safe gun storage
Children are facing significant mental health effects due to social isolation and they are spending more time at home, with more time to explore and potentially find unsecured firearms.
Colorado parents’ multiple choice on standardized tests: A) The collective good B) sending their kids over the edge
Some say collecting data from the CMAS test is particularly critical after a year of tears, disengagement and online learning
Colorado AG leads push to use federal internet discounts to help students get online at home — not just at school
The E-rate effort comes nearly five years after the Boulder Valley School District first petitioned the Federal Communications Commission for the exact same thing to close the homework gap
Colorado school districts look toward summer to help their students make up for coronavirus learning loss
A group of Colorado school districts and educators is calling for summer planning to start now, with a community-wide approach across the state
Schools teach and feed students. As hunger rises, Colorado is racing to ensure kids eat this summer.
The state is recruiting more support for its Summer Meals Program. Without help from communities, kids may go hungry come May.
Colorado had a record graduation rate in 2020 despite coronavirus. But the pandemic may hamper future classes.
The state reached a record 81.9% graduation rate while its dropout rate fell. But with a chaotic end to the school year, critics question if the improvements are valid.
Colorado lawmakers promise enrollment drop won’t hurt school funding
Colorado school districts reported a 3.3% overall enrollment decline this year, as well as decreases in the number of students eligible for subsidized lunches, a measure of poverty. Both numbers influence school funding.
When even books are “quarantined,” reading progress in Colorado’s early grades is challenging
Colorado districts battle coronavirus hurdles in the critical effort to have kids reading up to par by the end of third grade. Some also counsel patience.
Colorado’s public school enrollment has dropped by 30,000 students. That could spell financial disaster for districts.
Public schools reported a decrease in the number of students for the first time in 30 years, many of them in early grades.
Colorado school outbreaks nearly doubled in November as coronavirus cases surged
A Chalkbeat analysis found that K-12 schools account for 14% of outbreaks but only 5% of cases from outbreaks. Colleges and universities represent only 2% of outbreaks but 16% of cases.
Tens of thousands of Colorado kids still lack internet access. State stimulus dollars will only offer a short-term fix.
Lawmakers are devoting $20 million to help improve internet connectivity for students. Education leaders are grateful, but say the money won’t solve the root of the issue: inadequate infrastructure.
As coronavirus drives more Colorado school districts to stop in-person learning, some neighboring charter schools buck that trend
Two Roads Charter School’s Arvada and Littleton campuses are continuing in-person instruction. Sending students home would harm them, leaders say. “COVID would be the least of their concerns.”
Facing “seismic shift” this year, Colorado educators pioneer through permanent changes to schooling
Colorado schools are trying to embrace technology’s leading role during the pandemic while also trying to create a level playing field
Colorado’s older teachers face a crossroads: Risk coronavirus or retire?
Without statewide data on teacher retirees available, it’s hard to know whether Colorado is seeing more older teachers exit amid the pandemic.