A lawsuit filed this week in U.S. District Court challenges the constitutionality of a new Colorado law requiring public schools to get rid of Native American mascots, logos and imagery by next summer or face massive fines. In its opening salvo, the lawsuit suggests that a law that similarly forbade the use of the name […]
Colorado Department of Education
Posted inColoradans, COVID, Education, News
Colorado kids are floundering in math, a “crisis” that may add up to trouble for tomorrow’s workforce
Colorado students tumbled further behind in math as the pandemic closed schools and learning went largely virtual, according to a new analysis of this year’s state assessments results. A new report from the Keystone Policy Center, a nonprofit research group, found that math test scores plummeted for many students across the state, falling at an […]
Posted inColoradans, COVID, Education, News
Colorado schools fought to retain teachers during COVID. The struggle isn’t over.
After the pandemic shuttered schools in spring 2020, teacher Margaret Chase lost a key element of her on-the-job training: the ability to “hop across the hallway” for advice from seasoned colleagues. But the 25-year-old history instructor wasn’t on her own long enough for isolation to set in. Her mentors simply went virtual, and the advice […]
Posted inColoradans, COVID, Education, News
Two years into Colorado’s home school boom, pandemic uncertainties bring new families into the fold
When Amber Ingram became a mom, home-schooling her children seemed like a natural next step to just about everyone but her. As a public school teacher in Colorado Springs, and married to another public school teacher, Ingram saw herself teaching at the head of a classroom, not the head of her kitchen table. But that’s […]
Posted inColoradans, COVID, Education, News
Some achievement gaps widened between white students and their Black and Hispanic peers, new Colorado data shows
The pandemic set Colorado students back and widened some achievement gaps between white children and their Black and Hispanic peers, newly released data from state standardized assessments conducted in the spring show. But the new results have big holes because of a significant drop in the number of students who took the test, and questions […]
Posted inColoradans, COVID, Education, News, Technology
A rural Colorado school district is spending $3 million to connect kids’ homes to the internet. Will it be enough?
SAN LUIS — Tucked in a canyon deep in Colorado’s Sangre de Cristo mountains, Kimba Rael’s home doesn’t always get cell service or a stable connection to the internet. “It’s a ‘dead zone,’” said Rael, principal of Centennial School District R-1 in San Luis near Colorado’s southern border. One of the few live spots where […]
Posted inColoradans, COVID, Economy, Education, News, Politics and Government
More than 36,000 Colorado kids from low-income families could miss out on the Child Tax Credit, advocates fear
More than 36,000 Colorado children could lose out on a historic expansion of the federal Child Tax Credit because their families don’t file income taxes with the IRS. The tax credit, which is temporarily expanded this year through funding from the federal coronavirus stimulus package, known as the American Rescue Plan, is being hailed as […]
Posted inColoradans, Education, News
One of Colorado’s poorest school districts gave its superintendent a 17% raise after losing $1M-plus in state funding
A superintendent over one of Colorado’s poorest school districts collected a nearly 20% raise this year, igniting a debate over spending even as enrollment is in freefall. Supporters of Pat Sandos’ raise — which increased his base salary 17% to $202,000 — call it a crook to keep him in Sheridan School District No. 2, […]
Posted inColoradans, COVID, Education, News, Politics and Government
Free meals, flexible schedules: Colorado kids on where federal stimulus money for schools should go
Rowan Raetz has grand ideas for his high school, an aged building that could use a little sprucing up. He envisions an outdoor classroom or, at the very least, a relaxation space — one filled with plants, some comfy lounge chairs and perhaps even a water feature. “I think that would really help us mentally […]
Posted inColoradans, Education, News, Politics and Government
How Colorado counts kids eligible for subsidized lunch is a recipe for school budget disaster
As the pandemic closed schools and businesses and put livelihoods on the line last year, Colorado state lawmakers predicted many more students would fall into poverty — about 51,000 more. But the state counted about 3,000 fewer students living in poverty — also known as at-risk students — than the number tallied during the 2019-20 […]