Colorado education
Declining birth rates, coupled with COVID disruptions, are driving down enrollment in Colorado public schools
The state counted about 1,200 fewer K-12 students this school year. Some analysts expect that, as birth rates continue to decrease, student enrollment in public schools won’t rebound.
Colorado is lowering teacher qualifications amid staff shortage a year before expanding preschool access
Gov. Jared Polis has touted the need to open high-quality preschool to more families, but with less-qualified educators in the classroom, programs could suffer.
“Is this another fire?”: Sisters haunted by the loss of their home in Marshall fire now face returning to school
Boulder Valley School District to reopen Wednesday despite petition signed by 5,200 calling for delay.
“I can’t do this to myself anymore”: Pandemic stress has driven some Colorado teachers to leave the classroom
As anxiety, depression and thoughts of quitting rise among teachers, districts are taking small steps to help them cope.
Boulder Valley School District, largely unscathed by the Marshall fire, will resume classes Wednesday
The school district’s reopening comes as thousands of area residents remain without gas service, despite door-to-door effort by Xcel Energy crews
As families grapple with food insecurity amid the pandemic, one Denver preschool has stood up its own fresh market
Clayton Early Learning branched out from food giveaways to create its own on-campus market, where struggling staff and families can pick up nutritious food, free of charge.
Down 12 teachers, an Alamosa school drafted everyone they could to teach — including the principal
A statewide substitute teacher shortage has worsened amid the pandemic, leaving schools desperate to fill classrooms when teachers are out. On days they can’t, closing is a possibility.
Disruption turned into destruction: Colorado kids are acting out in classrooms while struggling to cope
Prolonged school closures, adults clashing over political debates and families suffering job loss or the death of a loved one have all contributed to students misbehaving in school
COVID outbreaks have shut down some Colorado schools. Will holidays and cold weather make things worse?
Nearly 40% of COVID cases related to outbreaks in Colorado are at schools as the delta variant rapidly spreads among students and staff.
Students at Denver high school targeted by racist, antisemitic graffiti try to rally forward
On what was meant to be a light-hearted pajama day, George Washington High School students grappled with fallout from swastikas, racist epithets and hateful rhetoric scrawled on campus over the weekend.
Two Denver schools targeted with “messages of hate,” vandalism
A vandal or vandals smashed a window and cut electricity at a Jewish private school and covered the walls of a public high school with racist and antisemitic graffiti
Colorado school board contests, stoked by COVID, draw intense partisan fervor and big money
Coronavirus measures, teaching on race motivate national groups, wealthy individuals and both Republican and Democratic parties to get involved in local races across the state
Colorado kids are floundering in math, a “crisis” that may add up to trouble for tomorrow’s workforce
Standardized test results show students have fallen behind further in math than literacy amid the pandemic. The decline means the state’s labor force may lack required skills.
Colorado schools fought to retain teachers during COVID. The struggle isn’t over.
The state actually retained more teachers during the 2020-2021 academic year than in the past, but officials fear more teachers will exit the field as the pandemic drags on.
Anti-maskers are spreading a new tactic to challenge Colorado school boards: recalls
In Boulder and Weld counties, parents upset with mask mandates are trying to recall school board members who support them
Denver high school students protest outside DPS offices calling for removal of board member Tay Anderson
Students from across Colorado's largest district held a walkout Monday morning, insisting they feel unsafe and want DPS to do more to protect them.
Investigators couldn’t back up sexual assault claims against Tay Anderson, but found he flirted with underage student
Denver Public Schools Board of Education will meet Friday to consider a censure of Anderson, who was at the center of a six-month investigation into allegations of sexual assault.
Two years into Colorado’s home school boom, pandemic uncertainties bring new families into the fold
The state’s population of home-school students doubled in the year after the pandemic hit classrooms. The growth could be long-lasting.
“Surrounded by toxicity”: As Colorado schools reopen, pandemic-fueled politics overwhelm classrooms
The school year is starting off in turmoil as mask mandates in some districts divide families and educators.
Some achievement gaps widened between white students and their Black and Hispanic peers, new Colorado data shows
A great deal of ground was lost during a year of pandemic learning, CMAS and SAT data shows, though fewer kids took the tests last school year than did in 2019
