On this Valentine’s Day weekend, I went to visit an old love. It had been so long. Would sparks still fly? At law school, over 40 years prior, I was first smitten. I drove early Saturday afternoon to my beloved CU Law Library. Currently considered 21st best in America, that ranking may have elevated if […]
online learning
Posted inEducation, News
Colorado agrees to fully fund emerging online learning programs, but the state wants proof they are succeeding
To give schools room to experiment, the State Board of Education passed new rules this summer that give Colorado districts full funding this year and next for students enrolled in any type of online program. In exchange, districts must share data showing that those students are actually learning. Members of the State Board acknowledge they’re […]
Posted inCOVID, Education, News, Technology
Adams 14 will have no online option for elementary students next year and limited online spots for older kids
By Yesenia Robles, Chalkbeat Colorado Citing costs and logistical problems, and after seeing the slow student progress online learners made compared with their peers, Adams 14 officials will limit remote learning next year. Elementary students all will have to return to full-time in-person learning. Students in middle and high school may sign up for one […]
Posted inEducation, News
“Not waiting until summer”: Adams 14 leaders try to get ninth graders back on track after more than half fail two or more classes
Across the country, most students struggled with remote learning, but among high school freshmen in the Adams 14 district, more than half failed two or more of their classes last fall. “Once they fail a class, they fall behind for four years,” said Ron Peterson, the high school turnaround specialist for MGT Consulting, the management […]
Posted inColoradans, COVID, Education, News, Politics and Government, Technology
Colorado pours $2M into internet access for families while partnering with providers like T-Mobile to expand broadband
Colorado will invest $2 million in federal coronavirus relief funds in school districts trying to make sure all of their students have a reliable internet connection while learning at home. Districts will be able to use the money to purchase hot-spots for families who live in areas where broadband service isn’t readily available or to […]
Posted inColoradans, COVID, Education, Environment, News
With Colorado schools resuming classes amid coronavirus, the outdoors provides a safe place to learn
Whenever Kimbal Musk visits an elementary school to talk to kids about their school garden, he usually winds up introducing at least one of them to a cherry tomato. “Never is there a time when at least one of the kids (doesn’t say), ‘What is that?’ And I have to say, ‘This is a cherry […]
Posted inColoradans, COVID, Education, News
Colorado students may shuffle school districts during coronavirus, leaving a financial mess in their wake
When Centennial School District R-1 resumes classes on Wednesday, the student population will have plummeted from where it was a year ago. The number of children enrolled in the San Luis Valley district was 122 as of Monday, down from 191 at the start of the last academic year. The 36% decrease is preliminary, Superintendent […]
Posted inEducation, News
As Colorado struggles to balance school with coronavirus, two kids see an opportunity to help
While school boards across Colorado have wrestled with the complex question of how to welcome back students with measures that would both ensure safety while also delivering quality education, a pair of siblings in Douglas County wondered if maybe even kids could add some talents to the toolbox. In a time of no great back-to-school […]
Posted inColoradans, COVID, Education, News, Technology
Online classes aren’t going anywhere, but thousands of Colorado students still don’t have internet access
Laura Martinez’s home sits on a two-block stretch of Commerce City where cell phone service doesn’t exist. Anyone in her community who doesn’t have access to the internet can’t make a phone call. “That’s how important internet is,” said Martinez, a mother of three. The urban technological headache is one shared by people in many […]
Posted inOpinion, Write On, Colorado
Here’s what I’ve realized about remote learning: It’s not remotely the same as the classroom
I stopped teaching after five years – in 1981—thinking there might be something else I could do. I asked a veteran teacher at that time, who seemed happy in his job, why he kept at it. He answered: “In what other job can you have two good laughs a day?” Wise words. And perhaps one […]