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Denver will use these criteria to decide which schools to close for low enrollment
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Chalkbeat Colorado, Local

Denver will use these criteria to decide which schools to close for low enrollment

By Melanie Asmar | Chalkbeat Colorado How many seats are filled and whether the neighborhood is experiencing declining enrollment are the first two criteria that Denver Public Schools staff will consider when deciding which schools should be recommended for closure. That’s according to a methodology released Monday night, a week and a half before Superintendent Alex Marrero is expected to make school closure recommendations on Nov. 7. The school board is set to vote on those recommendations two weeks later, on Nov. 21. District officials have not indicated how many schools will be closed or consolidated. The board directed Marrero to close schools to address declining enrollment. Although DPS enrollment is up 2% this year due to an influx of migrant students, officials said t...
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Voting guide: See the responses by State Board of Education candidates to questions
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Chalkbeat Colorado, State

Voting guide: See the responses by State Board of Education candidates to questions

By Melanie Asmar | Chalkbeat Colorado Four seats on Colorado’s nine-member State Board of Education are up for election on Nov. 5. The election is unlikely to change the board majority, which is currently held by Democrats, but it could narrow that majority and change the board’s dynamics. The State Board of Education holds schools and school districts accountable for student test scores, hears appeals when school districts reject charter school applications, and sets standards for what students should learn and what schools should teach. One at-large seat on the board represents the entire state. The other eight seats represent Colorado’s eight congressional districts. The seats representing Congressional Districts 2, 3, 4, and 8 are up for election this year. The ...
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Colorado districts hope voters support tax measures for new school buildings, scholarships, and more
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Chalkbeat Colorado, State

Colorado districts hope voters support tax measures for new school buildings, scholarships, and more

By Yesenia Robles | Chalkbeat Colorado More than 30 of Colorado’s 178 school districts are asking voters to approve a local tax measure in this November’s election. The number of requests on the ballot isn’t more than in some past years. But what has gone up is the amount of money districts are requesting — nearly $7 billion. There are two types of tax measures districts are putting to voters this year. Bond and capital measures would mostly go to pay for new school buildings, renovations, new air conditioning in some districts, and safety upgrades. Mill levy overrides would raise operating dollars that would mostly help increase staff pay and add more career education opportunities for students. READ THE FULL STORY AT CHALKBEAT COLORADO
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In search of new child care money, more Colorado communities look to hotel guests
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Chalkbeat Colorado, State

In search of new child care money, more Colorado communities look to hotel guests

By Ann Schimke | Chalkbeat Colorado Three western Colorado communities hope to raise new dollars for child care through taxes paid by out-of-town visitors who stay in hotels or short-term rental housing. La Plata and Grand counties and the City of Montrose all have lodging tax measures on the November ballot, with at least some of the proceeds intended to help make child care easier for local residents to find and pay for. The three communities are the latest in a string of mostly mountain resort areas to ask voters for permission to spend lodging tax dollars on housing and child care. The idea is that local workers power the tourism industry, so visitors should contribute to efforts supporting a stable workforce. READ THE FULL STORY AT CHALKBEAT COLORADO
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In Colorado, four schools win national Blue Ribbon recognition for excellence
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Chalkbeat Colorado, National

In Colorado, four schools win national Blue Ribbon recognition for excellence

By Ann Schimke | Chalkbeat Colorado Four Colorado schools are among more than 350 nationwide to be named 2024 National Blue Ribbon Schools for high achievement or progress in narrowing achievement gaps. Zach Elementary in Fort Collins and DSST Cedar High School in Denver won the designation for achievement on state math and literacy tests. Mesa View Elementary in Grand Junction and Skyview Middle in Pueblo West won for shrinking test score gaps between student subgroups and the overall student body The U.S. Department of Education announced the Blue Ribbon schools on Monday. Of the four Colorado winners, one is a charter school — DSST Cedar, which is a part of Denver’s largest charter school network. Private schools are eligible for Blue Ribbon designation, but none were among the...
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Meet the seven finalists for Colorado’s 2025 Teacher of the Year
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Chalkbeat Colorado, State

Meet the seven finalists for Colorado’s 2025 Teacher of the Year

By Melanie Asmar | Chalkbeat Colorado For the past two and a half weeks, state education officials have been making surprise visits to Colorado’s 2025 Teacher of the Year finalists. The seven finalists include a Denver history teacher, a Boulder music teacher, a Highlands Ranch English teacher, an Aurora educator who helps students feel a sense of belonging, a Summit County middle school teacher, a fifth grade teacher in Colorado Springs, and second and third grade teacher in rural Norwood in southwest Colorado. The winner will be chosen next month. READ THE FULL STORY AT CHALKBEAT COLORADO
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Denver school board considering lowering public comment time limits, restricting topics to agenda
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Chalkbeat Colorado, Local

Denver school board considering lowering public comment time limits, restricting topics to agenda

By Melanie Asmar | Chalkbeat Colorado The Denver school board is considering a new approach to community engagement that would limit one way parents, teachers, and others can address the board while adding another. The new limits would apply to the board’s monthly public comment session, where speakers can sign up to address the board for three minutes. Under a proposed policy, each speaker would get just two minutes instead of three. But the biggest change would restrict speakers to talking about the topics on the board’s meeting agenda. No such topic limit exists now, and speakers often talk about a variety of issues ranging from the broad, such as school safety or mental health, to the specific, such as changes to their child’s bus route or a bullying incident at their sch...
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CEA’s new president, Kevin Vick, wants to share the purpose he found as an educator
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Chalkbeat Colorado, State

CEA’s new president, Kevin Vick, wants to share the purpose he found as an educator

By Jason Gonzales | Chalkbeat Colorado Kevin Vick moved to Colorado in 1993 and quickly found the ski slopes. Six years later, he was skiing 100 days a year and in the summers went mountain biking and rock climbing. He loved being outdoors, but he felt like something was missing from his life. “I didn’t feel like I was having a real great purpose,” he said. “Or I was really making a difference.” He turned to teaching and found his purpose helping students as a social studies teacher and prep football coach. He also taught other educators to advocate for themselves and organized them to better their work conditions. READ THE FULL STORY AT CHALKBEAT COLORADO
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Despite going over budget last year, school lunches will still be free for Coloradans in 2024
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Chalkbeat Colorado, State

Despite going over budget last year, school lunches will still be free for Coloradans in 2024

By Yesenia Robles | Chalkbeat Colorado Colorado is still offering free school meals this school year, even though the program has ended up costing more than state officials predicted. While an advisory group tries to come up with long-term solutions that may mean changes in future school years, state lawmakers decided to continue funding the program in the short term, so the program won’t change for this school year. READ THE FULL STORY AT CHALKBEAT COLORADO
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In Southwest Colorado, alliance of nine school districts finds staff, financial efficiencies, does more for students
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Chalkbeat Colorado, Local

In Southwest Colorado, alliance of nine school districts finds staff, financial efficiencies, does more for students

By Neal Morton | Chalkbeat Colorado, via the Hechinger Report For three dozen high schoolers, summer break in this southwest Colorado city kicked off with some rock climbing, mountain biking, and fly-fishing. Then, the work began. As part of a weeklong institute on climate and the environment, mountain researchers taught the students how to mix clumps of grass seed, clay, compost, and sand for seedballs that they threw into burned areas of the Hermosa Creek watershed to help with native plant recovery. The students upturned rocks — and splashed each other — along the banks of the Animas River, searching for signs of aquatic life after a disastrous mine spill. They later waded through a wetland and scouted for beaver dams as part of a lesson on how humans can support water restorat...
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