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Denver schools Supt. Marrero sets goals to lift test scores, focus on staff retention
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Denver schools Supt. Marrero sets goals to lift test scores, focus on staff retention

By Melanie Asmar | Chalkbeat Colorado Denver Public Schools Superintendent Alex Marrero has far fewer performance goals this school year. But the goals he does have are more ambitious, he said last month. For example, Marrero wants the share of Denver students in grades 3-8 who meet or exceed expectations on the state literacy test to increase from 40% to 42%. His goal last year was for that percentage to increase by just 1 percentage point. Marrero’s targets, which the school board unanimously approved at a meeting last month, might be more ambitious. But the district still isn’t on track to meet the academic goals he laid out in Denver Public Schools’ strategic plan in 2022. READ THE FULL STORY AT CHALKBEAT COLORADO
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Parent group sues Denver Public Schools over school closure decision, alleging ‘ulterior motive’
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Parent group sues Denver Public Schools over school closure decision, alleging ‘ulterior motive’

By Melanie Asmar | Chalkbeat Colorado Seeking to reverse a recent decision by the Denver school board to close 10 schools, a group of parents sued Denver Public Schools this week, alleging district leaders had an “ulterior motive” for the school closures “of converting public resources to the private market.” The 142-page lawsuit was filed Thursday by Mamas de DPS. According to the lawsuit, Mamas de DPS is a limited liability company made up of parents whose children attend DPS. The group registered as an LLC with the Colorado Secretary of State’s office on Dec. 12. A group with a similar name, Mamás de DPS Peliando por Las Escuelas Públicas, rallied in 2022 in support of bilingual programming in DPS and against school closures, but it wasn’t immediately clear Friday whether the t...
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Faced with possible school closures, Denver teachers seek clarity about their jobs
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Faced with possible school closures, Denver teachers seek clarity about their jobs

By Melanie Asmar | Chalkbeat Colorado At lunchtime meetings last week at Denver schools that may close or shrink, teachers were full of questions about their fate: Would educators at the closing schools be guaranteed jobs next year? Would they be able to follow their students to new schools? Unlike in 2023, when Denver Public Schools made a deal with the teachers union to guarantee educators at closing schools a one-year job at the schools that received their students, no such agreement exists now. With the Denver school board set to vote Thursday on whether to close or partially close 10 schools, many teachers are feeling uncertain. Students are, too. “I don’t think it’s right to close our school,” a fifth grader named Analizeth told school board members who visited Castro E...
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Denver has spent millions in voter-approved bond money to upgrade schools it might close
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Denver has spent millions in voter-approved bond money to upgrade schools it might close

By Melanie Asmar | Chalkbeat Colorado Denver Public Schools has spent $22.6 million in voter-approved bond dollars over the past four years on schools that district officials are now considering closing or downsizing, according to information obtained by Chalkbeat in an open records request. That dollar amount only includes construction projects unique to the 10 school buildings that would be closed or partially closed if the Denver school board votes yes Thursday on a proposal by Superintendent Alex Marrero to shutter seven schools and shrink three more due to declining enrollment. It does not include districtwide projects. Of the 10 schools, five are located in standalone buildings that would become vacant. About $4.6 million of the $22.6 million in bond money was spen...
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Parents plead for dyslexia screening mandate, and some Colorado education officials are on board
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Approved, Chalkbeat Colorado, State

Parents plead for dyslexia screening mandate, and some Colorado education officials are on board

By Ann Schimke | Chalkbeat Colorado Bri Luna said her daughter started kindergarten with the nickname “Little Miss Sunshine” and by middle school was on antidepressants because of her reading struggles. Mary Sailas said her second grade son, who shifted from foot to foot next to her, told her he’d choose the ability to read over the superpower of flying. And in a particularly heart-breaking moment, Amy Thompson described how her high school-age daughter took her life in 2022 after years of floundering in reading and in school. The three mothers were among about 10 Colorado parents and advocates who begged the State Board of Education at the group’s monthly meeting Wednesday for mandatory statewide dyslexia screening. READ THE FULL STORY AT CHALKBEAT COLORADO
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Colorado voters seem poised to approve about half of school district funding measures, deny the rest
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Approved, Chalkbeat Colorado, State

Colorado voters seem poised to approve about half of school district funding measures, deny the rest

By Yesenia Robles | Chalkbeat Colorado When it came to giving schools more local funding, Colorado voters were reluctant to raise taxes this year. Typically presidential election years can be good years for districts to ask voters to raise taxes for schools. But this year, only about half of the requests, or 22 out of 41, were successful, according to unofficial results as of Friday morning. That’s fewer than in 2020 when about 90% of the measures were successful and also in 2016 when 68% of measures passed. This year, of those 22 that voters approved, only 11 were actually tax increases. READ THE FULL STORY AT CHALKBEAT COLORADO
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Seven Denver schools recommended by superintendent to close, 3 to partially close
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Seven Denver schools recommended by superintendent to close, 3 to partially close

By Melanie Asmar | Chalkbeat Colorado Five elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school would close if the Denver school board accepts a recommendation made by Superintendent Alex Marrero Thursday meant to address declining enrollment in Denver Public Schools. Three other schools would be partially closed, meaning they would serve fewer grades. The school board is expected to vote on the recommendation on Nov. 21. If the board votes yes, the 10 schools would close or partially close at the end of the school year. READ THE FULL STORY AT CHALKBEAT COLORADO
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Voters approve lodging taxes for child care in Montrose, along with La Plata, Grand counties
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Approved, Chalkbeat Colorado, Local

Voters approve lodging taxes for child care in Montrose, along with La Plata, Grand counties

By Ann Schimke | Chalkbeat Colorado Voters in three western Colorado communities approved lodging tax measures in Tuesday’s election that will send money to efforts aimed at making child care more affordable and easier to find. The measures passed easily in La Plata and Grand counties and by a slimmer margin in the City of Montrose, according to unofficial election results. With Tuesday’s lodging tax victories, the three communities join about a dozen others in Colorado’s mountain resort regions where voters have agreed to allow some lodging tax proceeds to be used for child care efforts. Often, the funding is used to help families pay for child care or to boost wages for teachers. READ THE FULL STORY AT CHALKBEAT COLORADO
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Amid dropping enrollment, Colorado districts deciding what to do with closed schools
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Amid dropping enrollment, Colorado districts deciding what to do with closed schools

By Ann Schimke , Melanie Asmar and Yesenia Robles | Chalkbeat Colorado Construction workers in hardhats and safety vests bustled around the 7,000-square-foot Loveland building, installing fixtures and painting. It was late October, and they had two months to go before the grand opening. Soon, the former Thompson School District preschool would become “The Landing,” the first shelter for homeless youth in northern Colorado. Leaders of the effort say the state-of-the-art-building will give young people ages 15 to 20 a safe place to live and receive services while they get their lives back on track. READ THE FULL STORY AT CHALKBEAT COLORADO
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Here’s why Jeffco schools didn’t ask for a tax increase from voters this year
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Approved, Chalkbeat Colorado, Local

Here’s why Jeffco schools didn’t ask for a tax increase from voters this year

By Yesenia Robles | Chalkbeat Colorado The Jeffco school district is one of only a few large Colorado districts that isn’t asking residents to vote for additional local revenue this election. The district is under financial strain and in the spring considered asking voters to approve a mill levy override this year, but consultants recommended putting it off. They pointed out the district has faced challenges when trying to pass tax requests, and homeowners are already struggling with a rise in property taxes. “There are many factors that would support an MLO, including a strong desire for higher teacher pay, but those supportive indicators are simply no match for voters’ current feelings against higher property tax rates,” consultants wrote in a presentation to the board. ...
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