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It’s your child: Why parents must take the lead in education
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

It’s your child: Why parents must take the lead in education

Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project I really liked the video linked at bottom. I think at some point the Independence Institute started a new video series about education, and this is one of their episodes. The thing that made this one catch my eye was the topic. It’s something near and dear to my heart: not just an encouragement to get involved in your child’s education, it’s also a guide. To give you a quick sense of the topics in this discussion, I took a picture of the timestamps from the video description and attached as screenshot 1. I’ll leave it to you to watch the video, but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention a couple last thing. One of the most important things you can (and should if you’re not) be doing to make sure...
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Cutting Social Studies Tests Means Less Accountability For Schools
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Complete Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Cutting Social Studies Tests Means Less Accountability For Schools

By Ari Armstrong | Commentary, Complete Colorado If “public education is the bedrock of Colorado’s democracy,” as Democratic sponsors declare in the TABOR-busting Senate Bill 26-135, then why do lawmakers want to cut social-studies testing from two grades to one? Someone might conclude that not even the legislators believe the slop they’re slinging on behalf of the teachers’ unions. A look at social-studies testing Given how abysmally most Colorado students perform on the social studies portion of the Colorado Measures of Academic Success, maybe it’s no wonder that some legislators want to sweep the evidence of underperforming public schools under the rug. If you look at CMAS results by year, you’ll find that the last publicly-released data f...
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Merit Academy: Undeniable Change, A Model For Our Next Victory
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Merit Academy: Undeniable Change, A Model For Our Next Victory

By Eric Gil | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice The success of Merit Academy in Woodland Park is no secret. When your school is ranked #5 of all K-12 Colorado Public Schools, it is hard to hide. This article is a look into the origin story of Merit Academy, led by Headmaster Gwynne Pekron. A reminder that we still hold the power to shape our children’s futures and that even when faced with centralized control, a path to real change exists. As a former charter school student and public school teacher, Merit’s story of ascension inspires me to look for ways to ensure our future.   Increased attention toward public education from concerned parents is one of the many lasting outcomes of the 2020 pandemic and the subsequent shifts in education. In Woodland Park, this ...
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Denver voters choose union-backed Democrats over reform in school board sweep
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Chalkbeat Colorado, Approved, Local

Denver voters choose union-backed Democrats over reform in school board sweep

By Melanie Asmar | Chalkbeat Colorado A “blue wave” swept across the country on Election Day. But in Denver, all the school board candidates were Democrats. So, faced with similar choices, voters bubbled their ballots for the candidates endorsed by a Democratic stalwart: the teachers union. “If you’re in a blue city and you’re a blue voter, you’re going to vote for the true-blue candidates — and the true-blue candidates were the union candidates,” said Van Schoales, a longtime supporter of the Democratic brand of education reform. For many years, Denver Public Schools was considered a national exemplar of the type of education reform that favors school choice and charter schools but not private school vouchers. A 2019 teachers strike sparked in part by pushback to reform polici...
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Colorado Springs Districts Send Clear Message: Schools Exist to Educate, Not Indoctrinate
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The Gazette, Approved, Commentary, Local

Colorado Springs Districts Send Clear Message: Schools Exist to Educate, Not Indoctrinate

By The Gazette Editorial Board | The Gazette A blue wave that saw conservatives nationwide lose governors’ races, ballot initiatives and even school board elections appeared to have affected Colorado, as well. It was a setback in our state for candidates running on student academic growth against the union machine. But there was a bright spot — El Paso County — where reform-minded candidates swept Academy District 20’s three seats, won two of three contested seats in the ultra-competitive Colorado Springs School District 11, and won at least one of two seats up for grabs in School District 49. The second race in D49 remains too close to call.  All three El Paso County districts preserved their pro-education reform majorities. These victories, hard-fought and locally grounded,...
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Grassroots effort pays off as GOP-endorsed school board candidates win big in Delta County
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, Local, Top Stories

Grassroots effort pays off as GOP-endorsed school board candidates win big in Delta County

By Angie Many & Shirley Bauer | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice We won! We won! At the Watch Party after the monthly Delta County Republican meeting, the mood was ‘Elation!’ as it was almost certain that GOP-endorsed candidates Adena Kreutz and Sheldon Kier had become newly-elected members of the local school board.  Over 40 people were at the GOP meeting, which combined regular monthly business with waiting for election results with fingers crossed and silent prayers offered. Both Adena and Sheldon attended and thanked those present for their support while everyone watched the vote tallies with cautious optimism. Adena and Sheldon were each almost 1,000 votes ahead of opponents by the time the meeting and GOP Watch Party ended. (A total of about 10,000 people voted in the...
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A Conservative Tide in Montrose County Education, Tempered by a Disturbing Underbelly
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Local, Top Stories

A Conservative Tide in Montrose County Education, Tempered by a Disturbing Underbelly

By Michael J Badagliacco, “MJB” | Guest Contributor, Rocky Mountain Voice As the dust settles on the November 4, 2025, election in Montrose County, Colorado, the unofficial results paint a clear picture of voter priorities: a resounding endorsement of conservative values in the classroom, coupled with a sharp rebuke of personality clashes and certain local measures. With a turnout of 50.50% (16,248 ballots cast out of 32,173 active registered voters), a strong showing for an off-year election, these outcomes signal a community eager for change in education but demanding accountability from its leaders. The Montrose County School Board races delivered a clean sweep for candidates championing traditional principles, while the recall of County Commissioner Scott Mijares highlights the infl...
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False report, bad judging, real results: Montezuma schools find their footing
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Local, Top Stories

False report, bad judging, real results: Montezuma schools find their footing

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice For two difficult years, Superintendent Tom Burris and the Montezuma-Cortez board were cast as the problem in a community at odds. Detractors said they buried misconduct. The situation became a tangle of problems—courtroom misconduct, staff discipline, politicized claims and social-media outrage—all amplified by one-sided reporting that drained time, money and focus. The photo that never should have existed A courtroom image of Superintendent Burris ran the next morning on the front page of The Journal. No photographs are permitted inside a Colorado courtroom—a violation later cited in the judge’s ethics case. “No photographs are permitted inside a Colorado courtroom,” attorney David Illingworth recalled. “The next day it was front-page...
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Durango’s School Board Debacle: Radical Rot, Predator Blind Spots, and a Herald Hug
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, Local, Top Stories

Durango’s School Board Debacle: Radical Rot, Predator Blind Spots, and a Herald Hug

By Heidi Ganahl | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Durango used to be the kind of place where families felt good about sending their kids to school. But things shifted over the years —and not in a good way. With a critical school board election just days away, parents are speaking out. And what they’re saying is hard to ignore. What I learned from the families who helped shape the Durango Dirty Dozen series was both heartbreaking and hopeful. They painted a clear picture of a district losing touch with its mission—and of a community ready to fight back.  They told me about confusing bathroom rules, lavish DEI spending, and a media outlet more interested in enabling coverups than accountability. Their message was clear: kids are being left behind. Let’s start with bathrooms...
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Championing Conservative Principles: Balleck, Vincent, Scarborough, and Daly for Montrose County School Board
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, Local, Top Stories

Championing Conservative Principles: Balleck, Vincent, Scarborough, and Daly for Montrose County School Board

By Michael J Badagliacco, “MJB” | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice A Critical Moment for Montrose Schools With over 5,000 students across diverse rural and urban communities, the Montrose County School District is at a crossroads. Nationwide, school boards have become battlegrounds for competing visions of education, with too many leaning into divisive ideologies that undermine parental authority and academic rigor. On November 4, 2025, Montrose voters have a chance to steer our schools back to conservative principles by electing Neisha Balleck, Tiffany Vincent, Scott Scarborough, and Shane Daly to the School Board. These four conservative candidates stand for parental rights, fiscal responsibility, school safety, and a focus on core education free from ideological agendas....
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