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Despite going over budget last year, school lunches will still be free for Coloradans in 2024
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Approved, 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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Should Colorado’s constitution protect school choice? Voters will decide in November.
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Should Colorado’s constitution protect school choice? Voters will decide in November.

By Erica Breunlin | The Colorado Sun Colorado voters will decide whether they want to protect the right to school choice in the state constitution in November after a measure with that goal qualified for the ballot Friday. Put forth by conservative political nonprofit Advance Colorado Action, Initiative 138 sets out to reinforce parents’ ability to send their children to any public school, charter school, private school or homeschooling program they want. But some education advocates and policy experts see it as a stepping stone toward a state voucher program in disguise. Voucher programs give parents public dollars to enroll their kids in private schools, including those with a religious affiliation. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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In Southwest Colorado, alliance of nine school districts finds staff, financial efficiencies, does more for students
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Approved, 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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Study: In Colorado public schools, 1 in 4 students misses at least 10% of school days
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Study: In Colorado public schools, 1 in 4 students misses at least 10% of school days

By Erica Breunlin | The Colorado Sun More Colorado students regularly showed up to class last school year following record rates of absences during the pandemic, but attendance rates were still higher before COVID, data released Thursday morning by the Colorado Department of Education shows. The latest numbers signal schools are headed in the right direction following efforts among the state education department and districts to double down on getting kids to come to class every day. The majority of Colorado school districts and Boards of Cooperative Educational Services — groups of districts that pool resources — saw improvements in their attendance rates last year, but the progress doesn’t necessarily translate to a giant turnaround. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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As classroom cellphone disruptions increase, students and educators spar over bans in schools
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

As classroom cellphone disruptions increase, students and educators spar over bans in schools

By Erica Breunlin | Colorado Sun In the last years of Jill Haffley’s teaching career, her lessons were increasingly punctuated by the buzz of a text message, sometimes even a “cacophony of noises” as students’ cellphones erupted with rings and dings. Those weren’t the only disruptions or distractions in her classes. Some of her students would tune into a Netflix show or YouTube videos. Others played video games. All on their cellphones, heads bent down. She also remembers teens who would ask to go to the bathroom during class, where they would meet a friend to record TikTok videos. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Denver Schools students who commit murder could get five-day expulsion in new discipline matrix
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Approved, denvergazette.com, Local

Denver Schools students who commit murder could get five-day expulsion in new discipline matrix

By Nicole C. Brambila | Denver Gazette Denver Public Schools officials on Thursday released the new discipline matrix used to address student misbehaviors that include a dozen new conduct categories, including students who commit or attempt murder. Characterized as a “level 7,” students who cause “the death of another person” could receive five days of out-of-school suspension and a mandatory expulsion request. Level 7 offenses also include attempted homicide and possession of a firearm. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE DENVER GAZETTE
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Denver schools voters will be asked to decide whether to approve nearly $1 billion bond
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Approved, kdvr.com, Local

Denver schools voters will be asked to decide whether to approve nearly $1 billion bond

By Lanie Lee Cook | Fox 31 News The Denver Public Schools board voted unanimously on Thursday to send a $975 million bond measure before voters this fall. The Board of Education’s 7-0 vote will ask Denver voters in November for the bond to make improvements at aging schools districtwide, including installing air conditioning at schools still without it. If approved by voters, nearly a third of the $975 million will go toward maintenance at 154 schools across the district, FOX31 has previously reported. READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX 31 NEWS
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As school opens, in many districts there are too few teachers, drivers and declining enrollments
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Approved, CBS Colorado, State

As school opens, in many districts there are too few teachers, drivers and declining enrollments

By Alan Gionet | CBS Colorado The 2024-25 school year is starting with districts seeking help. Across Colorado, many districts are again short of teachers, staff, and bus drivers.  In Jefferson County Schools, which resumes for most students on Thursday, the district is still looking to hire 11 teachers, 35 paraprofessionals, and 27 special education teachers, despite decades of declining enrollments due to a drop in birth rates and rising housing costs. In the Boulder Valley School District, officials are seeking to hire a dozen teachers as the district opens. They are offering a $3,500 signing bonus to bus drivers. "What we're trying to do is be proactive and engage the community," said Superintendent Dr. Rob Anderson. "We've been talking about this for several years." ...
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Westminster Schools ‘reimagining’ learning with new Ranum Reimagined Campus
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Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

Westminster Schools ‘reimagining’ learning with new Ranum Reimagined Campus

By Gabriela Vidal | CBS Colorado It is inside the walls of a former high school and recently former middle school where leaders with Westminster Public Schools sparked a new idea: to create a campus where high school students can learn the skills needed to be ready for the workforce. "There is nothing worse than somebody who graduates and just feels lost," said Lottie Wilson. Wilson is the Career Tech Education Administrator for Westminster Public Schools and one of the leaders behind the Ranum Reimagined Campus. "I've seen a lot of our graduates that are turning 30 years old, 32 years old and they're still just trying to find their place in the professional world," she said. READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
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Report: Four-day week doesn’t increase student performance, staff retention
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Approved, Chalkbeat Colorado, State

Report: Four-day week doesn’t increase student performance, staff retention

By Ann Schimke | Chalkbeat Colorado Colorado school districts with four-day weeks have slightly lower student achievement on average than those with five-day weeks and see little improvement in teacher turnover after shifting from five to four days. That’s according to a new report from the Keystone Policy Center that argues for stricter guardrails on four-day school weeks and the creation of an expert panel to study the issue. The report, “Doing Less With Less,” comes at a time when nearly two-thirds of Colorado’s 185 districts — enrolling about 14% of the state’s students — operate on four-day-a-week schedules. In the last five years, about two dozen districts across the state, most small and rural, made the switch. This year, the 1,200-student Strasburg district, about 30 miles...
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