Rocky Mountain Voice

Menu

Tag: Education

Colorado test scores affirm daunting task to overcome COVID-era learning loss
No Comments
Approved, denvergazette.com, State

Colorado test scores affirm daunting task to overcome COVID-era learning loss

By Nicole C. Brambila | Denver Gazette The latest academic achievement data demonstrates the daunting task schools face in overcoming student learning loss across the state, including the Denver metro area, even as the COVID-19 pandemic is now in the rearview mirror.  The modest gains in math and English are remarkably similar to last year, when state officials described the results as a “stair step” improvement and local educators called the scores disappointing. Colorado students showed a 1.3-point improvement in math and 0.4 points in English. READ THE FULL STORY AT DENVER GAZETTE
Read More
Wave of Hope Learning Centers to open Greeley location for homeschool families 
No Comments
Approved, Greeley Tribune, Local

Wave of Hope Learning Centers to open Greeley location for homeschool families 

By Morgan Mckenzie | Greeley Tribune The Wave of Hope Learning Centers has opened enrollment for its Greeley site for a unique educational enrichment partnership with homeschool families. The Wave of Hope Learning Centers, an educational nonprofit, supports homeschooled families with a learning cooperative experience and enrichment program, according to Tonya Van Beber, executive director of Wave of Hope Learning Centers. The center uses hands-on experience, problem-solving, creativity, ethical leadership and more to showcase what Weld County has to offer for students’ bright futures. “This is a phenomenal place to live,” Van Beber said. “I’ve been all over the world, and this is definitely my home. And I’d love to be able to give back to it.” READ THE FULL STORY AT GREELEY TRI...
Read More
Colorado school district considers bond measure, levy override for facility improvements and higher salaries
No Comments
Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

Colorado school district considers bond measure, levy override for facility improvements and higher salaries

By Gabriela Vidal | CBS Colorado At the Future Forward Campus at Washington Square, students like senior Xitlaly Villalobos are sparking their creative side. "You learn skills that you never thought you would learn, especially with welding," Villalobos said. Villalobos splits her time between Northglenn High School and the Future Forward Campus, where she takes welding and crime scene investigation courses, among a variety of other career and technical education programs offered through the campus. READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
Read More
Colorado’s Campaign Against Christians Continues
No Comments
Approved, National Review, State

Colorado’s Campaign Against Christians Continues

By Andrea Picciotti-Bayer | National Review The state will provide preschool education only to children of parents who are happy to subject them to progressive ideology. ‘Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” For many parents, Proverbs 22:6 offers powerful guidance as another school year begins. One group of Catholic parents in Colorado takes this directive to heart and wants to partner with Catholic preschools for the education and formation of their little ones. They are demanding that the state’s universal preschool program allow them to use the public benefit at their schools of choice. It shouldn’t surprise you to learn that the intolerant demands of progressive ideology are at issue. READ MORE AT NATIONAL REVIEW
Read More
In Lakewood, residents want closed Jefferson Co. school to be park or open space, but it’s for sale
No Comments
Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

In Lakewood, residents want closed Jefferson Co. school to be park or open space, but it’s for sale

By Karen Morfitt | CBS Colorado One of Jefferson County's closed schools is on the open market and those living nearby are fighting to keep the property as open space or even a park. Residents around the now-shuttered Vivian Elementary School worry with more development comes more traffic and more safety risks and say the donated property should remain as a community hub. It comes roughly one year after parents lost an effort to keep the doors open for students at the school. "This is a gem you don't just bulldoze you can't pave paradise and put up a parking lot this is perfect just leave it be," Toby Crisp said. READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
Read More
Despite going over budget last year, school lunches will still be free for Coloradans in 2024
No Comments
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
Read More
Should Colorado’s constitution protect school choice? Voters will decide in November.
No Comments
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
Read More
In Southwest Colorado, alliance of nine school districts finds staff, financial efficiencies, does more for students
No Comments
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...
Read More
Study: In Colorado public schools, 1 in 4 students misses at least 10% of school days
No Comments
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
Read More
As classroom cellphone disruptions increase, students and educators spar over bans in schools
No Comments
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
Read More