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Tag: Student Achievement

Are you racist? The Durango School Board thinks so.
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, Local, Top Stories

Are you racist? The Durango School Board thinks so.

By Protect La Plata Kids | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Durango School District 9-R has spent heavily on a quiet plan to bring diversity, equity and inclusion policies into local classrooms. Attached to this commentary are invoices obtained through CORA requests to the district. They show the board paid Make It Plain Consulting more than $209,000 between 2021 and 2025. A combined file of the invoices can be viewed here. What the community didn’t realize is that the board’s long-term goal was to introduce Critical Race Theory under the banner of DEI. School board directors Kristen Smith, Erika Brown and Andrea Parmenter started by pushing a new resolution for the Durango 9-R Board of Education. As of July 2025, three Federal Civil Rights Complaints were filed against D...
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Hard work pays off: District 51 sees strong gains in statewide test scores
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KKCO-TV Grand Junction, Approved, Local

Hard work pays off: District 51 sees strong gains in statewide test scores

By Gabriela Chay | KKCO 11 News GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO) -The Colorado Department of Education released district-level CMAS and PSAT/SAT scores for the 2024-25 school year. District 51 saw strong academic gains in its test scores. According to D51, elementary students (Grades 3-5) are above state averages in five of six literacy and math CMAS categories. Middle schools (Grades 6-8) haven’t yet matched state levels in literacy and math, but D51 said they’re continuing to invest resources and support to help build momentum in the future. At the high school level, students met or exceeded the rest of the state in all literacy categories and three out of six math categories on the PSAT and SAT. “I’m super proud of our staff. We’ve had some challenges over the last few years, but t...
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Anderson: The Union Isn’t Fighting for Kids Anymore—It’s Fighting for Control
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, Local, Top Stories

Anderson: The Union Isn’t Fighting for Kids Anymore—It’s Fighting for Control

By Christy Anderson | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Contracts. Impasse. Mediation. Oh my!  We’ve all seen the headlines, the crowd of red shirts, and the talking points about “fighting for teachers and students.” But as a teacher—and a former union member—I’m here to tell you: what’s happening with the Mesa Valley Education Association (MVEA) isn’t about students. It’s political theatre, and it’s about control.  Let’s start with a bit of history.  Teacher unions were initially formed to give educators a voice in working conditions. In the early 20th century, teachers—primarily women—were underpaid, lacked job security, and had no influence in how schools were run. The National Education Association (NEA), founded in 1857, and the American Federation of T...
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