A Colorado protest against Common Core. (Photo By Cyrus McCrimmon/ The Denver Post)
Miss us? Of course you did.
Well no need to worry because after a long (and dreadfully cold) week, the education news roundup is here…
The only thing more predictable than spring snow in Colorado – parents unhappy with how school districts handle snow days. Denver Public Schools’ Tom Boasberg in the state’s largest district when, he said, road conditions were worse than anticipated.
This week for some students, preventing them from failing. Denver Post reporter Yesenia Robles reports the district is looking for an independent investigator to review that decision.
Yesenia also reports on a grant-funded project to reduce youth violence in the Montbello neighborhood nearing its end. , and are now looking for ways to make sure they can sustain the programs after the grant ends.
Meanwhile The Post’s Eric Gorski examines the challenges facing the Colorado Republican Party, . The GOP is backtracking on its support for existing standards and state-mandated tests while expressing commitment to accountability. Republicans’ opposition to the current testing regime puts them in an unusual alliance with teachers unions, who, as one Republican lawmaker suggests, would love to roll back tenure reform.
Jefferson County Public Schools has . The new details include a cost estimate of $1.6 million for some small facility updates that would be needed. The board will vote next week, and the changes, including the closing of one middle school, would go into effect this fall. The district has not responded to report if that’s the shortest turnaround time for a school closure or not.
Third-grade students at Prospect Valley Elementary in Wheat Ridge (Craig F. Walker, The Denver Post)
Ilana Spiegel, a Cherry Creek School District parent and member of the state’s assessment task force, weighed in with a Denver Post op-ed . The Independence Institute’s Ross Izard counter-punched in the comment section, pointing out that achievement gaps have narrowed according to National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results.
The more you think you know … the less you actually do? That appears to be the case when it comes to the politically charged Common Core state standards, as . Those who have heard “a lot” about Common Core think the standards cover things like the American Revolution, evolution, global warming and sex education. Wrong. The standards only cover math and English language arts.
Also, you might have missed it, but Thursday was National Adjunct Walkout Day. as adjunct professors were trying to raise awareness about their working conditions and asking for change, including better pay. A few teachers.
YourHub reporter Joe Vaccarelli, to name a new school — — after former lawmaker and founder of the Greenway Foundation, Joe Shoemaker.
Nick Dawkins, the soon-to-be principal at Manual High School, has been around Denver schools for a while, but if you’re unfamiliar with him, .
Students move through the main hallway at Adams City High School adorned with flags representing America’s universities. (Kathryn Scott Osler, The Denver Post)
Teachers unions are turning to ad buys and commissioned polls to whittle away at the number of tests students take, . The story focuses on Connecticut and New Jersey, but the same also holds true in Colorado. The Colorado Education Association, the state’s largest teacher’s union, in the past year about testing and found … people think there is too much of it. The group also has been active on social media with its “More than a Score” meme.
Also Colorado Classroom presents a one hour question and answer session on Twitter about FAFSA — the Free Application for Federal Student Aid — with some questions from the session, and other common ones about who can fill out the form and how to do it.
