Education Secretary Arne Duncan visits a 3rd grade classroom at McGlone Elementary School in Denver, May 14. (RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post)
Testing cut scores, a split ruling on Jefferson County Public School’s new compensation system, a new national analysis on teacher turnover, a meeting of the Colorado Board of Education this week, and more on this week’s Take Note…
In Boulder news: The Denver Post’s Bruce Finley this week wrote an outside of Boulder schools as a way to get more kids to eat healthy school food, but also as a way to educate students about the importance of having local food. The food, is still not catching on with all kids.
In other news from Boulder schools this week, the Daily Camera’s Amy Bounds wrote about a that will give teachers a salary raise. Officials are also quoted in the story saying they will start negotiations to change the compensation system to make it align to the district’s teacher evaluations.
Graduations: It’s graduation season for students completing school, but also for states deciding how to let students exit. According to an article from the Dallas Morning News, Gov. Greg Abbott . The law will allow exiting high school students to demonstrate they are ready to graduate by passing three freshman-level tests if they apply for, and get, a waiver from the more strict graduation requirements.
In Colorado, the State Board of Education on Thursday decided to that would have made it easier to earn a diploma by having a menu of options for students to pick from in order to prove – – but that they were competent in basic contents. Changes may still be in the near future, however.
More from the state board: This week the state Board of Education met and finally for science tests, after months of discussion on selecting cut scores. The board, however, will not release the social studies test scores for Colorado’s high school students.
On Wednesday, the board also voted to . A formal opinion from the Attorney General had stated that having a parent sign to allow their kids to take the survey was not necessary.
Teachers: Teachers in Jefferson County Public Schools won a part of their argument against their school district, when a . The judge agreed with the teacher’s union, ruling that the district could not create a it with the union.
Also this week, a new analysis released by the National Center for Education Statistics shows that teacher turnover may actually be lower than past studies suggest. According to the , an estimated 30 percent of teachers stay in the profession five years after they start, and teachers who have starting salaries above $40,000, or have mentors, are more likely to stay in the profession.
School lens: A high school engineering class is getting the chance to
Algae is exposed to light in a lab at Chatfield High School in Littleton, on May 5, 2015. (Photo by Seth McConnell, The Denver Post)
this summer, using grant funding. The project they’re designing will help discover if algae can grow and survive in space while producing hydrogen for fuel.
Metropolitan State University of Denver’s plan to become a Hispanic Serving Institution, are still on track. An article that first ran publication, , quotes officials saying this year’s graduates include 19.2 percent Hispanic students.
Finally, , a Denver school in Montbello, Thursday morning, speaking to teachers and parents to learn more about some of Denver Public School’s work on creating teacher leadership roles. Duncan said during his visit that he was also interested in Denver’s work on shared enrollment boundaries and how it helps create more diverse schools.
