Sixth grade science teacher works with students during a quiz at Kearney Middle School in 2013. (Craig F. Walker, The Denver Post)
This week’s education news included new pot tax numbers, new state test results and a revision to federal law. Catch up on that and more with this week’s Take Note…
Testing: Colorado’s Department of Education on Thursday released test scores for science and social studies tests revealing, as expected, low scores across the state. While fourth-grade students made some gains in social studies, there were less eight-grade students proficient in science this year. .
No child left behind: The U.S. Senate Thursday passed a revision of the federal education law which could reduce the federal government’s role in education. and a rundown of all approved and denied amendments.
Denver Post’s Lynn Bartels, who announced her departure this week, in shaping the rewrite of the law.
Among the law’s revisions is a change that will likely mean more money for Colorado schools. It is a rewrite to a formula that calculates . Instead of basing the amount provided for those students on each state’s average spending, the government would now use a national average of education spending. That means states that currently spend less than average on their students will see an increase in funding. Information provided by the Congressional Research Service and released by Sen. Bennet’s office in funding.
Pot taxes: A report in The Cannabist this week reported that the newest tax numbers for May show that that was estimated by advocates when they pushed for marijuana legalization. The May figures surpassed the amount that was collected in all of 2014. This on the tax and what it funds — namely grants that school districts have to compete for and raise matching funds to get. (The Cripple Creek School District, for instance, would have to raise 80 percent of a project’s cost, school officials said this week.)
Jason Glass, superintendent of Eagle Valley Schools, . Glass tried to clarify the use of the money, and dispelling the misconception that all schools must be getting rich, stated, “to date, the grand total of marijuana dollars that have come to our community schools is $0.”
Meanwhile, another district, Brighton 27J, happily (funded in part by that pot tax) to make repairs to the Brighton Heritage building that houses district office and students from Brighton Heritage Academy, and overflow students from nearby Brighton High School. The school district still has to raise the matching funds to be able to access the grant.
Laurel Trasky, right, a retired Denver Public Schools teacher, shows her support for a recall of Jeffco Board of Education members at a rally at Clement Park in October. (Andy Cross, The Denver Post)
#JeffCo: Financial reports filed with the state this week of three school board members in Jefferson County has raised nearly $44,000 in contributions since they registered as a group two weeks ago. The largest contributor? Former Jefferson County Public School superintendent Cynthia Stevenson, who resigned from her position citing difficulties working with the new board. A retired Arvada woman also donated $1,000.
In other Jefferson County school news, the school district put out a news release earlier this week for a new teacher’s contract. But on Thursday, the Jefferson County Education Association put out . The point of contention now, they reported, is the length of the agreement.
Summer work: About 20 teachers from Colorado Springs got a glimpse into what it’s like to be homeless this summer in an effort to better understand the growing population of students who have no home. As , the opportunity was provided through a nonprofit organization, and teachers said they felt they would be able to be more empathetic following the experience.
