House Bill 1146 Provides Dropout Recovery Option at No Extra Cost
Earlier this week the House Education Committee approved House Bill 1146, which would ensure that the “Dropout Recovery Concurrent Enrollment Program” can continue to serve a small group of Colorado’s at-risk high school students. Some people had expressed concerns about the original fiscal note that showed the bill would raise the burden on taxpayers. However, […]
National Eye on Colo.’s HB 1238 to Enhance Literacy by Curbing Social Promotion
Colorado’s legislative bid to enhance early literacy is getting some national attention. The bipartisan House Bill 1238 enlists parents and educators to focus on interventions for struggling readers in the early grades and requires the local superintendent to sign off before a non-proficient reader can advance past 3rd grade. My Education Policy Center friend Ben […]
DeGrow Comments on Colorado Literacy Bill for One News Now
A story today on American Family Radio News (One News Now) about Colorado’s House Bill 1238, and other states’ legislation aimed at holding back third-graders who aren’t proficient readers, featured comments from senior policy analyst Ben DeGrow. In an interview with reporter Bob Kellogg, DeGrow highlighted the need for more focused accountability on early literacy.
British Academies Promote Case for School Autonomy
Denver-based education policy consultant Gina Schlieman discusses a recent article in The Economist that highlights the positive results from Great Britain’s expansion of academies, publicly-funded schools that have been given greater autonomy. Schlieman calls on her recent graduate-level studies at the London School of Economics to provide some uniquely informed insights regarding what Colorado and other states ought to glean from this emerging British education success story.
Colorado’s NCLB Waiver Won’t Mean Much without Deeper Reforms
Last week news broke that Colorado was one of 10 states to receive U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s waivers from the No Child Left Behind Act. It’s really hard to say the impact the waiver will have in schools and district offices, but to the extent it enhances focus on genuine improvement rather than bureaucratic compliance Colorado students will be truly blessed. If we really want to shake things up and make a powerful impact, our state’s policy makers and other education leaders should pay heed to the growing number of substantial voices demanding that education dollars follow the child.
$7.8 Million in 2010-11 AFT Member Dues (including Douglas County) Mostly Given to Liberal Causes
Doing his usual fine reporting, the Education Intelligence Agency’s Mike Antonucci breaks down the American Federation of Teachers’ latest report of its contributions to advocacy groups. During the 2010-11 fiscal year, AFT gave $7.8 million in member dues money to a wide range of organizations, an amount as large as the previous two years combined.
The […]
Denver’s Northeast Academy Deserves Full 3 Years to Prove Itself During Turnaround
Denver’s Northeast Academy, a rare turnaround charter school that has come through a healthy share of turmoil, looks to be finally making progress with students. On February 9 the Colorado State Board of Education upheld the charter’s appeal to keep it from removing two grades next school year. Why is Denver Public Schools trying to pull the plug before the three-year contract is up and the results are in?
Proposed IRS Rule Bad Charter Medicine, But Hints at Needed Pension Changes
There’s a little controversy trickling out of Washington, D.C., that you may not have heard about. A proposed regulation from the Internal Revenue Service would effectively deem charter school teachers to be private employees and not eligible for government pension benefits. Yesterday the Colorado State Board of Education made the bold and unanimous move of […]
Bad News in Colorado Remediation Rates Renews Call for Transformation
I usually don’t like talking about bad news, but sometimes it has to be done. When it comes to Colorado high school graduates needing extra help in reading, writing and math at Colorado colleges and universities, the news is just that: bad. Despite the positive higher education angle headlined by the Denver Post, there’s no […]
Colo.’s Parent Trigger II Survives First Test: Maybe HB 1149 Can Win Bipartisan Support
My Education Policy Center friends asked me to stop playing around in the snow long enough to give a quick update and comment on something I mentioned last week. As Ed News Colorado reports, Rep. Don Beezley’s “Parent Trigger II” successfully passed its first obstacle with a favorable 7-6 party line vote in the House […]
That Old Colorado School District Open Union Negotiations Momentum? It’s Back
Last April I asked the question: Is momentum growing for open school union negotiations in Colorado? The results ended up mixed — with Colorado Springs District 11 opening more of their bargaining to public view while Jefferson County redoubled under a veil of secrecy.
Well, tagging on at the end of an Ed News Colorado story […]
Groundhog’s Shadow or Not, Colorado’s Parent Trigger II a Small Step Forward
Even if the Groundhog hadn’t seen his shadow this morning, the reluctant news would still be well more than six weeks of Colorado’s legislative session remaining. Too early for me to be ground into the dust, but at the same time too many important things going on for me to run back and hide in […]
