Blog posts are the opinions of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of A+ Colorado.

Stay Sharp Newsletter: June 2019

It’s finally summertime in Colorado where students and [hopefully] educators can get the much needed rest they deserve. A+ Colorado delivers all the education news you’ll need to avoid the Summertime Slump including: a new face joining the A+ team, an event and report for Denver’s Next Journey, a coalition’s Report Card rating the state,…

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Private School Vouchers, What’s The Point?

Last month, I had the pleasure of participating in a debate on private school vouchers in Chicago. The state of Illinois recently made a $100 million dollar bet to improve the educational outcomes for low-income students by establishing a tax credit scholarship program, that acts like a voucher, for low-income families to attend a private…

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Stay Sharp Newsletter: May 2019

Summer isn’t quite here, but it’s on the horizon for many students and educators. As we wrap up the 18-19 school year, A+ delivers to you: a deeper look into Cañon City’s innovative schools, data suppression concerns, a preview of the new policies from the legislative session and what they may mean for Colorado kids,…

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Teacher Appreciation Week

Teachers matter not only during Teacher Appreciation Week but every week, and A+ Colorado is grateful to the educators who work extremely hard to pave the way for our students. We asked our readers to share a short story of a teacher who is currently in the classroom and making a significant impact on the…

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Education Reform as We Know It Is Over. What Have We Learned?

As first appeared in Education Week as Education Reform as We Know It Is Over. What Have We Learned? on 4/25/2019. Reprinted with permission from the author. The education reform movement as we have known it is over. Top-down federal and state reforms along with big-city reforms have stalled. The political winds for education change…

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Improving Unified Enrollment in Denver Public Schools

Originally appeared in PIE Network Post. Published online: April 19, 2019, as “Helping Families Choose: Advocates Discuss Open Enrollment in Colorado” Imagine a world where you could only go to the hospital closest to where you lived. For many situations, this might be just fine. Primary care and ER visits, in particular, are situations where minimizing…

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Bridges and Schools: Columbine Twenty Years Later

Twenty years ago this week, I was in my high school biology class and over the intercom we were told to stay inside the school and not leave the premises. Our teacher finally relented and let us watch the unfolding horror on CNN through our class TV. Down the street at our neighboring high school…

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Stay Sharp Newsletter: April 2019

Education news doesn’t appear to be taking a break anytime soon with less than 2 months before students head out for their own summer break. This April, A+ Colorado delivers to your inbox: a new report on Denver’s unified enrollment system: SchoolChoice, an Arts Education Forum, a coalition’s call for measuring quality in Denver, two…

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Arts Education Student Spotlight

Edwina Maben is a singer, songwriter and producer, and participant in Youth on Record’s FEMpowered. A+ Colorado was pleased to co-host the Arts Education for All Forum where Edwina performed and shared her story. Songwriting has given me the ability to let certain chapters of my life live forever. Particularly in my high school years,…

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Is Love the Silver Bullet?

I’m not sure why, but I resisted writing this blog. It may be because I don’t consider myself a “blogger,” or because I’m not convinced I have anything substantive to put in writing. (It feels way too permanent to me.) Or, perhaps it’s the juxtaposition of my resistance to the “worship of the written word”…

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