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

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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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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From The Principal’s Perspective: Where Have All the Principals Gone?

The beginning of a new superintendency is a time of great opportunity for a school district like the Denver Public Schools.  After a roaring start with a teacher strike, with an outcome deemed a success by the DPS administration and the DCTA (union) alike, Denver now needs to reflect on the value of a principal.…

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Community EdData Hub in Action: Your Community, Your Schools

A+ Colorado recently had the opportunity to collaborate with the African Leadership Group on their new report, Your Community, Your Schools as part of our new initiative, the Community EdData Hub. We invited Juliet Sebold, Associate Director of the African Leadership Group, to share some thoughts about her experience: As an organization, we understand that…

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Think Bigger on Incentives to Close the Denver Achievement Gap

Teachers, the teacher union, district leaders, the school board and community leaders are unanimous in calling for an effort to close our deplorable achievement gap yet the outcome of the current teacher compensation impasse (and possible strike) will likely determine what happens to the achievement gap. We need to think far bigger about how we…

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Nearing An Agreement Or A Strike?

By Lisa Berdie, Policy & Research Director, A+ Colorado DPS and the Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA) are staring down a January 18th expiration of the current ProComp agreement, and, potentially, a strike if an agreement is not reached. Where DCTA and DPS will land on the system design and overall amount allocated to teacher…

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