These posts are the opinions of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of A+ Colorado.
By Nicola Frost, Understood.org Regional Field Manager, National Center for Learning Disabilities (ncld.org) My son has always been inquisitive and full of life. He loved to build structures out of recycled materials, playing with friends and asking “why”. But in first grade his curiosity began to be replaced with fear. He struggled to write his name,…
Originally appeared in the Thomas B. Fordham Institute’s Flypaper By Christopher Rom A short new report by A+ Colorado evaluates the recent gains of Denver Public Schools (DPS) in a way that education leaders elsewhere might beneficially heed. First, we see that more DPS students met grade level proficiency for Math and ELA in 2016…
By Chris Geary, Guest Blogger As an AP World History teacher at a charter school in the Far Northeast of Denver that holds uniquely high expectations for students, I have witnessed the fundamental necessity of expecting students to perform to the best of their ability on a daily basis. Students absolutely can, and will repeatedly,…
Reposted from the PERAscope blog If you can tear yourself away for a moment from the endless news stories about tweets and executive orders, then by all means settle in and read this compelling new report by The Thomas B. Fordham institute. “No Money in the Bank” does more than layout the many dimensions of the…
By Sarah Kurz, LiveWell Colorado Vice President of Policy and Communications While Coloradans have much to be proud of, the reality is that we’re not as healthy as we think we are, especially our kids. Colorado’s great quality of life has attracted healthy, educated adults yet we’ve struggled to provide that same healthy environment for…
By: Peter Huidekoper, Jr. When our final ACT results were released last month, there was good news. Chalkbeat Colorado opened its story with a Well done! Colorado is ending its run with the ACT college entrance exam on a high note. The state’s overall average composite score last year was a 20.4, the highest it’s been…
By Laura Lefkowits In 1995, Federal District Court Judge Richard Matsch terminated the decades-old desegregation order for Denver Public Schools claiming that the district had “removed the vestiges of past discrimination to the extent practicable.” As it turned out, the “extent practicable” in Denver was minimal given the exit from DPS of over 30,000 mostly…
By Jan Brennan Can one semester of civics prepare metro Denver youth for an active and informed role in democracy and community life? If you are doubtful, the statistics should strengthen your skepticism. The National Assessment of Educational Progress reports that only 23% of American 8th grade students demonstrated civics proficiency in 2014[i]. A Crisis…
Another View #141 Peter Huidekoper,Jr. http://anotherviewphj.blogspot.com/ January 5, 2016 Curiosity – a key ingredient to better schools We celebrate curiosity in our students. Their curiosity and wonder provides much of the joy for those of us who teach. We depend on it. Even for our jaded juniors and seniors, thank God, it’s still there. Education…
By Dr. Philip Bernhardt The recent opening of Northfield High School (NHS) in Denver is a significant event that anyone committed to educating children and improving schools needs to be paying close attention to. Why pay attention? First, Northfield HS has de-tracked its academic programming; all students participate in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma pathway.…