These posts are the opinions of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of A+ Colorado.
Originally Posted by EducationNext on December 23, 2013. Copyright © educationnext.org. Written by Andy Smarick. Read here. I’ve obviously made up my mind about School Improvement Grants (SIG) and other school turnaround efforts. But I suspect many others are still wondering if turnaround attempts are a sensible strategy for creating more high-quality seats for kids in need. And I’m…
A+ Denver is excited to announce that BoardWatch Denver, a project steered by a team of committed A+ volunteers, will today become Chalkbeat Colorado’s School Board Tracker. Chalkbeat will be transforming BoardWatch from a rating system that graded the school board’s governance into a journalistic endeavor that will allow the public to easily access the voting history of school board members.…
Dear Friends: Welcome back to school! Denver schools got off to great starts even with the various changes at the school and district level. The weather cooperated so we avoided overheated classrooms. This seemed to be one of the smoothest starts in years. District Updates New year, New plan We were thrilled to see the…
Originally Posted by The Denver Post on August 14, 2014. Copyright © denverpost.com. Written by Eric Gorski and Yesenia Robles. Read here. Colorado students in 2014 took slight steps backward on the small academic gains made on standardized tests in recent years, part of a long-term trend of flat scores, results released Thursday show. The…
Originally Posted by Colorado Public Radio on August 13, 2014. Copyright © cpr.org. Written by Jenny Brundin. Read here. Despite aggressive efforts to help struggling students, scores on the tests public school children sweat over every spring continue their stagnant trend. TCAPs, which is short for Transitional Colorado Assessment Program, are the tests half a…
Dear friends, On August 13 Colorado’s 2014 TCAP scores will be released, and as has happened since “Nation at Risk” was released in 1983, almost everyone will be frustrated with what will likely be only small, incremental improvement. Some will blame reforms, saying they’ve been too weak, too strong, or misguided. Others will point to…
Originally Posted by San Jose Mercury News on June 30, 2014. Copyright © mercurynews.com/insidebayarea.com. Written by Doug Oakley. Read here. OAKLAND — Like a large number of the 37,000 public school students here who are now under his care, Antwan Wilson grew up poor with just a single teenage mom to guide him. Oakland’s new…
Dear friends, In 2013, Mat Honan wrote an article for WIRED called Why Subtraction Is the Hardest Math in Product Design. He points out that simplicity sticks, saying it has “made hits of the Nest thermostat, Fitbit, and TiVo. Simple brought Apple back from the dead. It’s why you have Netflix. The Fisher Space Pen,…
Originally Posted by Chalkbeat Colorado on June 25, 2014. Copyright © co.chalkbeat.org. Written by Todd Engdahl. Read here. Voter turnout, ballot position and hurried, low-visibility campaigns likely were more important than education issues in Val Flores’ victory over Taggart Hansen in the Democratic primary for the 1st District seat on the State Board of Education.…
Originally Posted by The Denver Post on June 18, 2014. Copyright © denverpost.com. Written by Bob Deibel and Terrance Carroll. Read here. Colorado’s students (and our state) won a major victory in the Denver District Court earlier this month when Judge Michael A. Martinez dismissed a lawsuit brought by five former teachers, the Denver Classroom…