About Education

This page contains an archive of the last 100 entries posted to ProgressNow.org Daily News Digest in the Education category. They are listed from newest to oldest. You can find older entries using the search box below.

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February 29, 2008

Teacher sex bill shifted : Colorado Government : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/29/teacher-sex-bill-shifted/...
Concerned over reports of schoolteachers involved in sexual misconduct with students and other illegal behavior, lawmakers transferred a bill giving school districts a 24-hour deadline to report violations to the state from the House Education Committee to the Judiciary Committee on Thursday. "I think the issues on this bill are much more legal than educational," said Mike Merrifield, D-Manitou Springs, chairman of the Education Committee. No testimony was taken and no new hearing date was set.
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Teacher abuse bill moves to Judiciary Committee : State and West : Boulder Daily Camera

http://dailycamera.com/news/2008/feb/29/legislature-teacher-abuse-bill-moves-to/...
Concerned over reports of schoolteachers involved in sexual misconduct with students and other illegal behavior, lawmakers transferred a bill giving school districts a 24-hour deadline to report violations to the state from the House Education Committee to the Judiciary Committee on Thursday.
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Applications to CU spike : CU News : Boulder Daily Camera

http://dailycamera.com/news/2008/feb/29/applications-to-cu-spike-number-of-fresh...
Freshman applications to the University of Colorado's flagship campus have hit an all-time high, increasing 16 percent from this time last year and blowing past the 20,000 mark. So far, CU has received a total of 23,030 applications from potential freshmen -- which compares with 19,839 at the same time last year. Of those, 8,420 are from Colorado students, and 14,610 are from out-of-state applicants, said CU Admissions Director Kevin MacLennan. "We are seeing an increase in applicants from both in Colorado and outside of Colorado," he said. Out-of-state students pay five times what in-state students pay and, university officials say, have subsidized Colorado students as taxpayer funding has declined. The target size for next year's freshman class is 5,600, MacLennan said. Last fall, there were 5,555 incoming freshmen.
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Craig Daily Press / School board decides to postpone Bible class decision

http://www.craigdailypress.com/news/2008/feb/29/school_board_decides_postpone_bi...
The Moffat County School board decided to hold off approving a Bible literature and history course until a review period scheduled for the 2010-11 school year. Pete Bergmann, MCHS superintendent, recommended the action to the group at the School Board’s monthly meeting Thursday night, calling them to “commit to consider” the course and similar curricular additions. Father Randy Dolins, St. Michael Catholic Church priest, saw the decision as a fair compromise between the school district and concerned Craig citizens who petitioned for the course. “The proposal that was approved satisfied the needs of both parties,” Dolins said.
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News : Schools looking to implement Safe-2-Tell program (Montrose, CO)

http://montrosepress.com/articles/2008/02/29/news/doc47c785a8c65c7640536553.txt...
Information on a Safe-2-Tell program will be distributed throughout the community next week, as many supporters believe community awareness is the basis for the program’s success. Safe-2-Tell, based on the Colorado Prevention Initiative for School Safety, provides a safe, anonymous way to report information about a crime, potential dangerous situation or other concerns.
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Grand Junction Sentinel - Campus tests emergency alert system

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/02/28/022908_1B_mesa_st...
Cell phones lit up across campus Thursday at Mesa State College, where roughly half of the students got a test message for the college’s new emergency text and cell phone alert system. The campus test showed that the phone calls went out a lot faster than the text messages, college spokeswoman Dana Nunn said. Calls went out in 30 seconds. The text messages took longer, in some cases as long as two minutes, Nunn said. “What we’re going to look at now is setting it up so that everybody gets both (types of messages) to see if we can’t speed it up,” Nunn said.
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February 28, 2008

Aspen Times News - Colorado’s education boss says student tests need overhaul

http://aspentimes.com/article/20080228/NEWS/971083895...
Colorado’s top education official kept them chuckling and applauding Wednesday at Aspen High School, where he gave an hour-long talk on his plans to shake things up a bit at the Colorado Department of Education. Dwight Jones, Colorado’s new commissioner of education, was on a tour of Western Slope districts when he spoke before a group of Aspen teachers and administrators. Among the changes Jones predicted was an overhaul of the Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) testing program, including the possibility that recently-arrived foreign students will not be forced to take the CSAP tests in English in their first year, an idea that drew applause from the Aspen teachers. The controversial testing program, which started in the 1990s, has been criticized by some as not really contributing to a better education for the state’s children but is supported by others as being in line with the federal No Child Left Behind Act and a valuable tool in assessing student progress.
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Debut near for guv's sweeping ed-reform bill : Politics : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/27/debut-near-guvs-sweeping-ed-re...
Gov. Bill Ritter has been promising sweeping education reform since he began his run for the state's top office in 2006. That kind of change could come about under a bill to be introduced in the Senate as early as next week, with Ritter's blessing. The measure, circulating in draft form among lawmakers and educators, would establish a statewide standard for what constitutes readiness for college or the workforce. High school graduation requirements and curriculum would be revised to reflect the new standards. And tests adminstered under the Colorado Student Assessment Program — a subject of long-running complaint among teachers and some parents — would follow the new curriculum. Testing would extend to 12th grade. It now ends in 10th grade. "This is a comprehensive sea change in the way that we approach education policy in this state," said Matt Gianneschi, Ritter's education advisor. The bill permits school districts to scrap traditional course structures if students can meet the readiness standards in a different way. "What we're saying is, it's the competencies that matter, and so if you can deliver that in a curriculum that doesn't look anything like what the curriculum in the school district next door to you has, fine," Gianneschi said.
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Grand Junction Sentinel - Group gives District 51's Web site low rating

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/02/27/022808_1b_Dist__5...
A nonprofit policy research organization with its eye on school districts statewide has put District 51’s Web site on the bottom of the list of the state’s 20 largest districts, because of accessibility of information on open enrollment and other factors. The Independence Institute’s Education Policy Center in Golden evaluated the Web sites of 20 of the state’s largest school districts based on the comprehensiveness and accessibility of open enrollment information, scoring both of those factors in January 2007 and July 2007. The information was released this week in the report titled “Open Enrollment and the Internet: An Evaluation of Colorado School District Web Sites.” District 51 has made improvements since then to its Web site, www.mesa.k12.co.us/2003/index.cfm.
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CSU Campus News - The Coloradoan - Purchasing change could save Colorado State millions

http://coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080228/CSUZONE01/802280368/10...
A new system for buying everything from lawn furniture to hazardous chemicals and cars may eventually help Colorado State University save $10 million annually, university officials say. The new system funnels purchases through a central program, helping financial administrators better understand exactly what university departments are buying.
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Mystery donor leaves $1 million to Naropa : Local News : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/28/mystery-donor-leaves-1-million...
Who dunnit? An anonymous donor has left Naropa University $1 million in her will, the Boulder-based institution announced Wednesday. It's the largest such posthumous gift in the school's 34-year history, and comes with some intriguing question marks. "Part of the mystery and the power of this gift is we don't know what her precise connection was to the university," said Christopher Dwyer, vice president for institutional advancement. The bequest will be distributed in segments to Naropa through 2011. The first amount has gone into the endowment fund. The president and its board of trustees will determine future placements. No strings are attached to the money.
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"Shackles" of structure cast off in child-directed "unschooling" - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8385957...
To an outsider, the scene looks more like summer vacation than a day of learning. But it's all part of the free-form curriculum that defines this type of home schooling — based on the idea that learning is a natural consequence of living. It needn't be boxed into time increments, targeted at certain age groups, limited to traditional school subjects or measured in tests. Generally speaking, most home-schoolers follow a traditional curriculum of math, science and social studies. Much of their education is guided by textbooks and scheduled lesson plans. Flip that whole notion over, and you have unschooling. If unschoolers wake up one morning with an interest in horse training, salamanders or ancient Chinese dynasties, that is what they study. Their sources could be the Internet, museums, farms, library books, movies or professionals in their field of interest.
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Durango Herald Online - Cunningham withdraws application

http://durangoherald.com/asp-bin/article_generation.asp?article_type=news&articl...
Shalee Cunningham, who was tentatively chosen a month ago as the next superintendent of Durango schools, has withdrawn her application, the school board announced Wednesday. "Shalee has withdrawn her application, and we are going to reopen the search and try to look for some other candidates," said Jeff Schell, a school board member. "Unfortunately, I can't comment on much more than that."
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Elementary school evacuated after students, staff become ill : Local News : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/27/children-sickened-school-evacu...
Lumberg Elementary School in Edgewater was evacuated Wednesday after several students and staff members complained of headaches and nausea, but the source of the illness remained a mystery, authorities said. Nine students and four teachers were treated at nearby Jefferson High School, then taken to Lutheran Hospital as a precaution shortly after the school was evacuated about 1 p.m., a spokeswoman for Jefferson County Schools said.
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Top Stories: Substitute teacher faces felony charge | teacher, colorado, springs : Gazette.com

http://www.gazette.com/articles/teacher_33608___article.html/colorado_springs.ht...
A 73-year-old substitute teacher at Wasson High School was arrested by Colorado Springs police Feb. 15. A 15-year-old boy told police the male teacher offered to pay him $1,000 to allow the teacher to perform oral sex on him, according to an arrest affidavit.
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February 27, 2008

News : One less penalty? CSAP bill could benefit schools’ ratings (Montrose, CO)

http://montrosepress.com/articles/2008/02/27/news/doc47c4e24f006f1364045411.txt...
Schools will have one less “penalty” to worry about if HB 1186 makes its way through the Colorado General Assembly. HB 1186 passed the Colorado House last week and is now in the hands of the senate’s education committee. The bill, which has strong support from educators, would eliminate the penalty schools receive if a parent chooses not to have their child participate in the Colorado Student Assessment Program. The bill states, “The formula for calculating academic performance ratings unfairly penalizes a school for each student who misses one of the (CSAP tests), regardless of why the student did not take the test and regardless of the student’s actual knowledge level with respect to the subject matter.”
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Grand Junction Sentinel - 2 GJ schools score above state average

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/02/26/022708_1a_school_...
The Colorado Department of Education on Tuesday named Orchard Avenue and Taylor elementary schools among 39 schools statewide whose economically disadvantaged students outscored the state average on the Colorado Student Assessment Program testing in at least two subjects for three consecutive years. “Much of our success in this realm of meeting the needs of lower-income kids is with our early intervention,” said Corey Hafey, principal of Taylor Elementary School. “We have people resources and monetary resources to meet the needs of those kids. It’s a team effort. The kids at Taylor are our kids.”
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The Pueblo Chieftain Online - Achievement gap report highlights 3 schools

http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1204126358/2...
Three Pueblo city schools were among eight statewide that were highlighted in a report released Tuesday for their work in reducing the state's achievement gap. While there are 39 schools around Colorado that have high instances of students in their free and reduced lunch programs, but have shown consistent improvements in closing the so-called achievement gap for poor and minority students, only eight were chosen to take part in a study about why. Three of those schools - Cesar Chavez Academy, Pueblo School for the Arts & Sciences and South Park Elementary - were picked to be more closely examined. They're all in the Pueblo City Schools, which has nine other schools that similarly have a narrower achievement gap than other schools in the state.
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Lessons of hope : Education : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/27/lessons-of-hope/...
Academic rigor - insisting that students work to get the right answer - is among the reasons why Valley View Elementary School north of Denver scores well year after year on statewide achievement tests, even though 62 percent of the children are from lower-income homes. But Valley View, part of the Mapleton school district, has an additional distinction, according to a study released Tuesday. Students in the fourth and fifth grades earn scores higher than the statewide average for all students in reading and writing. The fifth-graders also bettered the state average in math.
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Aspen Times News - Aspen event ignites national science debate

http://aspentimes.com/article/20080227/NEWS/427317897...
Aspen often is embroiled in national issues, but this might be the first time that national attention involves the town’s role in encouraging more intensive science and technology education in U.S. schools. Building on an idea that apparently first came to light at an Aspen seminar last summer, a national collection of scientists, college leaders and other thinkers is trying to get the leading U.S. presidential candidates to join a debate on science and technology policy. Sciencedebate2008, touting itself as a “citizens initiative,” recently announced candidates had been formally invited to a debate at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia on April 18, four days before the Pennsylvania primary. Kevin Ward, executive director of the Aspen Science Center, said the push for a national debate featuring presidential candidates was first raised at an Aspen Science Center forum, “Getting It Right: Science and the Media In the Emerging Media Landscape,” held last July. The science center, co-founded by Ward and Woody Creek physicist George Stranahan, is affiliated with the Aspen Center for Physics and is based on the Aspen Meadows campus. One of those who attended the “science and media summit,” as it became known, was Lawrence Krauss, professor of physics at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio. Krauss is a steering committee member for Sciencedebate2008, which formally began in December.
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Naropa gets $1 million gift : County News : Boulder Daily Camera

http://dailycamera.com/news/2008/feb/26/naropa-gets-1-million-gift/...
Naropa University announced Tuesday that the estate of an anonymous donor has given the school a $1 million bequest, to be used by the Boulder-based institution without restrictions. It's not clear when the contribution was made, but the school said fund distribution began in July and will continue through 2011. Last year, Naropa’s board of trustees, acting on the recommendation of President Thomas B. Coburn, placed the first installment of $171,540 into the university endowment.
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The Coloradoan - Thompson considers meal-cost increase

http://coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080227/NEWS01/802270305/1002/...
Due to rapidly increasing food costs, the Thompson School District proposes increases in the price of school breakfasts and lunches for the first time in three years.
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Colorado Daily News - Lessons learned

http://coloradodaily.com/articles/2008/02/26/news/c_u_and_boulder/news2.txt...
Despite the two major college campus shootings that have occurred in the last year, there is almost no way CU could prevent a shooting on campus, officials say. CU Spokesperson Bronson Hilliard said the only way a shooting could be completely avoided on campus would be if a large wall was built around the university with metal detectors and everyone was checked as they entered CU. “It's a public university by nature,” Hilliard said. “People have to be able to come and go.” Hilliard said CU has had a number of plans in place to ensure campus safety for a long time and that they have not changed since the Northern Illinois University (NIU) shooting. Each campus, he said, needs to make a plan that works for them.
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Changes OK'd for Brighton charter school : Education : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/27/changes-okd-for-brighton-chart...
A plan submitted by the embattled Brighton Collegiate Charter School was approved Tuesday night by the school board - with some revisions. The district added some provisions that would require the former Brighton Charter School - which is supervised by its own board - to expand its board by two members and have all members trained on board governance. The charter school board has five members now. Last month, the school district ordered Brighton Collegiate to come up with a corrective plan this month to address its problems, or risk losing its charter. Within the past 19 months, three teachers at the school have been accused of having sexual contact with students.
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More death threats on restroom walls | News | The Tribune

http://greeleytribune.com/article/20080227/NEWS/604830377...
Despite the charges filed against a middle school girl earlier this month, more death threats against Greeley's mayor have been written on the walls of girls' restrooms at University Middle School. Greeley police are investigating new threats, which appeared Friday and Monday.
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Pills put 3 teens in legal trouble - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8372057...
Trying to impress an older girl, a 13-year-old Castle Rock Middle School student gave her three of his father's Vicodin pills on the school bus Monday, police said. The incident follows a Feb. 8 case in which eight Castle View High School students were taken to a local hospital after taking oxycodone brought to school by one of the students. Tuesday, a seventh-grader gave the pills to a 15-year-old sophomore who rides the same bus but attends Castle View High School, police said. The 10th-grade girl then gave one of the pills to a 14-year-old eighth-grader, who still had the pill when authorities learned of the drugs on campus. Eventually a student told school officials, who called police. All of the students face expulsion.
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February 26, 2008

CU and Mizzou similar in college president picks : CU News : Boulder Daily Camera

http://dailycamera.com/news/2008/feb/26/college-president-cu-and-mizzou-similar-...
A business executive -- with only a bachelor's degree -- becomes the 22nd president of a multi-campus university system, causing some stir among professors concerned that he didn't come through the ranks of academia. Last week, Sprint Nextel CEO Gary Forsee took over as the head of the University of Missouri with circumstances parallel to the presidential appointment at the University of Colorado. That same week, CU's regents"To the degree there have been questions about it, President Forsee has been emphatic that he respects our faculty, and that he understands the faculty are at the heart of the academy. He understands that he has to earn their respect. He's not coming in demanding it. He's quite aware that skeptics are out there." Scott Chartan spokesman for the University of Missouri voted 6-3 to appoint oil and gas executive Bruce Benson the system's 22nd president, marking the first time that a CU president will not hold tenure because he lacks an advanced degree. Higher-education experts say the role of the university president is evolving, with nontraditional leaders coming from outside the academy and fundraising becoming a top priority for schools. But that's met with a degree of skepticism from academics.
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Grand Junction Sentinel - Lawmakers planning school reform

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/02/25/022608_1a_school_...
The governor’s office and state lawmakers plan to unveil a comprehensive education reform proposal this week aimed at fundamentally rewriting the state’s content standards and standardized tests. Sen. Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction, said the bill will work in three phases: first, to strengthen Colorado’s course content standards; second, to mesh the new standards with the Colorado Student Assessment Program tests and “deal with the very real deficiencies in CSAP” tests; and, third, to create a new diploma for advanced-level students. Penry said the proposal, co-sponsored by Sen. Chris Romer, D-Denver, and Rep. Rob Witwer, R-Golden, will mark a revolutionary alignment of curriculum standards from preschool through high school. “It will attempt to create a new philosophy, a belief system that in order to succeed in the 21st century marketplace, all kids need something beyond high school,” said Evan Dreyer, spokesman for the governor, “whether that’s vocational education or certificate training or traditional college.” Dreyer said the governor’s plan, as carried by Penry and others, will move Colorado away from graduation standards based on “seat time” and toward a model focused on subject proficiency.
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The Coloradoan - PSD board to weigh applying again for chartering authority

http://coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080226/NEWS01/802260323/1002/...
Poudre School District's Board of Education will decide whether to apply for "exclusive chartering authority" again this year after being denied by the state three years in a row. Exclusive chartering authority grants districts the ability to be the sole decision makers on whether a charter school can exist in district boundaries. At the regularly scheduled business meeting and work session tonight, school board members will decide whether to accept Superintendent Jerry Wilson's recommendation not to seek the designation this year, which is granted by the state's school board. "The state board decisions have been capricious without grounding in the past so why spend the district's money for the effort to go do it again?" board member Jim Hayes said.
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UNC education dean named to literacy council | News | The Tribune

http://greeleytribune.com/article/20080226/NEWS/112370394...
Eugene Sheehan, dean of Education and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Northern Colorado, has been named to the Colorado Literacy Council by Dwight Jones, Colorado education commissioner. The council will advise the Colorado Department of Education on literacy initiatives. The 11-member council includes representatives from the Colorado Department of Education, the Colorado Council International Reading Association, K-12 rural literacy programs, colleges of education and community colleges as well as a nationally recognized literacy expert.
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The Steamboat Pilot & Today: Forensics team qualifies four Sailors for state tourney

http://steamboatpilot.com/news/2008/feb/26/forensics_team_qualifies_four_sailors...
The Steamboat Springs High School forensics team will send four of its members to the state tournament after dissecting the regional competition last weekend in Delta.
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The Pueblo Chieftain Online - Centennial prospers, wins state science bowl

http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1204039012/8...
Centennial High School on Saturday won the Colorado High School Science Bowl in Littleton. It was the second year in a row that the Bulldogs captured top honors. Centennial beat Denver’s D’Evelyn Senior High School in the final round, a rapid-fire session of questions and answers about physics, math, biology, astronomy, chemistry, computers and the Earth sciences. Coach Jay Mead, a chemistry teacher at Centennial, said members of the winning team were seniors McIan Amos, Kirk Dressen, Paul Macias and Ian Milligan and junior Theodore Puls. The competition drew 29 teams from across the state for the daylong competition at Dakota Ridge High School in Littleton.
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Colorado Daily News - Party hiatus

http://coloradodaily.com/articles/2008/02/25/news/c_u_and_boulder/news1.txt...
CU Panhellenic sororities have suspended all activities involving alcohol or men, following two separate incidents in which intoxicated members came to bid-day events. The suspension began Feb. 10 and will be lifted March 1. In early February, two new sorority members arrived drunk at their sorority chapter social event, according to CU junior Lauren Wright, the Panhellenic director of public relations. Student leaders took the intoxicated women to the hospital. A few days later, the same incident happened again, involving two other new members from a different chapter.
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Delta Chi fraternity remains suspended : CU News : Boulder Daily Camera

http://dailycamera.com/news/2008/feb/26/delta-chi-fraternity-remains-suspended/...
Boulder's Delta Chi chapter could remain suspended for the rest of the semester after nine pledges were arrested on suspicion of badly vandalizing two hotel rooms in Estes Park, fraternity officials said Monday.
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February 25, 2008

Records you're free to see don't come free : Education : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/25/records-youre-free-to-see-dont...
Want to see how much taxpayers paid state Board of Education members on their expense accounts? It could cost you. Want to find out if there are any complaints against the state's 8,000 foster-care homes? Those also are public records, but you'll have to pay state employees to redact confidential information. If you're planning to get public records from the Colorado Department of Revenue, it'll cost $15 an hour to find the records if that effort requires an hour or more. It'll cost $28 an hour if you want your information converted to a computer disk. Want to find out in general what state records are available and for how much? Sorry. The cost and availability of public records varies widely among state agencies. "Our attorneys said that request is overly broad. Each agency maintains different records and the policies are different," said Evan Dreyer, spokesman for Gov. Bill Ritter, who oversees 19 state departments and offices. State lawmakers aren't exempt from the barriers. Rep. Gwyn Green, D-Golden, said the state Department of Transportation tried to charge her $350 for public documents she needed to help a constituent. Green refused to pay and didn't get the documents. "I don't think lawmakers should be forced to pay for public documents they need to do their jobs," Green said.
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ProgressNow in the news: Benson: From roughneck to CU president : Bruce Benson : Boulder Daily Camera

http://dailycamera.com/news/2008/feb/24/benson-from-roughneck-to-cu-president/...
Some CU faculty members have said they are concerned that Benson tried to revise rules to weaken tenure when he chaired the board. Some professors -- including the head of the Boulder campus's chapter of the American Association of University Professors, an academic-freedom watchdog group -- have said they are worried that Benson will try to weaken faculty rights and due process at CU. Jordan said he is convinced that he will pick up more support while he is at CU. He said that while Benson was on the board at Metro, the two would hold a regularly scheduled weekly meeting. "He's always opened to being persuaded," Jordan said. "I think that is how he wins people over. He's clear with them on how he sees something initially. He is a very careful listener. He can be persuaded, and once he is, he becomes your biggest supporter." Michael Huttner -- executive director of ProgressNow, the left-leaning activist group that launched a campaign opposing Benson's candidacy -- said he hopes that Benson lives up to commitment to reject his partisan political past and embrace energy and climate research at CU's campuses. He said the group will hold Benson accountable, and has been concerned that he will put his personal political agenda before the interest of CU. "For the sake of the CU community, we hope that Benson proves us wrong," Huttner said.
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Governors hear Ritter's school plan - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8354019...
Targeting at-risk students and finding accurate methods for measuring learning are cornerstones of Colorado's new education initiative, Gov. Bill Ritter told a panel of governors Sunday. "It's about what we should be measuring in terms of learning," Ritter said. "It's kind of the biggest thing we've done in Colorado in terms of education reform in a really long time." Ritter spoke at a meeting of the Education, Early Childhood and Workforce Committee during the National Governors Association conference. The panel discussed elements of Colorado's plan, as well as those in Virginia, Oklahoma, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Ritter gave information on his three-year plan, which will specify accomplishments that students must master in each grade. The initiative will revamp testing, possibly creating new tests that assess student skill levels. Colleges would use those scores as part of their admissions criteria. The Democratic governor also is likely to assemble a panel of experts who would recommend new curriculum standards, update exams and create a tiered diploma system. Ritter told the governors that he developed the initiative in part to break a partisan logjam over how to boost achievement and lower dropout rates.
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Math drop a big test for schools : Updates : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/25/math-score-drop-a-big-test-for...
Students across Colorado are struggling with math, according to results of statewide achievement tests. And the test scores go down as the students get older. The vast majority of students - 68 percent - scored at the proficient or advanced level in the third grade in tests given last spring under the Colorado Student Assessment Program, or CSAP. But only 30 percent of 10th-graders scored at that level. The pattern has been the same for five years - a nearly straight decline between third and 10th grades in the percentage of students who score at the proficient or advanced levels. The pattern is the same in most of the state's 176 school districts. Jurisdictions that serve more affluent students show more success among 10th-graders. But the proficiency rate of 10th-graders is still lower than those of third- graders in the same district. CSAP reading scores, on the other hand, do not show the same pattern of decline. Those scores remain roughly level as students advance in grade.
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Teachers, students can be poor match : Education : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/25/teachers-students-can-be-poor-...
Parlez-vous math? Some kids do poorly in math because their teachers are speaking a foreign language of math concepts. Chris Umbriaco, 16, a junior at Jefferson County's Bear Creek High School, said his problem with math is "all the big words." "Like 'integers.' If you don't know what they are, it's confusing," Umbriaco said. Umbriaco is in a special class where he gets help with math basics along with Algebra II, the standard 11th-grade course. Heaven Perez, 14, a Bear Creek freshman, attributes her math woes to a lack of communication with math teachers. "It's weird, because they think I'm getting it, and I'm not," said Perez, who is also receiving extra help alongside the standard ninth-grade math course. Some experts say the students have a point about a lack of communication with math teachers. Math whizzes - a group that includes most of the people who become math teachers - often need help communicating with students who are unlike themselves.
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Grand Junction Sentinel - Funds fete high rollers

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/02/22/022308_1b_casino_...
Champagne flowed and dice rolled Friday night at Mesa State’s Brownson Arena where nearly 500 students, faculty and supporters of the college attended Casino Night. Meanwhile, Mesa State President Tim Foster announced the college passed its $6 million goal for the Saunders Capital Campaign with an additional $250,000 pledge made by ConocoPhillips. “As many of you know, a few days ago we were $250,000 shy of our $6 million goal,” said Mesa State President Tim Foster. “Wednesday, I got a call from Kurt Froistad with ConocoPhillips letting us know that they wanted to help us in this effort.” A few hours earlier, officials from Mesa State College and the University of Colorado at Boulder announced a partnership between the colleges to start a mechanical engineering program at Mesa State to start in the fall.
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Charter to fight DPS on closure - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8347684...
In a second-floor classroom of Denver Arts & Technology Academy, teacher Adrienne Nault called her second-grade students around her and fielded their difficult questions. "Why," asked student Inea Scott, "do they want to close our school?" Denver's school board voted 4-3 Thursday to close the northwest Denver charter after this year, citing chronic academic problems, financial mismanagement and lack of student growth. "One thing is for sure," Nault told the class. "It's not your fault. It's kind of a grown-up thing right now." On Friday, school officials called an assembly to explain to the 400 students what occurred. Administrators promised to appeal the decision to the state board and asked the students to rally Tuesday.
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Plan busts school mold - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8347762...
Loveland High School used to offer watered-down math for students flunking geometry and algebra. Then the geometry and construction teachers created a course that's all the rage at Loveland High — a house-building class where students learn the slope of a line by determining the pitch of a roof. The school started with two classes last year and now has six. Enrolled students have outperformed their classmates on state tests. And now Thompson School District is creating an algebra course where students will convert a gas-guzzling car to an electric one. That creative course design is an illustration of what Gov. Bill Ritter envisions under his new education initiative — a revamping of curricula from preschool to college to produce courses focused more on content than titles. Details of the governor's initiative are still sketchy, though a 28-page draft of the legislation is likely to become official this week.
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Jeffco excited by school work - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8354618...
In 1956, the same year Elvis Presley first hit the music charts, Golden High School opened its doors. Golden will relinquish its title of being the oldest school in Jefferson County School District in August when a $33 million, 188,500-square-foot facility opens just up the hill. Like many of the district's 85,000 students, the Golden Demons are ready for a new school. "You go to other schools, and they're really nice," said sophomore Adalius Frank. "It's getting exciting," fellow sophomore Angela Noonan said as workmen swarmed around the new building. Another sophomore, Matthew Anderson, said, "Everything's run-down" in the current building. "The bathrooms are terrible, the lockers." The work has been paid for through a $323.8 million bond issue approved by voters in 2004 and more than $100 million from internal district sources such as transfers, fees and property sales. In 2010 — after six years of renovations, repairs and replacements — 334 projects will have been completed throughout the state's largest school district.
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The Coloradoan - School district makes split decision

http://coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080225/NEWS01/802250339/1002/...
In an emotional 4-3 vote Sunday, the Thompson School District board selected Ron Cabrera as the district's next superintendent. Cabrera, who officials say will become the district's first Hispanic superintendent, will take the helm of a district as it looks to better prepare students for a 21st-century learning environment, one where educators have to ready students for high-tech skills and jobs that don't exist yet.
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The Longmont Times-Call - Zila stays in Longmont; Cabrera new Thompson superintendent

http://www.timescall.com/News_Story.asp?id=6796...
St. Vrain Valley superintendent Randy Zila will not be the next superintendent of the Thompson School District. A divided school board voted 4-3 Sunday night to hire Ron Cabrera, the deputy superintendent of Adams County District 50 and a Longmont resident. Just before the announcement, board president Bill McCreary said that Zila had withdrawn his name from consideration.
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Platte Valley seeks school board member | News | The Tribune

http://greeleytribune.com/article/20080225/NEWS/598222581...
Wanted: One school board member. The Platte Valley Re-7 School District in Kersey continues its search for a District D candidate after nobody ran in the November election. One person applied for appointment since then but lived two-tenths of a mile outside the district boundary lines, so the hunt goes on.
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