Author: Ann Schimke Chalkbeat Colorado
-
More Colorado children will get state-funded full-day preschool classes this year
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save More than 11,000 Colorado children will get free full-day classes through the state’s universal preschool program this year, more than double the number last year, state officials said. The increase means progress toward one of the state’s original goals for the preschool-for-all program — extra hours…
-
No, 1,000 Colorado child care programs are not about to close
The headlines started appearing in July and August: A child care catastrophe was looming. Nearly 1,100 Colorado child care programs would shutter and 83,000 young children in the state would lose care after federal COVID aid expired in September, according to projections from a national think tank. The numbers were part of a state-by-state forecast…
-
Marshmallows vs. chocolate: Kids tackle first day of school amid Colorado’s universal preschool launch
—
by
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save “Would you rather eat only chocolate or only marshmallows?” teacher Jordan Parsons asked the gaggle of preschoolers sitting on the rug in front of her. Most of the 13 kids bounded to the left side of the rug, several gleefully jumping and shrieking at the…
-
Fears flare that Colorado free preschool could shortchange kids with learning delays
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Editor’s note: Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools. As state leaders prepare to launch Colorado’s free preschool program next fall, some educators and advocates fear young children with disabilities will lose out under the new system. They say 3-year-olds…
-
Free meals will be offered in most Colorado school districts next year. Is yours one of them?
Many Colorado school districts, including Jeffco, Cherry Creek, Aurora, and Adams 12, plan to offer free school meals to all students starting in the fall of 2023 through a new state program funded with a voter-approved tax measure affecting high earners. Of two dozen districts surveyed by Chalkbeat, 16 plan to offer universal free meals…
-
Wider range of Colorado children to qualify for 20 hours a week of free preschool
Colorado children from low- and even middle-income families likely will be eligible for 20 hours a week of free preschool next year. That’s double the 10 hours a week guaranteed to all 4-year-olds under the state’s preschool law. Children who speak languages other than English at home or who have disabilities will also be eligible…
-
COVID relief money helps Colorado schools pay for math and reading curriculum
Dozens of Colorado school districts and charter schools are buying new math and reading curriculum with help from $10 million in federal pandemic relief. State officials announced Wednesday that 42 districts and 28 charter schools will receive grants to purchase reading curriculum for early elementary grades and math curriculum for elementary and middle school. The $10 million…
-
Colorado educators among Teacher of the Year finalists
Colorado’s seven 2023 Teacher of the Year finalists include three teachers from metro Denver districts, one from Colorado Springs, one from Fort Collins, and two from rural districts. The state education department announced the finalists Thursday and will pick a winner by the end of October. The Teacher of the Year represents Colorado in the…
-
Lessons for Colorado from states with universal preschool
When Colorado launches free preschool for 4-year-olds in 2023, it will join a half-dozen other states that already offer universal preschool. All of them have encountered the same tricky task Colorado leaders now face as they try to knit together a disparate patchwork of public and private preschools into an equitable and high-quality statewide system.…
-
Colorado cracking down on schools using weak reading curriculum
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Colorado officials have ordered 15% of the state’s school districts to replace low-quality elementary reading programs, a major step toward enforcing a 2019 law that requires schools to use reading curriculum backed by science in kindergarten through third grade. The state education department sent out…