Tag: Education
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GUEST COLUMN: Declining K-12 enrollment is a wake-up call
News reports confirm what many school districts already know: public school enrollment in Colorado is steadily declining. The state lost roughly 10,000 public school students in just the past year, part of a multi-year trend now playing out nationwide. Some have sounded the alarm. In truth, this moment is less a crisis than a realignment…
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Cherry Creek School District Assistant Superintendent Tony Poole placed on administrative leave
Cherry Creek School District Assistant Superintendent Tony Poole has been placed on administrative leave, district officials confirmed Wednesday. Lauren Snell, a district spokesperson, declined to say whether Poole’s administrative leave was paid or not. Poole started with the school district in 1989 as a teacher and worked his way up the ranks to assistant superintendent…
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Cherry Creek assistant superintendent to leave full-time post amid district leadership upheaval
Cherry Creek School District Assistant Superintendent Tony Poole will not return to full-time work at the end of the school year and will instead transition to a limited post-employment arrangement. Ashley Verville, a district spokesperson, said the move was not a signal that Poole is retiring while acknowledging “110s are often a transition into retirement.”…
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GUEST COLUMN: Empowering Colorado’s parents and workforce
Colorado parents know a simple truth that policymakers too often ignore: no two children learn the same way. Yet for decades, weve asked families — especially working and middle-income families — to fit their children into rigid systems instead of building systems that fit children. Thats starting to change. At a recent press conference, Gov.…
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Cherry Creek interim superintendent pushes for restructuring during board session
The newly-appointed interim superintendent of the Cherry Creek School District is pushing for an organizational restructuring to limit conflicts of interest, including some that previously took place under her watch as deputy superintendent. Jennifer Perry, who was formally introduced as the interim superintendent of the district at a Board of Education study session on Friday…
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Wife of former Cherry Creek superintendent placed on paid administrative leave
Less than a week after Cherry Creek Schools Superintendent Chris Smith abruptly resigned following allegations of a toxic work environment, his wife, Brenda Smith, has been placed on paid, administrative leave, officials confirmed Tuesday. Brenda Smith is the district’s chief human resource officer, a position she has held since 2019. “As of Monday, February 2,…
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Jeffco counselor pleads guilty on sexual assault charge
A Jeffco Public Schools counselor pleaded guilty to a sexual assault charge Monday morning following a multitude of delays. Chloe Castro — standing next to her defense attorney, Marshall Breit — pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust to Jefferson County District Judge…
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Cherry Creek school board was warned four years ago that superintendent’s marriage could be a problem
The former president of the Cherry Creek School Board warned the panel nearly four years ago – prompted by Denver Gazette stories detailing allegations of a toxic and misogynistic work environment within the district – that employee grievances might not be impartially or fairly addressed because of the marriage between its superintendent and human resources…
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GUEST COLUMN: National School Choice Week is something to celebrate
Great schools change lives. School choice puts families in the driver’s seat. As our nation marks National School Choice Week, America has real momentum to celebrate. What once started as a set of policy reforms has become something more lasting: an expectation. Families increasingly believe they can and must have meaningful options for their children’s…
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Conflict-of-interest safeguards at Cherry Creek Schools lacked clear oversight, memo shows
To avoid a conflict of interest, the wife of Cherry Creek Schools Superintendent Chris Smith — who resigned this week amid allegations of a toxic work environment — was supposed to report to Deputy Superintendent Jennifer Perry. In the wake of Smith’s resignation Wednesday, Perry was named interim superintendent. According to a Denver7 investigation, insiders…