Author: Jason Gonzales

Sign up for Chalkbeat Colorado’s free daily newsletter to get the latest reporting from us, plus curated news from other Colorado outlets, delivered to your inbox.This time will be different.At least that’s the hope of supporters of Proposition NN, a ballot measure to raise funding for schools. They launched a statewide “yes” campaign on Friday to raise support for the measure.The November ballot measure represents the fifth attempt in the last decade to ask Colorado voters to make tax changes that would raise more money for public education, among other things. Each of the three previous ballot measures were defeated.…

Sign up for our free monthly newsletter Beyond High School to get the latest news about college and career paths for Colorado’s high school grads. On the way back from the College National Finals Rodeo, graduate student Justise Jones and her assistant coach discussed a pertinent question: Where have all the cowboys gone?Of about 30 athletes on the Colorado Mesa University rodeo team, only four are men, even though they have traditionally dominated the sport. The team’s ratio is an extreme example of an underexamined trend: fewer rural men are attending four-year colleges.Even when men join the team, Jones said,…

Sign up for Chalkbeat Colorado’s free daily newsletter to get the latest reporting from us, plus curated news from other Colorado outlets, delivered to your inbox.The share of Colorado students who met or exceeded state standards on state math tests rose from last year to this year in nearly every grade. But when it comes to literacy, it’s more of a mixed bag.Those are two major takeaways from the preliminary results on the Colorado Measures of Academic Success, or CMAS, which were released Friday by the Colorado Department of Education. They roughly match nationwide data from last year showing that…

Sign up for our free monthly newsletter Beyond High School to get the latest news about college and career paths for Colorado’s high school grads. Treyvon Greenwood thought he would go into the trades after graduation. A senior at Aurora’s Smoky Hill High School, he was interested in becoming a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning technician. His trajectory changed when his English teacher heard Greenwood talk about his passion for tutoring other students. The teacher told his school counselor, who suggested Greenwood try a teaching apprenticeship instead.At first he was reluctant, but Greenwood has grown to love splitting his time…

Sign up for our free monthly newsletter Beyond High School to get the latest news about college and career paths for Colorado’s high school grads. Colorado lawmakers are pausing $14.1 million in state funding that flows to private colleges and universities through grants, work study, and graduate student aid, affecting about 2,000 students.The cut is one of many lawmakers made this year to pare back about $1.2 billion from the state’s budget, which faces increasing Medicaid costs and other pressures. While lawmakers aimed to preserve the core of public education funding, they cut some programs like the private college student…

Sign up for Chalkbeat Colorado’s free daily newsletter to get the latest reporting from us, plus curated news from other Colorado outlets, delivered to your inbox.Gov. Jared Polis said Friday that Colorado’s participation in a new federal tax-credit scholarship program won’t run afoul of state anti-discrimination laws because the program relies on private donations rather than public funding.The federal program provides $1,700 in annual tax credits for donations made to scholarship-granting organizations for various educational services, such as private school tuition, tutoring, and after-school programs. Last week, several Democratic Colorado lawmakers decided to shelve a bill that would have required…

Sign up for Chalkbeat Colorado’s free daily newsletter to get the latest reporting from us, plus curated news from other Colorado outlets, delivered to your inbox.People applying for a teaching license in Colorado wouldn’t have to report a misdemeanor conviction that’s seven years or older unless it involves a young person or at-risk adult under a bipartisan bill that unanimously passed the House Education Committee on Thursday.The current law says that teacher licensure applicants must disclose most misdemeanor convictions regardless of the date of the conviction. The law exempts misdemeanor traffic offenses or traffic infractions.Sponsors said House Bill 1090 aims…

Sign up for Chalkbeat Colorado’s free daily newsletter to get the latest reporting from us, plus curated news from other Colorado outlets, delivered to your inbox.Gov. Jared Polis plans to opt Colorado into a federal tax-credit scholarship program, opening the door to private school choice in a Democratic state where lawmakers and voters have rejected previous proposals. Conservatives, children’s advocates, and supporters of school choice praised the decision for its possibility to raise money for all students’ education. Meanwhile, a coalition of public school advocates sent a letter to Polis this week asking him to reconsider.The voucher-like program, part of…

Sign up for Chalkbeat Colorado’s free daily newsletter to get the latest reporting from us, plus curated news from other Colorado outlets, delivered to your inbox.Gov. Jared Polis’ 2026-27 budget proposal unveiled Friday would increase statewide K-12 education spending by $276 million and fulfill funding promises made by lawmakers during this year’s legislative session.The state’s universal preschool program would also get a small budget increase, while higher education institutions would be allowed to raise in-state tuition by the projected rate of inflation.Overall, Polis proposed a $47.9 billion state budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year, or a 5.2% increase over this…

Sign up for our free monthly newsletter Beyond High School to get the latest news about college and career paths for Colorado’s high school grads. Southern Colorado’s Center school district used to offer young children fruits and vegetables to try that they might not have previously eaten at home, like kiwi and jicama.The federally-backed program that helped provide these foods also assisted educators in teaching preschool and elementary students’ families why fruits and vegetables are good for their health. With kiwi, for example, the district would send home recipes for a salad that could be made by parents, said Janet…