This week's teaching & learning tidbits

Back-to-school shopping in Boulder gets more competitive

Shannon Yoshioka carried a magenta mini-accordion binder stuffed full of Target coupons as she studied storage bins one day in late July. In her cart sat another binder, this one dark blue, full of coupons for other stores. Is this happening in your town? Read more in the Daily Camera.

It’s back-to-school time for Aurora, Dougco schools

AURORA – It may be hard to believe, but a new school year is already underway for some kids. Monday morning, students in Aurora Public and Douglas County schools headed back to class. Students on a modified schedule in Douglas County started school last week. The rest went back Monday. Denver starts on Aug. 18. The state’s largest district – Jefferson County – heads back to school on Aug. 22. Check out 9NEWS.

Anxious eyes on Denver’s far-northeast region as school starts

Classes began Wednesday at 11 new schools in Denver’s far-northeast region — and community eyes are on all of them, waiting to see whether sweeping changes produce better academic results. Read more in the Denver Post.

Lobato school funding court case continues

Bruce Baker, a national school finance expert, testified Friday that Colorado’s school finance system is especially regressive for districts with high numbers of poor children and English language learners because it doesn’t compensate for the higher costs of teaching such students.

Baker testified as an expert witness for the plaintiffs in the Lobato v. State school funding lawsuit, which wrapped up its first week Friday. Read more in Education News Colorado. Or, this story, titled John Barry is frustrated. In fact, find all the latest news on the case at Education News Colorado.

Colorado considers applying for “No Child Left Behind” waiver

An announcement Monday that the U.S. Department of Education would grant waivers from some of the strict accountability requirements of the No Child Left Behind law has many eyes on Colorado.

The state — along with many others — may apply for a waiver from the law that requires 100 percent student proficiency in math and reading by 2014. Read more in the Denver Post.

CSAP’s days are numbered…but…

The days of CSAP testing are coming to an end.  However there will be another test that is phased-in called TCAP–Transitional Colorado Assessment Program.  Here is the plan as far as when CSAP ends and TCAP begins.An announcement Monday that the U.S. Department of Education would grant waivers from some of the strict accountability requirements of the No Child Left Behind law has many eyes on Colorado.

The state – along with many others – may apply for a waiver from the law that requires 100 percent student proficiency in math and reading by 2014. Check out this CBS4 report.

Boulder elementary must provide school transfers

Boulder’s Creekside Elementary will join four other Boulder Valley elementary schools in offering families the option to transfer to another school as required by the federal No Child Left Behind law.

Creekside has failed to meet “adequate yearly progress” achievement goals two years in a row, triggering sanctions under the law. Read more in the Daily Camera.

Monarch High School first to pilot laptop program in BVSD

The Monarch High School freshman class will pilot the one to one computing program during its second semester, and will be the first public high school in Boulder County to incorporate laptops into students’ learning in the classroom. Read more in the Colorado Hometown Weekly.

Colorado boning up on ways to stop CSAP cheating

Systems in Colorado designed to maintain the integrity of standardized academic tests don’t use as many checks for cheating as some in other states. Read more in the Denver Post.

Colorado’s K-12 homeless student population growing fast

This year there will be over 18,400 Colorado students completing their homework without a home.

Over the past six years the state’s K-12 classrooms have seen an 84.3 percent increase in homelessness among its students, according to data from the Colorado School Finance Project. Forty percent of the public’s total K-12 student population is receiving free or reduced lunch. Read more in the Huffington Post.

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