Rise & Shine: A66 sparks debate about PERA pension reform

COLORADO

  • Colorado schools are implementing a new reading law, but it’s still not clear how many third-graders might be retained if they still struggle. EdNews Colorado 
  • Amendment 66 has sparked a debate over contributions to the PERA pension fund. Denver Post
  • Questions over PERA are part of a wider conversation about where exactly A66 funds would go. Gazette
  • The Douglas County school board races are exposing deep divisions in the community there. Denver Post
  • Boulder Valley is finishing up its $5 million in repairs to damage from September’s flooding. Daily Camera
  • A charter school operator wants to open a new trade school to teach middle and high school students construction skills. Gazette
  • Parents and administrators are increasingly concerned about distracted driving near schools. Gazette
  • A Pueblo school counselor was named the state’s best. Pueblo Chieftain
  • And ICYMI, here’s some exciting news about our national expansion plans. EdNews Colorado

NATION

  • A Nevada middle school student shot and killed his teacher and then himself in front of his classmates. New York Times
  • Sequestration is cutting into language and arts classes and preventing school buildings from being repaired. Huffington Post 
  • Research that shows that language gaps form as early as when children are 18 months old are bolstering calls for pre-k programs. New York Times

OPINION

  • A Steamboat Springs parent argues that passing Amendment 66 is a matter of equity. Steamboat Today
  • Members of the Aspen school board say that neither the current funding structure nor A66 solve districts’ finance problems. Aspen Times
  • Bill Keller: Education schools have a monopoly that should be broken. New York Times

Rise & Shine

Each weekday morning, we search websites of various media, comb through RSS feeds and peruse Google alerts to bring you a roundup of the day’s top education headlines, in Colorado and across the country, by 8 a.m. If you’d like to suggest a story we’ve missed or a source we should add to the list, please email us at ednews@ednewscolorado.org.