Rise & Shine: To help schools, state leaders need flexibility, not overhauls

COLORADO

  • Worries about new online online tests and their impact on scores nag at legislators. EdNews Colorado
  • The Aurora school board approved plans to reduce overcrowding with a new elementary school but the funding will come from borrowing against future bond measures. EdNews Colorado
  • State spending on programs that affect children has declined steadily for the past five years, according to a new report. EdNews Colorado
  • Following last week’s school rankings, a local group has released their own set of annual grades. EdNews Colorado
  • Stapleton students will now priority at their nearby elementary schools, a change to a system that led to the highest transportation costs in the district. Denver Post
  • Some students were able to retrieve their belongings from Arapahoe HS, where a shooting took place last week. 9News
  • After the shooting, districts around the state are still on high alert. In Fort Morgan, police officers responded to a school threat, despite indications it was not serious. Fort Morgan Times
  • And in Trinidad, three schools were on lockout after a possible threat, although the individual may not have had a concrete plan. KKTV

NATION

  • To help struggling schools, state leaders and education departments need more flexibility and a talent pipeline rather than major overhauls, according to a new report. EdWeek
  • Only a third of teachers with English language learners in their classroom have training on ELL instruction. The Atlantic
  • In New York, one school bears the marks of outgoing Mayor Bloomberg’s education agenda. WNYC

OPINION

  • Sarah Jenkins reflects on what she learned in 2013 and what she hopes for in education in 2014. EdNews Colorado
  • School leaders discuss what makes a difference in student success. NPR

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.