Updated 10 a.m. – Chris King announced this morning that he is resigning from the Boulder Valley School District after four years as superintendent.
King has created a transition plan that, if approved by the school board, calls for him to cease acting as head of the state’s eighth largest school district on June 30 – though he would continue to assist his successor through Jan. 12, 2012.
King, who has served 17 years in the district, wrote a letter to the community that states, “Timing is everything, and I believe the time is right for me personally and for BVSD.”
Read the news release and King’s comments here, and click here to see the proposed amendment to his contract.
The Colorado Commission on Higher Education, last Friday received the 2010 report on remedial education, which covers the 2009-10 academic year.
The report found much the same patterns as seen in previous years’ reports: About a third of college high school graduates need some sort of remedial work once they get the college, math is the subject requiring the most remediation, there’s a remediation gap between whites and other ethnic groups, students who don’t need remediation have higher retention and graduation rates, about 62 percent of remedial courses were completed successfully and the cost of remediation is about $19 million a year.
Overall, 28.6 percent of recent Colorado high school graduates needed remediation, 52 percent at community colleges and 18 percent at four-year schools. Colorado’s community college rate is higher than the national average, but it’s lower on four-year campuses.
Remediation rates have been a major concern of education leaders, sparking debates on, among things, whether the responsibility lies with high schools or with colleges.
See the full report here, including detailed statistics by college and stats by individual high schools.
The week’s legislative calendars are packed with committee action on major education bills, including:
• House Education Committee consideration Monday afternoon of bills to mandate physical activity in elementary schools, give charter schools easy claim on vacant district buildings and to provide tax credits for private school tuition.
• Senate Education Committee scrutiny Thursday afternoon of measures that would allow student members of the CSU board to vote, more tightly regulate education management organizations and give districts more options to choose from for schools that require turnaround plans.
Also up for consideration this week are measures to require youth sports coaches to have concussion-recognition training and to change the membership of the Public Employees’ Retirement Association board.
Several of these bills have raised questions or opposition and have been subject to behind-the-scenes negotiations in recent days, so some may emerge from committee significantly amended.
The State Board of Education meets Wednesday and Thursday this week. Top agenda items include an update on the commissioner search, an innovation application from the Kit Carson school district, two charter school cases (Loveland Classical Schools vs. Thompson District and Prospect Ridge Academy vs. Adams District 12) and reports on the needs of rural districts, the work of the State Council on Educator Effectiveness and the average daily membership study.
What’s on tap:
Check here for the full legislative calendar of education measures, as of this morning.
TUESDAY
The Aurora school board meets at 6 p.m. at 1085 Peoria St. Agenda
The Boulder Valley school board convenes its meeting at 6 p.m. at 6500 Arapahoe St. Agenda
WEDNESDAY
The State Board of Community Colleges and Occupational Education meets starting at 8:30 a.m. at Community College of Aurora, 16000 E. Centre Tech Parkway. Links to agenda items
The State Board of Education starts two days of meetings at 9 a.m., in the boardroom at 201 E. Colfax Ave. Link to agenda items
FRIDAY
The State Council for Educator Effectiveness meets from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Conference Center at the Colorado Community College System, Room 200A, 1061 Akron Way, Building 697, Denver.
Good reads from elsewhere:
- Rich get richer?: In D.C., “specialty” schools get more per-pupil money than neighborhood schools. Washington Post
- Thin contracts: GOP lawmakers in several states aim to limit the scope of teacher collective bargaining. Education Week
- Not for everyone: Full-time online learning is not a viable option for many kids, families. Education Week
- Proliferation: Charter schools are opening at a rapid clip in Boston. Boston Globe