Rise & Shine: Denver’s need for new middle school seats

COLORADO

• New revenue projections mean the State Education Fund is headed toward a $1.6 billion balance, which may complicate an effort to pass a nearly $1 billion tax measure for education. EdNews Colorado
• The Denver Public School board approved five new schools to open in 2014, with an additional four set to open the following year. EdNews Colorado
• The new schools are part of a strategy the district is using to create badly-needed new middle school seats. 9News
• The board also reviewed a new policy that will let probationary teachers whose contracts are not renewed re-apply for jobs in the district after three years and demonstrated improved performance. EdNews Colorado
• Denver Public Schools’ former director of network and systems administration was fired for accepting kickbacks from technology and telecommunications vendors. EdNews Colorado
• Two charter schools that will focus on foreign language instruction in Douglas County gained conditional approval. Our Colorado News
• Two Aurora teachers developed an app to let their smart phones grade multiple choice papers. 9News
• Roughly 100 adult education students in St. Vrain received their diplomas. Longmont Times-Call
• Douglas County education advocates are launching a speakers series held between now and the November school board election. Our Colorado News
• Voters in Falcon School District 49 may get to decide whether to require some school board members to reside within the boundaries of specific school zones. Gazette

NATION

• The closing of many Catholic schools in New York City has prompted fears that a path to success for many low-income black and Latino students will be lost. New York Times
• The Dallas school district has proposed a plan that would fund pre-K expansion by letting some students graduate early. Texas Tribune

OPINION

• Commentary: A tiny school in the remote San Juan mountains is making strides in educating its students. Denver Post
• Commentary: The former New York City schools chancellor Joel Klein says that the new dismal teacher training program ratings point the way for teacher education reforms. New York Daily News

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.