What’s churning:
Beyond the big statistics about enrollment, the annual state student count released last month contains a wealth of information about student demographics and changes over time.
The Colorado School Finance Project has parsed the 2011-12 statistics and reports for details on special populations. Among the findings:
- Enrollment has grown by more than 100,000 students in a decade
- Students eligible for free- and reduced-price lunches are now 41 percent of enrollment
- More than 123,000 students have a primary language other than English
- The number of special education students has remained fairly constant while the gifted population is growing
Get full details here. And check out the Department of Education’s enrollment reports here.
What’s on tap:
TODAY
The Aurora school board is scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. in the district offices at 1085 Peoria St. Agenda
The Douglas County school board has a 7 p.m. meeting scheduled at district headquarters, 620 Wilcox St. in Castle Rock. Republican state Treasurer Walker Stapleton, a vocal critic of the Public Employees’ Retirement Association, is scheduled as a guest speaker on that subject. Agenda
WEDNESDAY
The state Capitol Construction Assistance Board meets 1-3:30 p.m. at the Colorado Association of School Boards, 1200 Grant St. Agenda
FRIDAY
The State Board of Education holds a special meeting 2-4 p.m. to be briefed on the proposed regulations for teacher appeals under SB 10-191 and to discussion pending legislation. The session will be in the boardroom at the Department of Education, 201 E. Colfax Ave. Agenda
Good reads from elsewhere:
President in the classroom: Inside Higher Education has an interesting article on Colorado College President Jill Tiefenthaler and how her class on the economics of higher education provided some interesting insights to CC students.
The EdNews’ Churn is a daily roundup of briefs, notes and meetings in the world of Colorado education. To submit an item for consideration in this listing, please email us at EdNews@EdNewsColorado.org.
Take a look at the recent numbers. re: statistics. Nobody seems to care that Colorado appears to be systematically underserving special needs kids. The national average is 13%. Colorado is now at 9.7% per the new numbers you report. Why? I believe it is because Colorado works very hard to deny special ed services to students who need them so that they can keep their costs down. Colorado is 51st in spending on special ed. Shameful for sure. Where is the reporting on this fact?
The declining number of students being labeled with an IEP is not due to a spending deficit. What high quality schools are making clear in our great state is that strong instruction delivered by empowered teachers yields excellent results for all students. The highest performing schools in our state are able to meet students at just-right moments due to a culture of accountability, testing, data, and adjustment. Thus, schools of quality in our state are not just delivering Individualized Education Plans to students who are protected under IDEA, but they are making students college-ready by ensuring that the individual needs of all children are being met. This is happening across the state starting in the earliest years. As educators, innovators, activists, and those concerned with student success in our state understand, students are often disproportionately labeled with a disability because they fall behind. Our challenge must not be to remediate or provided plans to students once they have failed, but we must continue to strive to lower the number of students who are labeled with a disability by being pro-active and flexible to meet the needs of all students before they are left behind.