Colorado Blog

Last week, the Colorado House and Senate met for the first time in 2014 – kicking off the legislative session. Visit our Capitol Connection to learn more about the way the state government affects public schools.

Stand for Children will be busy fighting this year to make sure all Colorado students have access to the best public education our state can offer. Below is a preview of the key issues we’re keeping an eye on:

MiDian Holmes felt she had a solid chance. She had a 4.36 GPA and graduated in the top third of her high school class.

Then, the first job interview question she got was this: “If you went to that high school, how are you so articulate?”

Through no fault of her own, MiDian went to the “wrong” school and couldn’t get certain jobs because employers didn’t trust her educational background. That’s why she joined Stand and fights to improve the system that educates her children and every generation that follows.

We’re standing still while the rest of the world gains on us or passes us by, and traditionally low standards are to blame. The latest results are out from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), the worldwide study that lets us know how American students’ problem solving and critical thinking skills stack up to our global peers. The news is bad for our educational system as a whole, and for not only our poorest students but also our highest achieving ones:

Denver's school board election this year is the most important in a long time. Today, only 54 percent of DPS students are proficient in reading, 46 percent in math, and 42 percent in writing. This isn't good, but it's an improvement from where we've come.