Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: Colorado Education

Boulder Valley Board Votes 5-2 to Close Schools Despite Pushback
CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Boulder Valley Board Votes 5-2 to Close Schools Despite Pushback

By Sarah Horbacewicz | CBS Colorado The Boulder Valley School District's Board of Education on Tuesday approved a plan to close some schools and consolidate others. The plan that adopts the following changes passed with a 5-2 vote: - Douglass Elementary School (Boulder) will close.- The Community Montessori building in Boulder will close and the program will be moved to the current High Peaks location.- High Peaks (Boulder) will be moved to the Douglass building.- Mesa Elementary School (Boulder) will be closed and it will merge with Bear Creek Elementary School.- Flatirons Elementary School (Boulder) will close and its attendance will be divided between Whittier and Foothills schools.- In Louisville and Superior, Monarch K-8 will transition to a middle school and E...
Anthony: No border, no law, and no nation to protest in
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, Top Stories

Anthony: No border, no law, and no nation to protest in

By Tom Anthony | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice I see students did a "walk out" protest at 180 public schools in commencement of the new school year. I myself had perfect attendance in high school up until Senior Ditch Day, but I was paying tuition. The fact it happened at 180 public schools on the same day suggests a slightly better organizational format than when I studied geometry, which indicates either a supremely dedicated student leadership or adult involvement. The walkout was "protesting ICE," or Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the arm of government charged with enforcing immigration law inside the country, from those who slipped past Customs and Border Protection to those who overstayed a visa. During my high school years a number of protests of the Viet...
Roaring Fork district sought friendly press after legal threat over sex ed curriculum
Rocky Mountain Voice, Local, Top Stories

Roaring Fork district sought friendly press after legal threat over sex ed curriculum

By Kelly Notarfrancesco | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Slides from Roaring Fork School District's "Understanding Our Bodies" 3Rs lessons, including the "Making Sense of Puberty" 4th/5th grade deck and its "A Note on Language" slide on gender identity and anatomy. (Roaring Fork Schools) Kindergarten lessons including explicit discussion of genitalia and instructing children to learn that there are “some body parts that mostly just girls have and some body parts that mostly just boys have.” Second grade lessons including graphic anatomical images of nude children and training to recognize people based on their identities. Sixth grade lessons directing kids to visit non-academic websites that invite them to take advocacy action on LGBTQ+ issues. These and o...
Dogs Help Evergreen Students Find Calm And Connection After School Shooting
CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Dogs Help Evergreen Students Find Calm And Connection After School Shooting

By Brian Maass | CBS Colorado A year ago, Evergreen High School was the scene of chaos and fear. Today, the Colorado school has two new members of its community — two dogs whose presence has become part of the daily rhythm of the school, offering students and staff something they desperately needed after a shooting shattered their sense of safety. On Sept. 10, 2025, a 16-year-old Evergreen High School student opened fire, shooting two other students before fatally shooting himself. Both wounded students survived. The shooting sent students scrambling from the school and brought hundreds of law enforcement officers to the foothills campus. A year later, the physical evidence of that day has largely disappeared. The memories have not. ...
Jeffco Schools Chief Counsel to Retire During High-Stakes Title IX Fight With Feds
The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Jeffco Schools Chief Counsel to Retire During High-Stakes Title IX Fight With Feds

By Matt Kyle | The Denver Gazette As Jeffco Public Schools continues to fight a legal battle with the federal government, it will soon be without its top attorney. Julie Tolleson, chief legal counsel for the district, will retire at the end of the current school year, according to a letter sent to district staff Tuesday by interim Superintendent Rob Stein. Tolleson has been known among Jeffco staff as a “common sense” attorney who used her legal expertise to uphold student rights, Stein wrote in the letter. He also praised Tolleson for avoiding “unnecessary controversy” during her tenure. “Julie’s legal acumen will be hard to replace,” Stein wrote. “Her wisdom and perspective will be missed.” Tolleson has been with Jeffco since 2022. Her tenure ha...
Castle Rock Council Approves New School Land Rules Despite District Concerns
CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Castle Rock Council Approves New School Land Rules Despite District Concerns

By Olivia Young | CBS Colorado Douglas County School District is grappling with a change in law in one of its most populous communities. The Castle Rock Town Council passed an ordinance Tuesday night changing the way land and funds dedicated to schools are allocated. Historically, developers have dedicated land or funding for future public schools. The town holds these assets until the district is ready to build a school, but now the district will need to meet certain conditions and timelines, or the land may be used for other purposes. There are currently 13 sites in Castle Rock planned for schools. The ordinance cites "changing demographic trends, school enrollment patterns, and long-range capital planning" as reasons many of them may not be developed into schools fo...
Federal Judge Dismisses Lawsuit as Colorado School Districts Lack Standing in Transgender Sports Case
Greeley Tribune, Approved, State

Federal Judge Dismisses Lawsuit as Colorado School Districts Lack Standing in Transgender Sports Case

By Ann Schimke | Greeley Tribune Federal judge rules districts don’t have standing to sue the state, in part because they aren’t facing clear harm. A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by several Colorado school districts and charter schools over policies related to transgender student athletes. Senior U.S. District Court Judge John Kane ruled Wednesday that the districts and schools don’t have standing to sue the state, in part because they aren’t facing clear harm. The ruling is a win for the state and a loss for the conservative-leaning districts and schools that had challenged the state’s non-discrimination law, specifically its gender identity protections. Kane’s decision affirmed a January recommendation by a magistrate judge, a type...
Colorado Schools Face New Reality as Student Enrollment Keeps Falling
The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado Schools Face New Reality as Student Enrollment Keeps Falling

By Nicole C. Brambila | The Denver Gazette Colorado public schools went from adding roughly 3,500 students a year before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 to losing nearly 4,000 students a year afterward. As more than 870,000 Colorado students return to the classroom for another school year, they are part of a shrinking population since enrollment peaked in 2019. Colorado has 40,000 fewer students today than it did at its apex. The Denver Gazette compared districts’ average annual enrollment gains or losses in the five years before and after the pandemic to identify where enrollment trends changed the most. The forces that long fueled Colorado’s enrollment boom — births and migration — have lost momentum. Nationally, enrollment peaked in 2019 with 50.7 millio...
Douglas County School Board To Put $54 Million Tax Request Before Voters in November
The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Douglas County School Board To Put $54 Million Tax Request Before Voters in November

By Nicholas Fogleman | The Denver Gazette The Douglas County School District board unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday to place a $54 million mill levy override on the November ballot, sending the funding request to voters after months of discussion about the district’s financial challenges. The proposed override comes as school districts across the Denver metro area grapple with budget pressures. Jefferson County Public Schools recently approved a $133 million mill levy override request for voters, citing similar concerns about funding and rising operational costs. The largest portion of Douglas County’s proposed measure, $21.4 million, would be dedicated to increasing compensation for teachers and staff by 4%. Throughout recent discussions, Superintenden...
Enos: As a new school year opens, Colorado tests the limits of parental rights
Christian Home Educators of Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Enos: As a new school year opens, Colorado tests the limits of parental rights

By Colleen Enos | Commentary, Christian Home Educators of Colorado (CHEC) “Don’t you love New York in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address.” This recognizable quote by the character Joe Fox from the famous rom-com You’ve Got Mail reminds us that it is back-to-school season. Your family may have already begun the 2026-27 school year, or you could be holding out for another week or so. If you are brave homeschoolers, your family’s school year will begin after Labor Day.   Numerous families homeschool so that they can infuse their teaching with a Christian worldview. We rightly want our children to understand the world through the lens of our Creator. Our rights as...