By Rebecca Holmes The past few weeks have been a busy and conflicted time in Colorado around questions of school quality. As our state board voted to raise the “cut score” for elementary and middle school performance ratings by 8 percentage points, establishing a higher bar for schools across Colorado to achieve …
By Lori Haukeness What aspirations and skills would the community like to see in the students who graduate from Montezuma-Cortez High School? This will be the focus of a design team made up of community businesses, school staff, students and higher education. This team will work together to create a …
Danny Medved is the Director of Professional Learning at Mesa County Valley School District 51 in Grand Junction. His desire to bring an all-encompassing district level of support for learner-centered school environments led him to the district three years ago. Q. How did you get involved in education? I entered …
By Landon Mascareñaz | When I taught first grade on the Navajo Nation, I’ll never forget when one of my fellow teachers—now my wife—wanted to host an event that welcomed our families to the school. The veteran educators there told her it would never happen. I was shocked by their …
When students in Mesa County, Colorado identified potential for increasing cultural awareness in their school and community, they acted, creating a vision for a Student Led Equity Council (SLEC). Now that vision is becoming a reality, thanks to leadership from Mesa County Valley School District’s IB Coordinator Laura Meinzen and Dual Language …
Bree Lessar, La Veta School District Q. What was the path that led you to become the Superintendent in La Veta? My path at La Veta began when I was a junior high school English and social studies teacher. I became a secondary principal in 2009, and was named acting …
By Finessa Ferrell, CEI Social Emotional Learning Specialist Poudre High School (PHS) in Fort Collins has a long history of collaboration with CEI to build social emotional development opportunities for their student body. Six years ago, CEI supported the creation of the Students Mentoring Students program. Since that time, the …
By Rebecca Holmes, CEI President and CEO I want to confess one of my favorite moments that my role at CEI affords me… someone interested in education, perhaps as a funder, a realtor, or a parent, asks me what’s inspiring to me in our education system across the state. They …
Rock Climbing. Javelin Throwing. Food Trucks. #RedesignRockstars. It all contributed to a unique and inspiring week in Denver, Colorado, where high school teams left with new ideas, strategies, and a commitment to ensuring equitable outcomes for youth in today’s high schools. More than 150 educators and youth in 30 teams …
A robust new website designed to boost school wellness efforts throughout Colorado is now online. The Hub connects people working in PK-12 education with a broad array of resources, including events, grants, organizations, professional development, research, templates, toolkits, and much more. These vetted materials are provided by a variety of …
