Committees do their jobs

Education News Colorado - April 7, 2011
Jason Callegari, representing the Colorado League of Charter Schools, said budget cuts are threatening the flexibility that charter schools prize: "As we project into the future, we don't see an end to these cuts."

Parent involvement bill passes Senate

Education News Colorado - April 7, 2011
State law now allows charter schools that have been open for at least five years and that meet certain financial standards to finance capital with bonds issued on a school's behalf by the Colorado Educational and Cultural Facilities Authority. ... 

How the K-12 cut works

EdNews Colorado - April 6, 2011
The Senate Appropriations Committee meeting this afternoon will be a key step in the long process whose impacts will be felt next August when many Colorado students return to schools with larger class sizes, fewer teachers, changed bus schedules and other signs of tight economic times.

Find your district's new budget numbers

EdNews Colorado - April 6, 2011
A state budget deal reached Tuesday means Colorado's K-12 funding will drop by $250 million in 2011-12, rather than the $332 million that was part of Gov. John Hickenlooper's budget proposal. Average per-pupil funding would drop from $6,823 to $6,439 - a difference of $384 per student - with the new plan.

Frontier Academy named school of excellence

Greeley Tribune - April 1, 2011
The Colorado Department of Education has named Frontier Academy Charter School a "John Irwin School of Excellence Award" winner. The John Irwin Schools of Excellence Awards recognizes schools in the top 8 percent of the highest achievement on statewide ...

Lawmaker Seeks Stronger Charter School Approval Laws

KTBS - March 31, 2011
Joining Senator Landrieu in sponsoring this legislation are senators from Colorado, Delaware, Illinois and Connecticut. This bill is also endorsed by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS). This material may not be published, ...

School Finance Act Introduced; Projected District-Level Funding Summaries Available
Colorado Department of Education - April 6, 2011
The Colorado Department of Education's public school finance office today published projected district funding summaries for the 2011-2012 year based on the School Finance Act, which was formally introduced in the Colorado State Legislature late Tuesday (April 5).

Destination Imagination Team takes American Academy to State Competition

American Academy - April 6, 2011

The 4th grade American Academy Destination Imagination team, The Yadda Yadda Yaa-Hoos, have put American Academy on the Destination map this year.

Leanne Emm Named Assistant Commissioner of Public School Finance
Colorado Department of Education - April 5, 2011
Commissioner Robert Hammond today announced the appointment of Leanne Emm as the assistant commissioner of public school finance. Emm has been serving as interim director since mid-January, when longtime former assistant commissioner Vody Herrmann announced her retirement.

Schools That Treat Teachers Like Professionals

GothamSchools - April 4, 2011
Marc Waxman, who is opening a charter school in Denver, and Stacey Gauthier, principal of Renaissance Charter High School, are corresponding about school policy. Read their entire exchange.

1st Annual Spring Bash Aims to Mitigate Funding Cuts to Charter School

Cheyenne Mountain Charter Academy - April 1, 2011
Amidst continuing economic uncertainty and hefty funding cuts to Colorado public schools, one public charter school is taking matters into its own hands to raise significant funds for school programs. Cheyenne Mountain Charter Academy and The Vanguard School will hold their first annual Spring Benefit Bash on Thursday, April 21, from 6:00-9:00 p.m. at trendy Stargazers Theatre.

Openings available for "Dream Camp" at Academy for Advanced and Creative Learning

Academy for Advanced and Creative Learning - April 1, 2011
AcademyACL will hold "Dream Camp" this Saturday. Morning and afternoon sessions are available. Remaining seats available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Gala Event at Red Rocks Park to Benefit the Compass Montessori Education Foundation
Hosted by Compass Montessori Education Foundation
Date: Saturday, April 9
Time: 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Location: Ship Rock Grille, Red Rocks Visitor Center, Morrison, CO
Description: Live and Silent Auction, Performances from Denver Blues Greats Jack Hadley and Neil Haverstick as well as Shamwari, a youth marimba band from Boulder.  Tickets $45 - $65 sliding scale. Food and complimentary drink with ticket price.  Cash Bar.  Representative Max Tyler will be present to speak about the state of Education Funding in Colorado.
Come on out and support public arts and literature education!
Info? Gretchen Roberts, Compass Director of Development, groberts@compassk12.org or www.compassmontessori.org.

Pikes Peak Leader Meeting
Hosted by the Colorado Department of Education

Date: Tuesday, April 12
Time: 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Location: James Irwin Charter School, 5525 Astrozon Boulevard, Colorado Springs, CO 80916
Description:  Register on SurveyMonkey by Friday, April 8, 2011, at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HLZCRM6. After submitting the registration, a confirmation screen will appear. There is no fee to attend this lunch meeting; however, those who RSVP and fail to attend will be billed $16 for their lunch.

CDE Board Training
Hosted by the Colorado Department of Education

Date: Thursday, April 14
Time: 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Cost: Free
Location: Adams 12 Five Star Schools Conference Center, 1500 E. 128th Avenue, Thornton
Description: Register by Tuesday, April 12, 2011, at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/9CDH5JR. After submitting the registration, a confirmation screen will appear.

Slice of Pi
Hosted by Denver School of Science and Technology
Date: Friday, April 15
Time: 5:30 PM
Location: DSST Stapleton High School, 2000 Valentia St., Denver, CO
Description: Honoree: Laura Barton. Laura has been a DSST supporter and advocate since DSST's earliest days and DSST is proud to recognize her contributions. Proceeds support existing DSST Public Schools programming. DSST Public Schools operates open-enrollment STEM Charter Schools and is part of the Denver Public Schools district. Click here for more information.

President's Council WEBINAR
Hosted by the Colorado Department of Education
Date: Friday, April 15
Time: 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Description: Register by Wednesday, April 13, at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/C7S2W88. After submitting the registration, a confirmation screen will appear.

Introduction to Using Scantron 
Hosted by the Colorado League of Charter Schools

Date: Wednesday, April 20
Time: 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM (lunch will be provided)
Location: Colorado League of Charter Schools, 725 S. Broadway, Denver, CO, 80209
Cost: FREE (lunch will be provided)
Description: School leaders and teachers will gain a thorough understanding of Scantron assessments and how to get the most out of this computer adaptive assessment. To register click here no later than Wednesday, April 13.  Event is contingent upon 10 confirmed attendees. 

Introduction to Galileo K-12 Online Instructional Improvement System
Date: Thursday, April 21
Time: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Location: Colorado League of Charter Schools, 725 S. Broadway, Denver, CO, 80209
Cost: FREE (snacks will be provided)
Description: During this interactive seminar participants will learn how teachers and schools are implementing Galileo and receive an overview of the system. Attendees will also learn about Galileo system alignment with Common Core State Standards and next steps for Galileo implementation in participating Colorado schools. To register, click here no later than Thursday, April 14. Event is contingent upon 10 confirmed attendees. 

Writing S.M.A.R.T. Goals Webinar

Date: Thursday, April 21
Time: 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Location: Online

Cost: FREE
Description: Join us for an interactive webinar that will address critical insights in writing focused, rigorous goals for a charter school application. Click here to register.

Administrator Mentoring Cohort
Hosted by the Colorado Department of Education
Date: Friday, April 22
Time: 8:30 AM - 1:30 PM
Location: Compass Montessori Golden Campus, 4441 Salvia Street, Golden, CO 80403
Description: For lunch, click here to register at SurveyMonkey by Wednesday, April 20, 2011. After submitting the registration, a confirmation screen will appear.

Reach Out to Teach Out - Again!
Hosted by Elements Academy

Date: Saturday, April 23
Time: 10:30 AM - 2:00 PM
Location: Montbello Rec Center, 15555 E. 53rd Avenue, Denver, CO 80239
Description: Our last event was such a success, and we secured support from over 140 community members for the opening of Elements Academy. When you're on a roll, keep going!  Click here for more information.

Engaging Classroom Assessments
Dates: Monday, April 25 - Tuesday, April 26
Time: 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Location: Colorado School District Self Insurance Pool, 6857 South Spruce Street, Centennial, CO 80112
Cost: League members: $300 per person | Non-members: $400 per person. (Grant funds have been used to subsidize the cost of this training, which would normally cost $655/person.)
Audience: Teachers & Teacher Leaders
Description: Teachers use "Power" standards to develop meaningful performance assessments. This two-day seminar focuses on each participant's effective design, creation, and use of performance assessments that are the foundation of powerful standards-based instructional and assessment tools. Performance assessments are a powerful teaching and learning tool that make differentiated instruction and assessment possible. 
Registration: Click here to register. Deadline: April 22 

2011 Colorado Charter Schools Rally

Hosted by the Colorado League of Charter Schools

Date: Thursday, April 28

Time: 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM

Location: West Steps, Colorado State Capitol, Denver
Description: The Colorado Charter Schools Rally is a great chance for the charter school community to come together to voice support for equitable funding and treatment for Colorado charter school students -- and to educate elected officials about why "Charter Schools Rock!" Click here for more information and to register for tours of the State Capitol.

Best Practices in Gifted Education
Hosted by Academy for Advanced and Creative Learning

Date: Saturday, April 30th
Time: 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Location: Academy for Advanced and Creative Learning, 510 North Chestnut, Colorado Springs, CO 80907
Cost: $15 Includes lunch and a certificate of participation.
Description: Academy for Advanced and Creative Learning seeks to support the gifted educational needs of students in the Pikes Peak Region. Part of our vision and mission is to develop as a resource center for families and staff who work with gifted students, and one of our first opportunities is available this spring. Our focus will be to provide a solid introduction to giftedness and best practices in education for these students. We will review definitions of giftedness, characteristics of these learners, their unique social-emotional needs, and Colorado requirements. Teachers will have the opportunity to work on differentiating actual lessons and units for these students, and to explore differentiation techniques with those units. Cancellations after Thursday, April 28th at 4 p.m. will be billed for lunch. To RSVP, please visit http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/bestpracticesapr30 and mail your check to AcademyACL, 2510 North Chestnut, Colorado Springs, CO 80907. We will email you to confirm your registration once your check has been received. For any questions, you are welcome to contact office@academyacl.org or call 719.434.6566.

High Point Academy Playground Community Build
Hosted by High Point Academy
Date: Saturday, April 30 - Sunday, May 1
Time: The weekend will be divided into four work sessions: 8:30 - 12:30 and 1:00 - 5:00 on Saturday, and same times on Sunday.
Location: 6750 N. Dunkirk St, Aurora, CO 80019
Description: Over 100 people will join together to build two playgrounds that will provide a safe and fun outdoor play area for over 600 HPA students and the local community. It promises to be an amazing weekend, filled with hard work, new friends, and the satisfaction of building something that will bring joy to children for years to come. For more information or to volunteer, please contact Annette Sloan at asloan@highpointacademy.net.

Performance Management Training for Boards
Date: Tuesday, May 3
Time: 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Location: Colorado League of Charter Schools, 725 S. Broadway, Denver, CO, 80209
Cost: League members: $100 per person | Non-members: $150
Description: Introduces charter school boards to internal and external accountability expectations and outlines the board's responsibility in maintaining a strong performance management system within their school. This training will educate charter school board members about their role in monitoring the academic program and results at their school. The training will also provide boards with tools and resources to assist in the role of appropriate oversight and evaluation. The focus of this session is on understanding student performance data, key questions board members should know how to answer, and how boards can establish sound practices in providing academic performance oversight and monitoring. Other topics typically included are key school performance expectations and measures as well as state and authorizer performance expectations and measures.
Registration: Click here to register. Deadline: April 29

REACH Education Conference
Hosted by REACH Center

Date: Thursday, June 2 - Friday, June 3
Location: Inverness Hotel and Resort, 200 Inverness Drive West, Englewood, CO 80112
Cost: Registration fee: $169. Continuing education credit available upon request.
Description: We are proud to present the REACH Education Conference in Colorado!  REACH Center is an accredited 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that, for over thirty years, has helped students, educational institutions, and instructors, as well as businesses and communities acquire the skills, attitudes, and knowledge necessary to thrive in a diverse world. This Conference will provide an opportunity for you to celebrate arts and cultural diversity within the context of learning, and to discover how beneficial these elements are to the process.

Click here for more information or email Nelly at Nelly@mdcampbellassoc.com.

Charter School Boot Camp
Date: Wednesday, June 8 -Friday, June 10
Time: 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Location: Early College High School, 4905 W. 60th Ave., Arvada, CO
Cost: $15 per day (includes breakfast, lunch and materials)
Description: Are you planning on submitting a charter school application to your district? This 3-day intensive training is a must for charter school organizers in understanding the substantive information that is required in a charter school application.
Registration: Click here. Deadline: June 6

2011 National Charter Schools Conference

Date: Monday, June 20 - Thursday, June 23
Location: Atlanta, GA

Registration: Click here for more information and to register.  

Description: The 2011 National Charter Schools Conference's theme, Because Every Child Can Succeed, embodies the charter school movement more than ever before. We hope you will join us for next year's gathering to be held June 20 through June 23, 2011, in Atlanta.

• Conference and Events Calendar
• Grants