![A group of students walk on a sidewalk toward the Colorado State Capitol with cars to their left.](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2025/02/IMG_8632.jpg)
An anxious week for some school districts in Colorado comes to a close
Aurora and Denver schools saw a slight decrease in attendance on days when planned immigration enforcement actions were rumored or happened.
![](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2019/05/2014.cpr-staff-jenny-brundin-square-for-web.creditcpr.jpg)
![CRIPPLE CREEK SCHOOL TURNAROUND](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2025/02/20241211-cripple-creek-schools-turnaround-25.jpg)
This Teller County high school turned itself around by listening to the community, getting new leaders and baking cakes
“Let’s create ways to show them that there are other options out there and increase that hopefulness.”
![Colorado Commissioner of Education Susana Córdova is pictures with her arms folded across a stack of books in a school library.](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2025/02/Susana-Cordova.jpg)
State Education Commissioner speaks on federal changes, chronic absenteeism and more
Insights from Commissioner of Education Susanna Córdova.
![Transgender Legislation Bathrooms](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/03/AP23176777696699.jpg)
Woodland Park school board passes resolution to recognize “only two sexes,” mirroring Trump order language
It directs Superintendent Ken Witt to update district policies to reflect “that there are only two sexes, male and female,” ensuring that there’s a right to privacy in bathrooms and locker rooms and ensures the right “to fair competition in sporting events.”
![Desks fill an empty classroom.](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/04/AP23291654877474.jpg)
A bill requiring schools to have cell phone policies aims to boost classroom learning
The bipartisan legislative proposal isn’t mandating a statewide ban of phones in classrooms. Instead, it would require individual school districts to develop their own policies spelling out how and when students can use cell phones in schools.
![Empty Denver South High School](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/05/200505-SOUTH-HIGH-SCHOOL-ED-BUDGET-258.jpg)
More Colorado high school students are graduating, and fewer are dropping out
More than 84 percent of students graduate high school in four years, but racial and other gaps persist.
![A principal high-fives a student.](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/12/241218-ACADEMY-OF-URBAN-LEARNING-DENVER-HIGHLAND-EDUCATION-SCHOOLS-THERAPY-MENTAL-HEALTH-KEVINJBEATY-02.jpg)
At this Denver school, social and emotional learning aren’t an afterthought, they’re central to student success
AUL Denver incorporates high school redesign that recognizes that strong, positive relationships between educators and students are necessary for students to succeed.
![20230313-CU-DENVER-CAMPUS](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2023/03/20230313-CU-DENVER-HVANDENBURG-0002.jpg)
Colorado needs more college graduates, skilled workers to address tight labor market and high turnover rates
The state’s Talent Pipeline Report says Colorado’s employers are struggling to find qualified people to hire.
![Backpacks like a first grade classroom at Goldrick Elementary.](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/09/171207-GOLDRICK-ELEMENTARY-KEVIN.jpg)
Fewer students are enrolled in Colorado’s schools this year as diversity increases
New data also show the student body is becoming increasingly diverse, while the number of multilingual learners increased significantly.
![University of Colorado Boulder campus seen from Flagstaff Mountain Road](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/11/241101-boulder-landscape-views-0005.jpg)
CU faces lawsuit from pro-Palestinian protesters over free speech
The lawsuit alleges CU ordered an “interim campus exclusion” against two students, not allowing them on campus except to attend classes, preventing them from engaging in First Amendment-protected activity.
![Teacher works through math problem](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/02/IMG_0916-scaled.jpg)
Challenges facing Colorado’s teachers still loom large as union celebrates 150 years
Nearly half of teachers are considering leaving the profession due to high workloads, increased curriculum interference and low pay.
![Schmitt Elementary in Ruby Hill. Nov. 12, 2024.](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/11/241112-SCHMITT-ELEMENTARY-SCHOOLS-CLOSURES-EDUCATION-RUBY-HILL-KEVINJBEATY-09.jpg)
State officials to visit rural areas to address school safety concerns
These events are aimed at giving students and educators a chance to address school safety concerns in their communities.
![A teacher in a light demin shirt leans on a desk where a student is typing on a computer while holding a cell phone in his left hand.](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2025/01/IMG_9663.jpg)
Is a cellphone in the classroom the ultimate distraction or a tool for learning? Two teachers share their takes
Education reporter Jenny Brundin talks to one who favors a strict ban and another who sees educational opportunities.
![](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2019/05/10242014.douglascountyschools.jpg)
U.S. Justice Department opens investigation into Douglas County School District; will conduct interviews next week
The scope or specific nature of the current investigation is not clear. One lawsuit filed in 2023 has received a lot of public attention.
![Teacher sits at a table reading with a student next to her and across from her](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2023/11/171207-GOLDRICK-ELEMENTARY-KEVINJBEATY-08.jpg)
Five takeaways from the latest evaluation of Colorado’s literacy law
The number of Colorado students significantly struggling with reading has declined for the third year in a row, but it’s still not back to pre-Pandemic levels.
![Melissa Lopez speaks to a student at her desk in a classroom](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/12/MelissaLopez_CMCGraduate2.jpg)
Colorado’s teaching workforce is diversifying but not as fast as other college-educated workers
“Teachers of color have a positive impact on all students — especially students of color — yet our teacher workforce continues to lack racial diversity.”