Education

More and more Hispanic students are graduating from Colorado high schools. After a decade of steady progress, dropout rates have decreased, and so have the number of students needing remedial classes.

Colorado’s 2022 legislative session proved positive for schools still struggling from the pandemic. Gov. Jared Polis signed bills into law that will have big impacts on education and educational institutions around the state, but it may take a while for these changes to be felt in classrooms.

CSU Spur is a free, public educational campus in Denver where visitors can learn about water, food and health through real-world experiences. The first building opened in January — it’s called Vida and focuses on animal and human health. The second building, Terra, is opening on June 8 and will focus on community food systems and food innovation.

The Colorado Community College System has selected Dr. Colleen Simpson as the new president of Front Range Community College. She will be the first African American to lead the three-campus college when her tenure starts on Aug. 1. She is also the second Black woman president in the statewide college system. KUNC’s Samantha Coetzee spoke to CCCS Chancellor Joe Garcia and Dr. Simpson to talk about the college's next steps.

On today’s Colorado Edition, we talk with education advocate Pius Kamau about how colleges and universities can and should do more to increase access to higher education for low-income students and students of color. And we explore new legislation that aims to help more Coloradans get the behavioral healthcare they need.

The price of college continues to rise, and for many prospective students, figuring out how to pay for their education only adds to the stress of the admissions process. Some schools in Colorado are looking to bridge the gap by providing more grants and scholarships to students.

In the first year of the pandemic, Colorado’s kindergarten enrollment plummeted. A year later, many young students are back in public schools, with statewide kindergarten enrollment trending back up.

Today on Colorado Edition: We hear how Coloradans working in our elections system are grappling with misinformation and threats to their safety. And we explore the ongoing youth mental health crisis with the head of mental health at Children’s Hospital Colorado.

As local public health officials end mask mandates across the state, many school districts are following suit. Districts are also stopping COVID-19 contact-tracing policies. Last week, health officials said that schools could soon treat the virus as a routine disease, like flu or norovirus.

Since students returned to classrooms in early January, there have been lots of changes to COVID policies in Colorado schools. Some districts have adjusted or dropped their mask requirements as more counties have done so. With changes to rules around COVID testing, quarantines and sick time, it can be challenging for staff to keep up with the latest.