Durango School District slows ‘school-to-jail’ trend

Durango School District slows ‘school-to-jail’ trend

Disciplinary actions decrease over 3 years

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By Dale Rodebaugh Herald staff writer

Durango School District 9-R sharply reduced the percentage of students overall it suspended, expelled or referred to law enforcement from 2009-10 to 2012-13.

The reduction was even greater among Hispanic, black and Native American students.

These statistics were contained in a report released Friday by Padres & Jóvenes Unidos on how 179 school districts in Colorado are trying to avoid the school-to-prison pipeline. The report was the result of 2012 legislation known as the Smart School Discipline Law.

“We’ve seen tremendous gains in one year,” Daniel Kim, the chief author of the report, said by telephone. “But there is a long way to go.”

Although from 2009-10 to 2012-13 there was, overall, in the state, a 25 percent drop in expulsions, a 10 percent reduction in suspensions and 9 percent fewer referrals to law enforcement, in the past year, there was a 3 percent increase in law-enforcement referrals among Native Americans and an 8 percent increase among Afro-Americans, Kim said.

The goal of Durango 9-R discipline is to teach social norms and expectations, Superintendent Dan Snowberger said by email.

“When the only option you have is to suspend or expel, there is very little room for growth by students,” Snowberger said. “We have implemented many different programs to ensure that administrators have many tools in their tool boxes as behavior issues surface in our schools.

“As we have worked to close achievement gaps in our students of color and students from poverty,” Snowberger said, “the residual impact is a sensitivity to all and a realization that each individual child is unique and warrants focus and response.”

Durango School District 9-R has 4,575 students, 27 percent of whom are ethnic minorities.

In the three years covered in the report, suspensions dropped 37 percent overall and among ethnic minorities, 52.1 percent; expulsions fell 45.6 percent overall and 87.4 percent among students of color; referrals to law enforcement declined 18.6 percent overall and 89.6 percent among ethnic minorities.

In other area school districts:

Bayfield School District has 1,402 students, 20 percent of them youngsters of color.

In that district, suspensions fell 29.4 percent among all students, but among ethnic minorities there was a 12.9 increase in suspensions. No further numbers were included for the district.

Ignacio School District 11 JT has 718 students, 66 percent of them ethnic minorities.

In the Ignacio district, suspension of all students increased 2.1 percent but fell 32.9 percent among students of color; expulsions increased 11 percent overall and 5.1 percent among ethnic minorities; no statistics were given for referral to law enforcement.

The racial inequality index for the three districts showed that in Durango 9-R, a student of color was 23 percent more likely than a non-minority to be suspended, expelled or referred to law enforcement.

The corresponding rate in Bayfield was 89 percent. In Ignacio, ethnic minorities were 41 percent less likely than whites to be suspended, expelled or referred to law enforcement.

“Comparing results of the survey shows how different school districts in the same region can be,” Kim said.

Statewide, black students are almost four times as likely as white students to be targeted for one of the three disciplinary measures; Native American students are more than twice as likely, and Hispanics are almost twice as likely.

Comparing 2011-12 with 2012-13, suspensions were down 9 to 19 percent for all students, per 100 students; expulsions also were down 14 to 38 percent among all students, per 100 students; referral to law enforcement followed the same pattern – except among black students, where the rate increased 8 percent and among Native Americans, where the rate jumped 3 percent.

But the survey found that from 2011-12 to 2012-13, expulsions for blacks was 13 percent higher when compared to white-student expulsions and that referral of black students to law enforcement increased 22 percent when compared to white students; Native American expulsion rates were 4 percent higher than for white students and their rate for referral to law enforcement was 17 percent higher than for white students.

Statewide, 88 districts had no law-enforcement referrals, and 40 had referrals from 10 to 1,390; 88 districts had no expulsions, 28 had 10 to 182 expulsions; in 70 districts, ethnic minority students were not over-represented in expulsions, suspensions or referral to law enforcement.

“We are going to issue a report annually,” Kim said. “We want to involve parents, school officials, students and community members in the project.”

The Smart School Discipline Law advises against referring students to law enforcement and urges school districts to match punishment to offense.

It collects data on disciplinary incidents and tracks the information by race/ethnicity, age and gender, and increases training for school resource officers.

daler@durangoherald.com

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100% Acceptance to College for Seventh Consecutive Year- DSST PR

For release on March 28, 2014 Contact Christine Nelson, 303-524-6322, Christine.nelson@scienceantech.org

100% Acceptance to College for Seventh Consecutive Year

DENVER–For the seventh consecutive year, 100% of the senior class attending DSST: Stapleton High School has been accepted to a four-year college or university. All 89 students in the Class of 2014 have been admitted to at least one college or university. Since 2008, all DSST graduates have been admitted to a four year college or university. No other public school in Denver has matched this accomplishment.

“We are so proud of our students. Our seniors continue to show that regardless of their economic, ethnic or educational background, all students can be prepared to attend a four- year college,” said Bill Kurtz, CEO of DSST Public Schools. “We are extremely proud of the hard work of our students, teachers, staff, and parents for achieving the goal of 100% college acceptance for the seventh year in a row.”

2014 graduates have been students from this year’s graduating class have been accepted at the Air Force Academy, Brandeis University, Morehouse University, and Lewis & Clark College, among others. Many have also been accepted to DSST’s in-state college partners including University of Colorado- Boulder, Colorado State University, and University of Northern Colorado.

In addition to celebrating 100% acceptance to a four-year college, three students of this year’s graduating class are in the running for prestigious scholarships. Senior Jubilee Michael and Breeze Covarrubias are semi-finalists for the Daniels Scholarship Program. Another senior, Margo Warnock, is a Greenhouse Scholars semi-finalist.

About DSST Public Schools

DSST Public Schools (DSST), authorized by Denver Public Schools (DPS), operates open-enrollment, STEM charter schools. Students are admitted to DSST by lottery through the DPS School Choice Process; there are no admissions criteria. DSST schools enroll more than 2,800 students at seven schools on five campuses. Over 70 percent of students are minority and more than 60 percent qualify for free or reduced price lunch.

By 2022, DSST Public Schools will operate 14 schools on seven campuses, serving over 6,500 students and nearly doubling the number of four-year college-ready graduates in Denver Public Schools.

Additional information about DSST Public Schools is available at www.dsstpublicschools.org.

School votes to allow girl with shaved head back in

Mom wants the negativity towards the school to stop.

GRAND JUNCTION - A Grand Junction charter school voted Tuesday 3-1 to allow a girl who shaved her head to support her friend battling cancer to return to school.

Caprock Academy in Grand Junction told Kamryn Renfro's mother Monday that her daughter would not be allowed to attend classes after the school learned of the incident.

Kamryn shaved her head in support of her cancer-stricken friend, 11-year-old Delaney Clements. She lost her hair because she is undergoing chemotherapy in her fight against neuroblastoma, a childhood cancer.

"The medicine she was taking made her hair fall out. So, I decided to shave my head," Kamryn said at the meeting Tuesday. "Delaney was really excited! She jumped up and down".

Since the story broke on Monday, Caprock Academy has received plenty of national attention. The school's phone was ringing off the hook on Tuesday from people who were outraged by the board's initial decision.

READ: Act of compassion violates school dress code policy

Tuesday evening, the board held a special meeting to decide whether they should make an exception for Kamryn. Aside from one board member, the other three voted in favor of allowing Kamryn back to school with her head shaved.

"Our lesson is that we want to be both aware of our immediate and large community. We want to do service as to how important we feel the interest of children is," Caprock board member Catherine Norton Breman said.

Kamryn's mother, Jamie Renfro, was thrilled with the board's decision. She knew her daughter had violated the school's policy, but she never expected them to initially tell her she couldn't return to school.

Sunday night, Renfro posted about the controversy on Facebook, which created a firestorm of negative reaction towards the school. Now Renfro is asking for that negative reaction to stop.

"We have got an amazing staff and an amazing administration. They suffered greatly today. For that, I am sorry. I feel extremely guilty. I would just like all of that negativity to go away," Jamie Renfro said.

Jamie and Kamryn drove to Denver after the meeting on Tuesday. They planned to meet with Delaney and her mother. Delaney is expected to undergo additional chemotherapy on Wednesday.

(KUSA-TV © 2014 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)

http://www.9news.com/story/news/local/2014/03/25/school-votes-to-allow-girl-with-shaved-head-back-in/6892989/

Testing, K-12 funding roil House budget debate

by Todd Engdahl on March 27, 2014

The hot-button issue of standardized testing finally got a House floor debate Thursday, but a proposal to cut the $16.8 million needed to pay for new Common Core-aligned tests was defeated.

That proposal was one of 45 proposed amendments to House Bill 14-1336, the 2014-15 state budget that was up for preliminary consideration in the House Thursday. (Not all the amendments were actually offered.)

The annual budget debate is a ritualized process that’s more about political symbolism than substance, given that minority party amendments – in this case from the Republicans – are almost always defeated. (And even majority party amendments that would make significant changes to the bill crafted by the Joint Budget Committee are discouraged.)

The testing amendment was proposed by Republican Rep. Chris Holbert of Parker, who’s a member of the House Education Committee. It would have removed the $16.8 million contained in HB 14-1336 for PARCC testing costs and diverted the money into reduction of what’s called the negative factor, the $1 billion K-12 funding shortfall that was created by budget cuts in recent years. The amendment would have had the effect of delaying for a year the 2015 rollout of the new CMAS tests, which include PARCC language arts and math tests that are aligned to the Common Core Standards.

Testing is an issue that’s been simmering below the surface of the 2014 legislative session. Despite growing backlash against testing among some parent groups, the issue so far hasn’t gotten beyond the committee level.

Senate Bill 14-136, a measure that would have delaying implementation of new academic standards (including the Common Core) and the PARCC online tests, was killed in the Senate Education Committee (see story).

House Bill 14-1202, which would have allowed school districts to opt out of statewide tests, was amended before it was even heard by the House Education Committee. It now just proposes a study of testing, and the bill is pending in the House Appropriations Committee.

So Holbert’s budget bill amendment managed to get the issue onto the House floor, where the discussion consumed 40 minutes.

Interestingly, much of the debate was between two Douglas County Republicans, Holbert and Rep. Carole Murray, R-Castle Rock.

Holbert made a spirited argument against education centralization, saying, “By voting no on this amendment you’re saying Washington, D.C., controls our schools. … We know what’s best for our kids. … Listen to your constituents.” He said the money would be better used to buy down the negative factor.

His argument was buttressed by Rep. Lori Saine, R-Firestone, who said, “The Common Core is something Colorado moms are rising up against.”

Murray responded with a emphatic defense of Colorado’s testing, accountability and educator evaluation systems.

Given the billions in state dollars that go to school districts, “We have to feel some responsibility for performance in those school districts,” she said, and accountability rests on test results.

“We should have standards, and they should be high standards,” she said, “Change is hard. … Is that what we want to do, give up on it because it’s hard?” (In a variety of debates this session Murray sometimes seems like the lone Republican who still stands squarely behind all the education reforms passed in the last six years.)

Holbert’s amendment was defeated on a voice vote.

At the end of evening, Holbert proposed his amendment again, as is allowed when the House is finishing preliminary consideration of a bill.

He, Murray and a few other members reprised the earlier debate for about 10 minutes.

“I want to get back to where we used to be in education,” Holbert said.

“Now is the time to step on the gas” of education reform, Murray said.

Holbert’s second attempt failed on a 25-39 recorded vote.

Republicans also proposed – and lost – five amendments that would have transferred various amounts of money from a variety of other state programs and used it to buy down the negative factor. And two amendments to put an extra $18 million into charter school facilities also were defeated.

Minority Leader Brian DelGrosso, R-Loveland, later tried a do-over on a negative factor amendment, but that also failed.

http://co.chalkbeat.org/2014/03/27/testing-k-12-funding-roil-house-budget-debate/

2013-14 Colorado School Guide

School District Publishing is proud to present the 2013-14 Colorado School Guide.  

Check it out!

http://co-schools.com

Survey of Colorado Teachers Demonstrates Support for Innovative Education Policies

For Immediate Release                                                          March 27, 2014                                                                      Survey of Colorado Teachers Demonstrates Support for Innovative Education Policies Englewood, CO - Today the Professional Association of Colorado Educators (PACE), the largest non-union educators' organization in the state, released its 2014 Membership Survey about possible reforms to education in Colorado. Survey results show forward-thinking stances on policy changes, from pension reform to how we license teachers. With policymakers considering new ideas for Colorado's education system, it's critical that educators' opinions and experiences are taken into account. As a member-driven organization, PACE strives to bring an authentic teacher voice to the education reform dialogue, providing valuable input from professional educators across the state. "PACE takes positions on issues based solely on member feedback," stated PACE Executive Director Kris Enright. "Our goal is to connect with real educators on the front lines and provide them with a voice." With regard to Teacher Empowerment, PACE members stress the importance of more autonomy for teachers: 77% of survey respondents support a policy that would require the deposit of a percentage of each student's per-pupil-funding into a classroom account to be used, with proper oversight, by the teacher for class projects and equipment. This would better ensure that dollars are making their way to the classroom to benefit students. 81% of survey respondents support a policy that would create a process through which classroom teachers could apply for waivers from local, state, and federal mandates like prescribed curriculums, pacing guides, minimum or maximum seat times, or any other mandate that interferes with offering a properly tailored education to fit students' needs. When it comes to the way in which teachers are licensed in Colorado, PACE members felt strongly that changes need to be made to eliminate artificial barriers that keep talent out of the profession, while also creating a higher standard for those who want to qualify as professional educators. 72% of members support eliminating artificial barriers to gaining initial entry into the profession by requiring only a clean background check, a bachelor's degree, and a passing score on a content-area exam. After a new teacher gains entry into the profession, 68% of teachers support raising the bar for teachers that want to earn a professional license by requiring the satisfactory completion of a 1-3 year apprenticeship program under the daily mentorship of a proven educator. The United States has become an increasingly mobile society in the twenty-first century, but teacher employment policies in Colorado have not adapted to this new reality. Teachers are overwhelmingly calling for changes that will give them the ability to relocate without being penalized: 89% of survey respondents support a policy that would require school districts that use years of service as a primary factor for compensation to credit a teacher who transfers from another district with all of their prior years in the classroom. 89% of teachers additionally support offering a portable, 401(k) style retirement option that teachers can choose instead of the current pension plan, which they can take with them if they move to another state or switch careers. "We are proud to give a voice to educators across the state," asserted Enright. "We hope their viewpoint will be useful for policymakers and administrators on all levels as they continue to shape the future of Colorado's education system." Complete survey results can be found at coloradoteachers.org/images/pdfs/pace2014survey.pdf The Professional Association of Colorado Educators (PACE) is the state's largest non-union professional educator's organization, advancing the profession by offering a modern approach to teacher representation and educational advocacy, as well as promoting professionalism, collaboration and excellence without a partisan agenda. PACE members are forward-thinking professionals who are committed to student-centered reform. PACE welcomes professionals from all educational entities. Membership is $15 per month, which includes $2 million professional liability insurance, employment rights coverage, professional development resources, as well as a host of other benefits. Visit  Coloradoteachers.org for further information.

Mother of bald-headed girl makes request

Mother of bald-headed girl makes request

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Photo by: Christopher Tomlinson/ The Daily Sentinel

Jamie Renfro, with her daughter Kamryn, 9, says she wants people to focus on helping Delaney Clements, who has been fighting childhood cancer since she was 7. She wants to shift the focus from the controversy concerning the decision of the Caprock Academy board of directors to allow Kamryn to remain at school after officials had initially barred her, saying she violated the dress code by shaving her head over the weekend in support of Delaney.

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The Associated Press

DENVER – The mother of a Grand Junction third-grader who shaved her head in solidarity with a cancer-stricken friend is asking for an end to the national furor over a school’s short-lived decision to bar the girl from campus, so the focus can shift to the recovery of her 11-year-old friend.

The board of directors of the charter school, the Caprock Academy, voted Tuesday to let Kamryn Renfro remain. Officials had earlier barred her, saying she violated the dress code by shaving her head over the weekend.

The Denver Post reported Wednesday that Kamryn’s mother, Jamie Olson Renfro, took her daughter to Denver Tuesday to be with her friend ahead of a hospital visit. Olson Renfro called on people who have been following the story to think of Delaney Clements, who has been fighting childhood cancer since she was 7.

“Delaney is still in the fight of her life, and needs as much love, support and prayers as she can get,” Olson Renfro told the Post.

Delaney, bald from chemotherapy, told the Post that having friends willing to shave their heads made it easier to withstand teasing about her appearance.

“It feels good to have my friends be there for me, and to know I am not alone,” she said.

Olson Renfro also wrote on Facebook that Caprock was supportive of her daughter throughout the process that ended with Tuesday’s board vote.

The board voted 3-1 to grant Kamryn a waiver from the dress code, The Daily Sentinel of Grand Junction reported Wednesday. Two uniformed Grand Junction Police officers were on hand at the special meeting for the vote. Police Chief John Camper said police saw no specific threat, but offered to send officers because emotions were high and the events have received considerable attention.

The board member who voted against the waiver, Bill Newcomer, said “emotionally charged” decisions should be avoided.

Chairwoman Catherine Norton Breman began the special meeting by telling the audience of about 20 people, most of them teachers and reporters, that Kamryn’s motivation was “commendable.”

Common Core now a target for some conservatives

Common Core now a target for some conservatives

Indiana repeals learning standards adopted by 45 states

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Photo by: Associated Press file photo

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush says the Common Core standards are a way to improve student performance and, over the long term, competitiveness of American workers.

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By BILL BARROW
Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – More than five years after U.S. governors began a bipartisan effort to set new standards in American schools, the Common Core initiative has morphed into a political tempest fueling division among Republicans.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce leads establishment voices – such as possible presidential contender Jeb Bush – who hail the standards as a way to improve student performance and, over the long term, competitiveness of American workers.

Many archconservatives – tea party heroes Rand Paul and Ted Cruz among them – decry the system as a top-down takeover of local schools. The standards were developed and are being implemented by states, though Common Core opponents argue that President Barack Obama’s administration has encouraged adoption of the standards by various parameters it set for states applying to get lucrative federal education grants.

Tea party-aligned officials and candidates want to delay the standards or abandon them altogether in at least a dozen of the 45 states that adopted some part of the guidelines. Indiana Gov. Mike Pence on Monday signed the first Common Core repeal to make it through a legislature.

“Common Core is like Obamacare: They passed it before they knew what was in it,” said William Evers, a Hoover Institute research fellow and lead author of a California Republican Party resolution denouncing Common Core.

To a lesser extent, Democrats must deal with some teachers – their unions hold strong influence within the party – who are upset about implementation details. But it’s the internal GOP debate that’s on display in statehouses, across 2014 campaigns and among 2016 presidential contenders.

The flap continues as students in 36 states and the District of Columbia begin this week taking field tests of new assessments based on the standards, although the real tests won’t be given for another year.

Paul, a Republican senator from Kentucky, has joined seven colleagues, including Texas’ Cruz, to sponsor a measure that would bar federal financing of any Common Core component. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio isn’t among the eight, but he already had come out against the standards. So has Rick Santorum, a 2012 presidential candidate mulling another run.

On the other end of the spectrum is Bush, the former Florida governor and Rubio’s mentor. “This is a real-world, grown-up approach to a real crisis that we have, and it’s been mired in politics,” Bush said last week in Tennessee, where he joined Republican Gov. Bill Haslam at an event to promote Common Core.

Haslam, who is running for re-election this year, is trying to beat back a repeal effort in the Tennessee legislature. “These are simply guidelines that say a fourth-grader should be learning the same things” regardless of where the student lives, the governor said recently. “Historically, we haven’t been good at setting high standards.”

The National Governors Association and state education superintendents developed Common Core. Among other things, the framework recommends when students should master certain skills. For example, by the end of fifth grade, a math student should be able to solve complex problems by plotting points on x and y axes. A high school sophomore should be able to analyze text or make written arguments using valid logical reasoning and sufficient evidence.

The issue presents a delicate balancing act for some governors. Bobby Jindal’s Louisiana and Scott Walker’s Wisconsin initially adopted the new standards. Now both men – possible presidential candidates – watch as GOP lawmakers in their states push anti-Common Core bills.

Jindal, who was an NGA member during Common Core’s development, won’t say where he stands on repeal.

“When it comes to specific bills, when they get to the issue of standards, we’ll sit down with the authors and provide our thoughts about it. But in general when it comes to standards, we don’t want to weaken the standards,” he told reporters last week.

Before Wisconsin lawmakers convened, Walker announced support for rethinking Common Core. In both states, however, the anti-Common Core measures linger late in legislative sessions.

Establishment Republicans in Georgia, meanwhile, derailed a repeal effort in favor of a “study commission” empowered only to make recommendations. Alabama GOP leaders have held off a repeal measure, as well.

Immediate political consequences of the disputes aren’t clear. GOP officials and strategists say any fallout for them is dwarfed by Democrats’ struggle with Obama’s health care law. In the meantime, conservative candidates use Common Core as a symbolic rallying cry.

Tennessee state Rep. Joe Carr, a long-shot primary challenger to Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander, insists Common Core “is just one more overreach of a federal government that wants to insert itself into everything.” An Alabama congressional hopeful, Scott Beason, casts Common Core as liberal indoctrination. In Georgia’s crowded Republican primary for U.S. Senate, Rep. Paul Broun declared in a recent debate, “I want to abolish the Department of Education and get rid of Common Core forever.” His first goal wouldn’t necessarily accomplish the second.

The arguments perplex the politicians most responsible for the plan.

Democratic Gov. Jack Markell of Delaware told The Associated Press that opponents mistakenly equate a coalition from across the nation with a federal government initiative. Markell co-chaired the NGA’s Common Core panel with Republican Sonny Perdue of Georgia.

Perdue, who left office in 2011, said Common Core actually began as a pushback against federal influence because of the No Child Left Behind law, the national education act signed by President George W. Bush. Perdue said it was “embarrassing” for governors of both parties that Congress and the White House pushed higher standards before state leaders.

Perdue attributes the outcry against Common Core to Obama’s backing: “There is enough paranoia coming out of Washington, I can understand how some people would believe these rumors of a ‘federal takeover,’ try as you might to persuade people otherwise. I almost think it was detrimental ... for the president to endorse it.”

Evers, who was a top Education Department appointee during the Bush administration, says it’s unfair to reduce opponents’ concerns to partisanship. He notes insufficient training for teachers expected to use new teaching methods, and he criticizes specific components. For example, some math courses are recommended for later grade levels than in standards already adopted in leading states like Massachusetts and California.

States move forward, Evers argued, because of competition. “It’s by emulation and rivalry that we have always seen advances in public education,” he said. National standards, he added, “will close the door on innovation.”

http://www.durangoherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20140325/NEWS05/140329717/-1/News05/Common-Core-now-a-target-for-some-conservatives-&template=printpicart

More children now in poverty than during the recession, according to 2014 Kids Count

More children now in poverty

 than during the recession,

 according to 2014 Kids Count

by Kate Schimel on March 24, 2014

More children are living in poverty than during the 2008 recession, and that number is growing.

That’s the latest from the 2014 KIDS COUNT report from Colorado Children’s Campaign, the annual report on the state of child health, wellness and education. Colorado has one of the fastest growing rates of child poverty, a consistent pattern since 2000.

“We are heading in the wrong direction, and quickly,” said Chris Watney, president and CEO of the Colorado Children’s Campaign

The KIDS COUNT in Colorado! report is part of the national KIDS COUNT project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. This year marks the 21st anniversary of the Colorado report.

Wide gaps, from early years on

There were few bright spots in the report, which showed wide disparities between the state’s affluent and poor students.

“Why would such a prosperous place to live be such a tough place for families?” said Watney. “It was no one factor.”

The report did show the costs of childcare outpacing families’ ability to pay for them. Enrollment by low-income families in early childhood education still lagged, even among those eligible for either state or federal aid.

That may be largely due to access, which has failed to keep pace with demand. An estimated 500 Colorado students could lose access to the federal early childhood program HeadStart, due to cuts made during the government sequester. Colorado’s state-funded preschool program served 21 percent of all eligible four years olds and 6.2 percent of all eligible three year olds. That number could increase this year, with legislative approval of additional seats.

The economic disparities don’t disappear in later years. The report found that for K-12, the state’s poorest students are concentrated in the lowest performing schools.

Schools in the state’s two lowest rankings for performance had on average 70 percent low-income students, nearly twice the percentage in the state’s highest performing schools. The report also found consistently wide academic achievement gaps between affluent and disadvantaged populations, among the widest in the nation.

Other highlights

The report also looked at other measures of childhood wellness and education. Key findings include:

• Colorado’s graduation rate continues to increase, up to 77 percent in 2013 from 72 percent in 2010.
• Colorado ranked as the fifth least affordable state for childcare, an improvement over last year’s fourth place ranking.
• The state’s teen pregnancy rate continue to drop statewide, although Eagle County, which includes Vail, saw an increase.
• In one of the positive outcomes, the number of children living without health insurance dropped to below the national average. Since 2006, 63,000 children have gained insurance.

Location, location, location

The report found strong geographic patterns in child well-being, one of the key metrics studied in the report. Douglas County ranked at the top of the state’s counties for child wellness, for the third year running.

Also for the third year in a row, Denver ranked at the bottom, due in large part to factors related to high poverty levels. Denver serves nearly a tenth of the state’s homeless students and has nearly double the state’s percent of students receiving free lunch, a federal indicator of extremely low family income. On the bright side, Denver has high rates of kindergarten enrollment, nearly 100 percent, compared with 70 percent state-wide.

While most counties saw no change in their status this year, several saw a decline in their childhood well-being score. Montezuma County, which ranked as the second worst on the metric this year, saw a decline in its status.

Although Watney and others were unsure as to the exact reasons for that decline, the county’s low ranking can be attributed to a high poverty rate and the presence of a larger proportion of American Indians, who continue to struggle on a host of both academic and health metrics.

Watney hopes the report will prompt counties to reexamine their practices.

“We are very hopeful that communities will take a deep dive into their numbers and can look at opportunities for improvement,” she said. “I think KIDS COUNT gives you a chance to compare yourself to other counties in your area.”

She also said the report has influenced the Children’s Campaign’s lobbying efforts at the state level.

“One of the policies we are focused on at the legislature is making improvements at the early childhood level,” Watney said. “For children living in vulnerable families, we believe early childhood education can really improve outcomes.”

For more on the report, see here. County-level data is available on nearly all metrics and the report covers a variety of metrics not explored here.

http://co.chalkbeat.org/2014/03/24/more-children-in-poverty-than-during-the-recession-according-to-2014-kids-count/