Author: Eric Young
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The Vanguard School celebrates 30th year, school choice legacy
In 1993, Colorado made public charter schools the law of the land. In 1995, Colorado Springs opened its first options for this kind of school choice. Offering a classical liberal arts education, Vanguard is the culmination of parents searching for more rigorous and structured instruction that was typically found in private schools. Dress codes to…
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2025 Voter Guide: proposed tax hikes could upgrade four area school districts
Along with new representatives on their boards of education, voters in the Pikes Peak region will decide on potential tax increases for four of its school districts. Widefield D-3, Manitou Springs D-14, Cripple Creek-Victor RE-1 and Peyton 23-JT will all ask voters to approve new bonds to renovate or replace aging infrastructure or mill levy…
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Voter Guide: Pikes Peak Region school board elections
Term limits are up across many of Colorado Springs’ larger school districts, so big changes could be coming to local education’s leadership following the November coordinated election. Candidates are vying for multiple seats in Colorado Springs D-11 and Academy D-20. Meanwhile, a lack of candidates in Harrison D-2 and Fountain-Fort Carson means those districts have…
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School District 49 begins exploring eastward expansions
As School District 49 continues to expand eastward, leadership has begun discussing how it might build on its existing schools and programs to meet their projected needs. Consolidating the existing Falcon Elementary School of Technology and Bennett Ranch Elementary Schools to a single building and selling existing properties along Woodmen Road to go toward developing…
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D-11 teachers union stage district-wide strike Wednesday, school day continues
The Colorado Springs Education Association carried through with its plan for a one-day strike throughout Colorado Springs School District 11 for what it believes to be unfair labor practices, as classes carried on. Union members, students and volunteers gathered outside their local school in the early morning before canvassing their neighborhoods and gathering in Acadia Park…
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D-11 and teachers union prepping for one-day strike
Years of building tension between Colorado Springs School District 11’s leadership and its teachers’ union may reach its climax this week through a one-day strike set to take place throughout the district and its schools. On Oct. 8, teachers, families and community supporters will gather outside of D-11 schools in the morning before speaking with…
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School District 49 candidates discuss parental rights, mental health and recent actions at student-led forum
Two fresh faces and a familiar one are challenging two incumbents for seats on the School District 49 Board of Education in November. The five candidates came together for a forum at the school district’s Creekside Success Center to field questions from the community on Wednesday night. Board President Lori Thompson and Chris Harrell are…
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D-11 school board candidates share their priorities at public forum
The end goals for Colorado Springs D-11’s school board candidates, broadly speaking, are somewhat consistent: higher student achievement, greater transparency with the public and supporting teachers and staff. How to go about doing so is where their visions differ. Six of the seven candidates vying for the school district’s three open board seats discussed how…
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Candidates state their case for joining Academy D-20 board
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with a correction. Academy D-20 has not had an auto-pedestrian crash fatality involving a D-20 student as claimed by a school board candidate. School board candidates for Academy District 20 fielded questions ranging from future facility needs to recent board actions during a public forum held at Liberty…
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How do local schools ‘turn around’ after years of poor performance?
To ensure success for every student in Colorado schools, the state’s accountability system gives underperforming schools the chance to address their shortcomings before intervention. How exactly a school achieves this transformation can depend on a myriad of conditions. In Harrison D-2, El Paso County’s most racially and economically diverse school district, the road to school…