Monday, December 12, 2011

Ruling a clean sweep for Lobato plaintiffs | EdNewsColorado

Ruling a clean sweep for Lobato plaintiffs | EdNewsColorado:

Ruling a clean sweep for Lobato plaintiffs

A Denver judge’s ruling in the Lobato school funding case represents a sweeping legal victory – at least at the trial court level – for the parents and school districts that brought the case.

Lobato trial site

Site of Lobato trial in Denver City and County Building

In fact, District Judge Sheila Rappaport’s 189-page decision, issued late Friday afternoon, incorporates word-for-word virtually all of a proposed ruling filed by the plaintiffs in late October.

It’s an established legal practice for lawyers to file documents called “proposed conclusions of law and findings


New website rates schools A to F

A coalition of foundations and advocacy groups today is unveiling a website that grades Colorado schools from A to F in what organizers say is an attempt to make it easier for parents and community members to understand how schools are performing.

A screenshot from ColoradoSchoolGrades.com.

Tim Taylor, president of Colorado Succeeds, said the grades are based on the same criteria used by the state in its accountability system, which last week issued ratings dividing schools into four categories ranging from “performance” to “turnaround.”

Taylor, who gave reporters a sneak peek of the website Friday, said those labels and the state’s highly detailed


Monday Churn: Honoring top performers

Daily Churn logoWhat’s churning:

The Colorado Department of Education will hold an awards ceremony to recognize the 18 districtsAccredited with Distinction under the state’s accountability system. The event starts at 10 a.m. in the CDE lobby at 201 E. Colfax Ave., Denver. Full list of winners:

Academy School District 20, Agate School District 300, Aspen School District 1, Buffalo School District RE-4, Cheyenne Mountain School District 12, Dolores School District RE-4A, Frenchman School District RE-3, Hinsdale County School District RE-1, Kiowa County School District C-2, Lewis-Palmer School District 38, Littleton Public Schools 6, Moffat School District 2, North Park School District R-1, Ouray School District R-1, Plateau School District RE-5, Ridgway School District R-2, Steamboat Springs School District RE-2 and Telluride School District R-1

The ceremony will also recognize the recipients of the 2011 Centers of Excellence award. Established by the