Teaching and learning: News wrap up

Denver elementary school gets some national attention Beach Court Elementary, which ranked first in growth on CSAP scores this year and last, was featured this week on NBC’s Education Nation, a nationally broadcast, in-depth conversation about improving education in America. In addition to a Beach Court’s video montage being displayed in the Learning Plaza at Rockefeller Center, the school’s principal, Frank Roti, was invited to attend the Town Hall Show hosted by Brian Williams, according to Denver Public Schools. Watch the entire program.

State audit: 19 Colorado districts financially weak Education News Colorado reports on a state audit that found more troubling financial news confronting the state’s public schools. Staff in the state auditor’s office reviewed three years of audits of the state’s 178 school districts, in this case, 2006-07 through 2008-9, and evaluated the financial health of districts based on six warning indicators. The review found that 19 Colorado school districts showed at least two indicators at the end of the 2008-09 school year. Thirty districts had one indicator. A year ago, the auditor’s 2009 report found 13 districts with two warning indicators and 30 with one.

DPS teachers knock on students’ doors This story, also from the Denver Post, documents a program at Fairview Elementary School that has teachers at one of the city’s poorest schools visiting student families at home. The Post’s Jeremy P. Meyer reports that high-performing schools in affluent neighborhoods are often buzzing with parents, while schools in high-poverty neighborhoods experience a dearth of parent help. At Fairview, every year educators try to visit the homes of every child in the school — getting to know the families and discovering more about their students.

About our First Person series:

First Person is where Chalkbeat features personal essays by educators, students, parents, and others trying to improve public education. Read our submission guidelines here.