This playbook provides ways in which Governors and teams can blur the lines between high school, postsecondary education, and the workforce. Governors play a significant role to Raise the Bar for student success by developing an "education-to-workforce system" that focuses on Unlocking Career Success.

This briefing paper explores Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) policies and practices that state early intervention (Part C) programs may consider implementing to meet the social-emotional and mental health needs of infants and toddlers in the context of relationships with their parents and other caregivers.

Fostering Opportunities is an innovative student engagement program for middle school and high school students who have experienced foster care. The goal of the program is to help youth who have experienced foster care be successful in school and ultimately earn a high school credential. Fostering Opportunities was developed because of the clear…

In this paper, Leading Educators and the Aspen Institute propose a roadmap to empower teachers to lead from the front of the classroom. This paper outlines key phases that system administrators will need to consider as they build teacher leadership systems that address their highest priorities. For each phase, the Aspen Institute offers a…

To assist system administrators as they pursue their own teacher leadership initiatives, this profile from Leading Educators and the Aspen Institute details the steps Denver Public Schools (DPS) took to design and implement its Differentiated Roles pilot. Specifically, it examines the initiative's opportunities and challenges within the context of…

The Developmental Strategies for College Readiness and Success Resource Guide was produced by the Education Commission of the States and the Southern Regional Education Board for the "Countdown to 2015: Developmental Strategies to Advance Readiness in the Common Core Era" convening held April 21-23, 2014 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The…

This guidebook is intended for use by charter school planning groups as they prepare their applications to create a charter school in Colorado. It is also intended to guide charter school groups that have already implemented a program. It covers essential components of the charter school application and includes examples from existing charters.…

The Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities (Part C of IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Act) is a federal program that assists states in operating a system of early intervention supports and services for infants and toddlers with special needs and their families. In Colorado, the Part C initiative is called Early Childhood…

Noting that family literacy is an intergenerational approach to education that addresses the needs of both the adult and child learner, this booklet presents aspects of family literacy programs and steps to help ensure the program's success. After discussing the need for family literacy, the book discusses the effectiveness of family literacy and…

These Colorado guidelines explain the purpose of vision screening programs in schools and draw a distinction between screening and a screening program. They outline types of screening to be carried out for students at each grade level. Screening procedures are then described in detail, including: history and external observations, distance visual…

This document is divided into three volumes. Volume I describes what exemplary Private Industry Councils (PICS) do, Volume II explains why they are effective, and Volume III tells how to implement exemplary practice. Volume I contains case studies of 10 exemplary PICs organized by 7 topics areas (history and structure, policies and program…

This report discusses strategies that will help charter schools finance their facilities needs. It outlines the history of the Colorado Charter Schools Act, focusing on the contracting process, on dispute resolution and appeals, on renewal, on employee options, and on revenue allocation. The document also examines issues surrounding school…

Based on the 1980-81 experiences of 12 rural Colorado school districts' efforts to implement the 4-day school week, this manual was written to examine the key decisions that must be considered in implementing the 4-day schedule. The manual delineates the alternatives regarding each decision, potential trouble areas, and the ways one particular…

This guide presents state policies and procedures for all types of off-campus instruction delivered by Colorado institutions. Instruction may be offered at off-campus locations, at other institutions' campuses, or delivered to students via the mails or electronic media. Part A provides an introduction, while Part B considers general policies…

Based on a need to assess current library strengths and weaknesses and to project potential library roles in supporting higher education, this master plan makes a series of recommendations to Colorado's academic libraries. It is noted that the plan was endorsed by both the Colorado Commission on Higher Education and the Colorado State Department…