Charter Schools Coalesce to Mitigate the Effects of COVID

A survey of school superintendents across Colorado at the end of 2020 showed a high level of concern about the loss of student reading and math skills due to the pandemic, as well as negative impacts on the mental health of both students and teachers. Six Denver-area charter schools are working together to reimagine approaches that support both learning and well-being in the wake of COVID-19.

early childhood eduation teacher

Strategy to Build Knowledge in Colorado’s New Department of Early Childhood

The Colorado legislature passed a monumental bill during the 2021 session that approved the launch of a brand new state Department of Early Childhood in the Executive Branch. This makes Colorado one of a handful of states that has an entire agency dedicated to early childhood policies and programs. The Colorado Lab laid out an approach to effectively support the early childhood system and allow the state to comprehensively understand which families are being served and how and where to address unmet needs.

home childcare provider

Preschool Development Grant Case Study Evaluation

Healthy child development is nurtured by both parents/caregivers and child care providers, and collaboration across early childhood spaces is thus vital. To catalyze innovation partnerships in early childhood, the Colorado Lab is conducting a case study evaluation of a pilot partnership between home visiting agencies and local home child care providers.

Fostering Opportunities: Closing the High School Graduation Gap for Youth Who Experience Foster Care

Only one in four Colorado students who experience foster care during high school graduate with their class. Most interventions aimed at improving the graduation rates of foster youth are spearheaded by child welfare agencies or the judicial system with services typically ending when students exit the foster care system. Yet there is evidence to suggest that the risk for poor educational outcomes may increase after foster care ends. Fostering Opportunities is different because it is delivered by a school system and continues service until a student graduates or demonstrates sustained academic success.

School Counselor Corps Grant Program

The Colorado School Counselor Corps Grant Program (SCCGP) is intended to assist local education providers to access effective school counseling in order to increase graduation rates, decrease dropout rates, and increase rates of matriculation into institutions of higher education. SCCGP has shown promising results in achieving all of its stated goals over the past 10 years of implementation. The goal of this project is to develop a plan and prepare to conduct a rigorous evaluation of program effectiveness and measure the program’s ROI.

Improving Data Systems to Support the Early Childhood Workforce

The successful creation of early care and education workforce data assets in Phase I led to an extension of Colorado Lab’s partnership with the Department of Early Childhood through the Federal Preschool Development Grant. This second phase of work will support the rebuild of the early childhood workforce registry data system and will fill in data gaps including postsecondary pathways of the workforce as well as a comprehensive look at wages and compensation.