Ann Schimke

Ann Schimke covers healthy school topics and early childhood issues for Chalkbeat Colorado. She's written for The Washington Post as well as newspapers in Michigan, Virginia and Colorado. She holds a master’s degree in education policy from the University of Michigan. She joined Chalkbeat (then EdNews Colorado) in 2012.

Colorado explicitly invited faith-based preschools to participate in its new $322 million universal preschool program, which despite a rocky rollout has proven popular with families. But state officials have sent mixed messages about whether preschools can offer religious instruction during state-funded class time

Education |
Proposed ban on religious instruction in Colorado’s state-funded preschools may spark legal fight

December 1, 2023 at 9:50 a.m.

Colorado explicitly invited faith-based preschools to participate in its new $322 million universal preschool program, which despite a rocky rollout has proven popular with families. But state officials have sent...

Early childhood teacher Tami Ramnitz leads her class out onto the playground as preschoolers spend part of their first week getting to know new friends at Beck Preschool inside the Beck Recreation Center on Aug. 29, 2017 in Aurora.

Education |
Colorado backtracks on full-time preschool for 11,000 kids with risk factors

November 29, 2023 at 12:51 p.m.

Colorado’s universal preschool plan called for children with risk factors to get up to 30 hours a week at no cost to their families, provided there was enough money. It...

Preschooler, Luke Van de Sande, right, ...

Education |
Are there enough free preschool seats for Colorado 4-year-olds? It depends.

April 27, 2023 at 12:30 p.m.

State officials expect only about half of Colorado’s 4-year-olds -- around 31,000 children — to participate in the first year.

Shena Lopez, an attendance advocate at ...

Education |
When students don’t show up at Colorado schools, attendance detectives are on the case

August 28, 2022 at 6:00 a.m.

The Greeley-Evans district in northern Colorado is one of many school districts nationwide using federal COVID-19 dollars to fund attendance-boosting efforts.

Education |
These 48 public schools in Denver still don’t have air conditioning

August 25, 2022 at 8:21 a.m.

School started in Denver on Monday, and with temperatures climbing into the high 80s this week, 48 campuses still don’t have air conditioning.

Education |
Colorado’s kindergarten math: How a pandemic plus lower birth rates are changing school for young learners

August 12, 2021 at 12:48 p.m.

Experts fear the youngest students could face the most substantial social and academic gaps because of the pandemic.

The smaller Early Literacy Grant program came with strict rules about how schools should improve reading instruction, plus considerable state oversight.

Education |
In bid to boost Colorado reading scores, small program shows promise where larger efforts failed

July 22, 2021 at 2:27 p.m.

The smaller Early Literacy Grant program came with strict rules about how schools should improve reading instruction, plus considerable state oversight.

The Cherry Creek School board on Wednesday chose an internal candidate — Chief of Staff Chris Smith — as the sole finalist for the 54,000-student district’s superintendent job.

Education |
Cherry Creek school board names internal candidate as superintendent finalist

March 25, 2021 at 4:04 p.m.

The Cherry Creek School board on Wednesday chose an internal candidate — Chief of Staff Chris Smith — as the sole finalist for the 54,000-student district’s superintendent job.

Education |
Why do so many Colorado students struggle to read? Flawed curriculum is part of the problem.

April 7, 2020 at 7:56 a.m.

School districts that serve tens of thousands of Colorado students are using discredited or inconsistent approaches to teach children how to read, contributing to the state’s persistently low rates of...

A new effort to provide care for the children of thousands of hospital staff and emergency responders in Colorado kicked off Monday with around 900 children linked up with nearby child care providers.

Health |
Colorado launches emergency child care for those on the front lines of coronavirus — and it’s free for now

May 7, 2020 at 3:58 p.m.

A new effort to provide care for the children of thousands of hospital staff and emergency responders in Colorado kicked off Monday with around 900 children linked up with nearby...

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