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VOLUME 117 | ISSUE 31
WEEK OF AUGUST 1, 2024
CHAINSAW ARTISTS
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Sculptors compete at Chainsaws and Chuckwagons P4
State boosts new teacher recruiting Stipends are meant to help address teacher shortage BY MELANIE ASMAR CHALKBEAT COLORADO
Colorado is seeking new applicants for a program that aims to address Colorado’s teacher shortage by providing stipends of up to $10,000 to educators teaching under alternative licenses while earning degrees. Called the Educator Recruitment and Retention Financial Assistance Program, the program began in the 2021-22 school year with 80 educators, who agreed to work in rural school districts for three years as a condition of receiving the stipend. In 2022, state lawmakers expanded the program to include educators all over Colorado, not just in rural districts. Participation exploded to 749 educators in 2022-23 and held fairly steady this past school year with an unofficial count of about 700 educators, according to a Colorado Department of Education spokesperson. Nearly a quarter of the 749 educators who got the stipend in 2022-23 were educators of color, according to a state report. Just 16% of Colorado’s educators are people of color, according to state data. SEE RECRUITING, P13
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