Jenny Brundin

There's a national trend in education to clearly document and measure what's taught, keeping teachers accountable. In some cases, it's overwhelming and driving good veteran teachers away.

After 25 years of teaching at the same high school in Colorado, Rick Young won't return this year. He's not alone, about 20 percent of experienced teachers quit every year.

How is it that the nation's 14th richest state ranks 42nd in how much it spends per student in schools? It all comes down to Colorado's Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, or TABOR.

This school in Denver teaches its seventh-graders about the disease, the science behind it and the patience needed to deal with it.

Across the country, school districts are struggling to find new teachers. One rural town in Colorado is reaching outside the 50 states.

Nick Bain, 17, was in class one day when he calculated that only "2 1/2 to three hours" was actually useful instruction. So he decided to go out on his own to learn.

The Common Core math standards say students need more than a textbook understanding of concepts like the Pythagorean theorem. So two Colorado teachers teamed up for a lesson in real-world math.

For weeks, Colorado high school students protested a proposal that the AP history course promote patriotism. The school board dropped some controversial language, but voted to review the curriculum.

At Alice Terry Elementary School in Colorado, a music teacher decided the students should occasionally have a "silent" lunch break. No talking, just listening to live music. Ami Hall says hearing new sounds makes children curious, which then carries over into other subjects.