A century ago, there were no free schools for would-be students over the age of eighteen. Emily Griffith changed that. The longtime Denver Public Schools teacher and two-time deputy state superintendent of schools had a dream of starting a school that was open to everyone, regardless of age, income or previous…
Elijah Huff calls himself a “’hood-walker.” “It’s amazing when I walk around…. When you walk past, you never know where your next house will be,” explains the recent Manual High School graduate. The location of Huff’s next home weighs heavily on his mind as he prepares to head to Fort Lewis…
In March 2014, we noted that the Colorado Supreme Court had agreed to hear a challenge to Douglas County School District’s controversial voucher system. More than a year later, the court has ruled — and its decision marks a victory for the plaintiffs and a setback for DougCo school board…
Earlier this week, we reported that Twin Peaks Charter Academy valedictorian Evan Young, who was prevented from speaking at a commencement ceremony in May because he’d planned to come out as gay, had been given the opportunity to deliver his address at an Out Boulder event at which he received an…
Evan Young was the class valedictorian for Twin Peaks Charter Academy in Longmont. But the school didn’t allow him to speak at his May 16 commencement. Why not? Because he planned to come out as gay during the address — subject matter rejected by the school for reasons spelled out…
Even though church and state are separate entities according to the U.S. Constitution, the Supreme Court has ruled that religious clubs can meet at public schools after hours. But when do such accommodations become promotion of a specific faith or doctrine? And did Florence High School cross this line over and…
Temple Grandin is a world-renowned public speaker, autism activist and animal-science academic at Colorado State University who loves connecting with her fans on a personal level. The success of the HBO movie about Grandin and her best-selling books show that there’s immense interest in her work, and the CSU social and digital media…
The Independence Institute is attempting to raise $300,000 in the next sixty days to battle the teachers’ union in Jefferson County, where the fight over public education policy has turned ugly. “Teachers’ unions are a threat to our children’s future,” Jon Caldara, the president of the Independence Institute, wrote in…
The divided and controversial Jefferson County school board continues to make headlines. The latest? A mea culpa from board member Julie Williams for posting a link on her Facebook page to a newsletter that encouraged parents to keep their kids home from school and “away from perverse indoctrination” and the…
Nine candidates have applied to fill a vacancy on the five-member Adams 12 Five Star school board. They are: Merylee Appel, Amira Assad-Lucas, Brian Batz, Andrew Been, Jessy Hamilton, Joseph Holt, Nicholas Jonson, James Joy and incumbent Rico Figueroa. The board has until May 1 to fill the vacancy. If…
The battle over public education policy in Jefferson County has gotten ugly, as we explain in this week’s cover story, “Class Warfare.” And the free-market Independence Institute is aiming to call out some of the perpetrators with a new website, MeanGirlz.org. The site, explains executive vice president Amy Oliver Cooke,…
In November 2013, three new school-board members were elected in Jefferson County. Ken Witt, John Newkirk and Julie Williams — or “WNW,” as they called themselves — ran as a group of fiscal conservatives who were in favor of school choice and opposed to Amendment 66, a statewide Democrat-backed tax…
Last week, we noted the defeat of an IUD bill in the Colorado legislature, along with statistics about how Colorado stacked up with other states when it comes to teen pregnancy. This topic got us to thinking about the topic of sex education — and judging by 2012 statistics from…
For the past three years, the CU Boulder campus has been closed to visitors on April 20 in an attempt to snuff out the 4/20 bash that annually transformed the school into what NORML executive director Alan St. Pierre once referred to as “an orgasm of cannabis consumption.” For this…
Earlier this month, when we shared a list of Colorado’s best high schools according to ColoradoSchoolGrades.com, we noted that the site dished out plenty of high marks. Five of the top ten schools tied for the top spot. This trend is even more explicit when it comes to the ColoradoSchoolGrades.com…
This week, a U.S. District jury awarded $2.2 million in damages in the case of a special-needs child who attended Bessemer Academy in Pueblo as a kindergartner. The complaint is based on the staff’s decision to keep the child, then a kindergartner, in what’s referred to in court papers as…
According to ColoradoSchoolGrades.com, there are plenty of outstanding high schools in the state. The site’s roster of the ten finest includes five schools that tied for first place. And even a couple of runners-up received A+ ratings. Note that there’s very little crossover between the site’s picks and those Colorado…
Last week, we shared with you a list of the ten most expensive Colorado colleges by in-state tuition, according to U.S. Department of Education data for the 2013-2014 school year as compiled by CollegeCalc.org. This week, we look at the roster of the priciest schools judged by out-of-state tuition. Some…
What are the priciest Colorado colleges as measured by in-state tution? The rundown by CollegeCalc.org, using U.S. Department of Education statistics for the 2013-2014 academic year, is filled with surprises. Continue to count down the photo-illustrated top ten, featuring CollegeCalc.org statistics. And be sure to click on the links to…
A contested seat on the Adams 12 Five Star school board should be declared vacant, the Colorado Supreme Court has ruled. Since the candidate who won the most votes is ineligible to serve, it’s as if no one won the election, the high court decided. The school board will now…
Dear DPS Community, I would like to apologize for our late notice in closing schools this morning. We know how important these decisions are, and we take them very seriously. The most important factor is the well-being of our students and their families. Whenever possible, DPS tries to keep schools…
Last September and October, one of the biggest stories in the Denver metro area involved student protests in Jefferson County against the proposed assembling of a history curriculum committee tasked with emphasizing patriotism and downplaying civil disorder. After large walkouts at schools throughout the district, the Jeffco school board okayed the…
