CU-Boulder’s decision to ban campus visitors and close Norlin Quad in an effort to shrink the annual 4/20 event prompted an unsuccessful court challenge and plenty of controversy. But despite security breaches and a free Wyclef Jean concert that failed to siphon off more than a handful of students, a…
With a judge ruling yesterday that CU-Boulder can go ahead with its plan to close Norlin Quad and ban visitors from campus as a way of shrinking the annual 4/20 event, people who’d planned to mark the day in Boulder have a choice — face cops lined up at every…
What’s in a name? For the newly minted Metropolitan State University of Denver, about six years of research and discussion, thousands of surveys, numerous focus groups and $95,000. That’s a portion of what went into a name change from Metropolitan State College of Denver that was made official yesterday when…
Monarch Montessori, the charter school that’s the subject of this week’s cover story, “Play Time is Over,” has enrolled enough students to open this fall. Denver Public Schools, which approved the school due in part to pressure from the State Board of Education, gave Monarch until April 20 to enroll…
On Sunday night, NBC’s Education Nation, a traveling summit about innovations in education, will host a Teacher Town Hall in Denver. Moderated by NBC education reporter Rehema Ellis, the teacher-only event will feature a rotating panel of nine local educators picked for their expertise on topics such as school funding,…
Earlier this week, we shared CU Boulder’s plans for shrinking the annual pro-pot 4/20 event on campus — a Wyclef Jean concert that gets underway just before the magic minute combined with what we termed a “police crackdown” on those who choose to mark the occasion in the usual way…
April 20 is simultaneously a day of celebration and a day of mourning — claimed by both pro-marijuana activists and those impacted by the 1999 Columbine shootings. But this year, the Substance Abuse Coalition of Douglas County is looking to reframe these associations. The coalition is organizing “Take Back 420″…
For months, members of CU Boulder’s student government have talked about their desire to move the annual 4/20 celebration off campus. But the logistics of doing so proved challenging, prompting leaders to opt for a low-key campaign to shrink attendance. Now we know the centerpiece of their plan: a Wyclef…
Theron and Teague Harrison, the whiz brother-sister debate team from Manual High School who we profiled last year in our cover story “Say What?”, are once again headed to the Urban Debate National Championship. The pair snagged first place at the Denver Urban Debate League City Championship earlier this month,…
Update below: University of Denver chancellor Dr. Robert Coombe didn’t attend a public event prompted by Greek Life groups’ Cowboys and Indians party — an event that offended members of the DU Native Student Alliance. However, Coombe is scheduled to meet with the Alliance next month — and today, he…
The Women’s Final Four hits town this weekend, but the fun started early at Annunciation Catholic School thanks to a visit from the Notre Dame cheerleaders and pep band, in town to boost the Fighting Irish in Sunday’s semi-final game. It was tough getting event pics, but I finally managed…
Yesterday, Greek Life representatives at the University of Denver publicly apologized for a Cowboys and Indians-themed party dubbed “piercingly offensive” by DU’s Native Student Alliance. And while the university’s chancellor didn’t attend, he has arranged to meet with alliance members next week — a development that contrasts sharply with dismissive…
An unusual event will take place today on the University of Denver campus — one prompted by another unusual event. At 4 p.m., students and administrators will gather near a tepee on Driscoll Green as representatives of two Greek Life organizations publicly apologize for a Cowboys and Indians theme party…
Today through Sunday, experts on U.S. Drug Policy and the medical marijuana movement are meeting with politically minded students from across the nation at the Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Center. And while 4/20 is still a month a way, the students debating the pros and cons of drug policy at…
Immigration advocates are hopeful that a new agreement between the Roaring Fork School District and three local police departments will put an end to the controversial collaboration between school resource officers and federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. But they also fear that the agreement doesn’t go far enough…
The Ricardo Flores Magon Academy charter school can continue operating. Today, the Charter School Institute voted to extend the embattled school’s contract for five more years — with several stipulations. Among them: Find a new leader. The school’s founder and most recent principal, Marcos Martinez, resigned along with two others…
Teachers at Colorado’s largest online school are likely overworked and underpaid, according to an investigation by KUNC reporter Grace Hood. She found that most of the teachers at Colorado Virtual Academy make less than $35,000 per year — even middle school English instructors who, during the first semester last year,…
Marcos Martinez, the controversial founder of the Ricardo Flores Magon Academy and subject of our cover story “A Hard Line,” has resigned. So, too, have two other employees whom the school’s board of trustees asked to take a paid leave while they investigated complaints against them. The school is now…
Life Skills Center lost its appeal yesterday before the State Board of Education, which sided with Denver Public Schools’ decision to close the school. The last-chance high, which Westword profiled in 2007, will shut its doors after eight years of educating all who showed up on its doorstep, no matter…
Regis University in Denver is taking the lead on a program to teach online college courses in refugee camps in Malawi and Kenya, and in urban Syria. The four-year pilot project is called “Jesuit Commons: Higher Education at the Margins” and it aims to solve a stark problem: the dearth…
Last September, we told you about a movement to end school zero-tolerance policies enacted after the 1999 Columbine massacre. These efforts led to Senate Bill 46, which passed its first committee test last week. But its narrow margin of victory leaves sponsoring Senator Evie Hudak worried that some legislators see…
The Colorado Supreme Court ruling to allow people with concealed-carry permits to possess guns on University of Colorado campuses will necessitate a major philosophical shift among CU officials. Case in point: Just over two years ago, CU Boulder expanded its weapons ban to include Nerf guns…
