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…
Doctors spend eight or more years in college and medical school before they finally are ready to practice — but Dr. Stacey Kerr thinks they need to go back for one more lesson. Kerr, a family physician in California, believes every doctor and caregiver has a responsibility to study all…
Since retiring from the U.S. Supreme Court back in 2006, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor has been promoting civics education. To honor others who have the same goal, the National Center for State Courts presents the Sandra Day O’Connor Award for the Advancement of Civics Education annually. This year the winner…
Thanks in part to popular crime shows, criminal justice programs are booming across the country. And in the first-ever ranking of national online criminal justice programs by U.S. News and World Report, the University of Colorado Denver landed in the top ten. It rated ninth overall, and fifth among public…
Last week, President Barack Obama announced the full restoration of diplomatic relations with Cuba. That means that there will be an American embassy in Havana for the first time in more than half a century, and travel and trade between the two countries will become significantly easier. But if hadn’t…
“Missing the Bus: Colorado’s Elite College Access Gap,” a new report from A+ Denver, suggests that equal educational opportunities for all students in the state remains a distant goal. Among the findings: “Even though 42 percent of students in Colorado qualify as low-income, a non-low-income student is more than 12…
In recent years, the Douglas County School District has stirred controversy over a perceived rightward shift led by its conservative school board. Now, the American Humanist Association is suing the district, the school board and other individuals for allowing what the AHA characterizes as religious fundraisers at individual institutions, thereby…
High-achieving East High School and struggling Manual High School will not partner to create a ninth-grade academy serving students from both schools, Denver Public Schools told the communities in a pair of letters. “We heard considerable feedback from both the Manual and East communities on this proposal, and we’re no…
The Jefferson County School Board spurred a national controversy via a proposed history curriculum committee tasked with emphasizing patriotism and downplaying civil disorder. In an attempt to mute complaints, symbolized by multiple student walkouts at Jeffco schools, the board approved an amendment to add teachers and students on the committee,…
