Yesterday, we told you about planned protests this morning by students at three Jefferson County high schools — Pomona, Ralston Valley and Arvada West — over a plan to promote patriotism in history lessons by downplaying civil disorder. Now, students from at least one more Jeffco high school are planning…
Just 22 percent of Colorado law enforcement agencies and district attorneys complied with a new state law that requires them to submit reports about their contacts with students — a number that the group Padres y Jovenes Unidos says is disappointing. The Smart School Discipline Law was passed in 2012…
On Friday, opposition to new Jefferson County School Board proposals regarding teacher pay and history instruction focusing on “patriotism” exploded into action, with instructor sickouts leading to closures at two high schools, Standley Lake and Conifer, where students rallied to offer support. Now, amid warnings about a possible sickout repeat…
Any Highlands Ranch High School student thinking about pre-gaming before heading to Saturday night’s Homecoming dance should think twice. The school will be doing breathalyzer tests on all students before they can gain entry, and those who score a positive for alcohol use will be tested again — this time…
Forbes has just released its list of the top colleges in America — a roster that includes 650 institutions. And while thirteen Colorado colleges are included, none of them made the top ten…or the top twenty…or the top thirty. Below, see our photo-illustrated countdown of the Colorado finishers, complete with…
The question of who won the election to represent District 4 on the Adams 12 Five Star school board now rests with the Colorado Supreme Court. Candidate Rico Figueroa has appealed a district court judge’s recent ruling that the District 4 seat should be declared vacant. The judge had ruled…
By next Monday, all signatures for potential ballot initiatives are due at the Colorado Secretary of State’s office. At least 86,105 legitimate signatures are needed to put a citizens initative before the voters on November 4, and several efforts are still collecting signatures. One of those is Initiative 124, which…
Football isn’t the only sport worried about head trauma, according to a recent study published by the The American Journal of Sports Medicine and co-authored by Dawn Comstock, an associate professor of epidemiology for the Pediatric Injury Prevention, Education, and Research program at the Colorado School of Public Health. Lacrosse…
Think about the last time you were in an Ikea store. Whether you loved or hated the experience, you probably noticed a difference between the flow at Ikea and at other home-goods store, including arrows and signs attempting to steer you in the direction you needed to go in order…
No one won the election. That’s the opinion of the Broomfield District Court judge tasked with sorting out last November’s Adams 12 Five Star school board election, in which ineligible candidate Amy Speers earned two-thirds of the vote and eligible candidate Rico Figueroa earned a third. Both were running to…
What if it were possible to predict the next Arab Spring? The next Ukrainian revolution? Researchers at the Pardee Center for International Futures in the School of International Studies at the University of Denver might be able to do just that in several years. DU was one of eleven schools…
A judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by seven Denver teachers who claim that the district used a provision of the state’s landmark teacher effectiveness law to get rid of them without due process. Denver District Court Judge Michael Martinez found that since the law makes no mention of “tenure,”…
Friday’s graduation ceremony at Century High School in Pueblo looked like a typical outdoor ceremony, with programs used as fans, students wearing shades, and oldies radio blaring through speakers. But after the ceremony, the thirty graduates didn’t get to leave the facility forever. In fact, they didn’t even get to…
Which Colorado school districts deal with the most discipline issues? The Colorado Department of Education has compiled the data for the 2012-2013 school year (the most recent one available), and the figures are staggering. Several districts in the state handled well over 10,000 incidents during that span, and statewide, there…
A meeting Tuesday night to discuss a potential partnership between high-achieving East High School and struggling Manual High School looked like this: Lines of parents queued up behind two microphones, firing questions at East principal Andy Mendelsberg, who patiently — if not a bit nervously — answered them as best…
East High School is hosting a meeting on Tuesday, May 27 to discuss the possibility of a new partnership between East High, considered one of the best high schools in Denver Public Schools, and Manual High, which has struggled for years to maintain enrollment and improve its academic performance. The…
Time capsules can be a fascinating way to look back through a certain window of history to see what was important to people during a different era. They can also be very, very disappointing. In 2012, when the former Gove Middle School was being demolished, the construction crew came across…
When does a park become a park? Is it when people start using it for recreation and picnics? When the area starts showing up on maps labeled as a park? When the Mayor of Denver describes it as “dedicated park land,” while assuring nearby homeowners it won’t be developed? Or…
U.S. News & World Report recently set out to determine the best high schools in America, as well as the finest in each state. And while the top ten Colorado finishers didn’t set any records on the national stage (the top finisher is ranked at number 66 overall), they’re more…
Things are changing at North High School: Test scores are up. More kids are taking AP classes. And there’s a renewed focus on extracurricular activities, such as sports and music. That’s according to the folks behind a new pro-North campaign called “I Am a Viking” — a reference to North’s…
Last week, we introduced you to the teachers behind a lawsuit against Denver Public Schools. The teachers claim that DPS is using a provision of the state’s landmark 2010 teacher-effectiveness law to get rid of good teachers — which they say isn’t the law’s intention. Furthermore, the teacher-plaintiffs claim that…
For this week’s cover story, “Wrong Answer,” we spoke with five of the teachers behind a lawsuit against Denver Public Schools. Their complaint? That DPS is unfairly using a provision of the state’s landmark 2010 teacher-effectiveness law to get rid of good teachers like themselves. And those five teachers aren’t…
