Education

Update: When speaking about the decision of three CU-Boulder students arrested for trespassing on the closed Norlin Quad amid the university’s effort to shrink the annual 4/20 event to fight the charge on First Amendment grounds, attorney Sean McAllister described the school’s tactics as “fascist” in an interview shared in…

After a long delay, CU-Boulder has finally released the figures about how much it spent to shrink the annual 4/20 event on campus. The administration doled out $124,561.34, while student government spent $154,236.18. CU spokesman Bronson Hilliard thinks those numbers should be considered separately, rather than as a combined $278,797.52…

The statistics are heartbreaking. In five Denver neighborhoods — Baker, Westwood, Whittier, Villa Park and Valverde — residents are several times more likely to experience cardiac arrests than anywhere else in the city. Worse, locals who had heart attacks in three of the five communities during two recent years didn’t…

The Colorado Department of Education is conducting an investigation into possible cheating at two schools in Denver where a review of state test results showed “statistical irregularities,” according to a press release just sent out by Denver Public Schools. DPS doesn’t identify the schools, but Education News Colorado reports that…

Thanks to a certain Time magazine cover photo, breastfeeding is a hot topic — one 7News localized with the story of a Metro State student who said her grade was docked for taking time out of class to pump breast milk. But a Metro spokesman says the school was tackling…

Last night, roughly thirty parents watched detective Tony Garza and his fellow officers talk about sexting for an hour and a half. The trend is a rising one in Douglas County and the nation, Garza says, and it recently became the inspiration for renewed efforts to educate the community about…

When chatting about President Barack Obama’s planned visit to CU-Boulder this evening, university spokesman Bronson Hilliard and Ryan Huff, communications director for the CU Police Department, couldn’t sound more different than they did when discussing the last sizable event on campus — the annual 4/20 bash, which CU succeeded in…

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…