Metro started classes yesterday, with a new name — Metropolitan State University of Denver — as well as new buildings (including a hotel filled with art by Metro students, faculty and alums), new programs and a controversial new tuition structure for undocumented students. That Metro move earned the school a…
In March, two years after adding Nerf guns to its list of banned weapons, CU was ordered by the Colorado Supreme Court to allow concealed-carry-permit holders to pack heat on campus. Now, CU-Boulder has announced new rules restricting access in undergrad dorms and at events — but a spokesman doesn’t…
A Gates Foundation video on view below introduces the concept behind a contest to “reinvent the toilet” by reeling off numerous terms to describe what goes in them, including “poop,” “doo-doo,” “ka-ka,” “crap” “number two” and “shit” (although the latter is bleeped and spelled with dingbats). But by whatever name,…
In 2002, we reported that former P.S.1 charter school principal Stephen Myers resigned his principal job in Massachusetts after he was accused of making inappropriate comments to a male student — an allegation that didn’t surprise his old P.S.1 colleagues. Now, Boston Magazine has written an in-depth story that quotes…
When District Judge Sheila Rappaport handed down her (now appealed) decision in Lobato vs. Colorado, the word she used to describe Colorado’s education-finance system was “unconscionable.” That harsh description is backed by stats provided by Great Education Colorado, a nonprofit that describes itself as “a statewide, nonpartisan, grassroots organization that…
At first blush, an incident in which several CU Buffs football players weren’t charged with a crime doesn’t seem all that newsworthy. But a police stop that took place this past weekend continues to ripple through the program, with one player quitting after contributing to a minor panic over an…
Marvin Hamlisch, one of the most famous and decorated film and theater composers of the 1970s and beyond, died this week at age 68. But when he passed, few remembered his connection to Metropolitan State University of Denver, for which he wrote the now-anachronistic school song, “The Fire of M.S.C.”…
CU-Boulder has spent a lot of time and effort trying to ditch its party-school reputation — by, for example, cracking down on the annual 4/20 celebration this year. Nonetheless, Newsweek has just placed the university third on its new party-school list, using unusual criteria: the number of arrests and disciplinary…
The war in Iraq has forced many Iraqi students to abandon their hopes of an education. Some fled the country and had to put their education on hold, while others found their schools destroyed. Recognizing these problems, the Iraqi Student Project, a St. Louis-based organization that has volunteers and support…
Lobato v. Colorado argues that school funding in the state is woefully inadequate — and in a December decision, a Denver District judge agreed. Colorado responded by appealing the ruling to the state supreme court, and in his official response, Colorado Attorney General John Suthers demands a reversal, maintaining in…
The Boy Scouts of America have reaffirmed a ban of gays from participation as organization members or leaders. This move prompted the ACLU of Boulder to renew an old complaint over the Boulder Valley School District allowing scout groups to use its facilities at free or discounted rates despite its…
After months of planning and fundraising, this year’s BoldLeaders trip to Kenya has been grounded, thanks to threats of violence from the Somali militant group, Al-Shabaab. The Denver-based group had flights arranged and was within a week of departure when the U.S. Department of State and its embassy in Kenya…
Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of reports about biking and bike safety in Denver and beyond. If you’re a cycling fan, the good news is that a lot more folks are biking in Denver and the city is spending significantly more money to build paths for…
Here’s the problem: In Denver, 56 percent of public school fourth graders are not proficient in reading — a measurement that experts say is closely linked to dropout rates, graduation rates and possibly even incarceration. It’s an alarming trend that is much worse for minority and low-income students. And it’s…
Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of reports about biking and bike safety in Denver and beyond. Denver has dramatically increased its spending on bike lanes and other bike-related projects over the last six years, and for good reason. The advocacy group BikeDenver reports a major increase…
Jim Griffin, president of the Colorado League of Charter Schools, has been inducted into the Charter Schools Hall of Fame. “Colorado has been on the forefront of our nation’s charter school movement and has provided other states with examples of how strong policies and effective leadership can have a positive…
When it comes to state anti-bullying laws, Colorado’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender kids are among the most protected in the country. But individual school district policies are a different story. A policy scan by LGBT advocacy organization One Colorado found that, more than a year after Governor John Hickenlooper…
Earlier this month, Patricia Calhoun lauded Metro State College for creating a new tuition category for undocumented students, with the rate only modestly higher than the one offered to in-state residents. But Colorado Attorney General John Suthers isn’t joining her on the cheer squad. He’s offered a formal opinion (read…
Bid a bittersweet farewell to Life Skills, Denver’s own last-chance high school. Last year, Denver Public Schools announced that Life Skills would close — a decision backed by the state board of education. As such, the graduation ceremony that took place at the King Performing Arts Center on Friday will…
Tonight, Life Skills Center will graduate its last-ever class. Back in November, the Denver Public Schools Board of Education voted to shutter the last-chance high school, a decision that the State Board of Education upheld on appeal in March. That left about 180 kids without a school for next year…
North High School has had many struggles. Among them: poor test scores, low enrollment, myriad redesigns and lax oversight of the school’s credit recovery program. But a community group called Choose North Now thinks the historic high school is beginning to turn around — and that co-locating a charter school…
At a Denver Public Schools event about so-called “health justice” earlier today, Alicia Leon, a Denver single mother of four, said the challenge of living healthily is simple: Processed food is cheap, available, and easy to prepare, while fresh produce and healthy meals are expensive, harder to find, and time-consuming…
