Power Technical: Preparing Educated and Ethical Leaders in the Trades
Power Technical (PTEC) is a career and technical education-focused public charter school in the James Irwin Charter Schools network. Authorized by Falcon District 49, the school serves students from across the Colorado Springs area who choose to pursue an education built around preparation for careers in skilled trades.
Colorado Gets an Awkward Christmas Present: The SAT
It’s almost Christmas, friends! We will all sit down tomorrow morning and unwrap a bunch of gifts while stuffing our faces with various tasty treats. Some of those gifts will be awesome. Action figures, video games, and bikes spring immediately to mind. Other gifts—socks, weird-flavored chocolates, and gift certificates to restaurants you hate—will be less […]
A Rocketship Visit to Jeffco: More Than Just Eddie’s Big Dream?
There’s a lot of attention on the school board politics in Jeffco these days. Dealing with it sometimes is a necessity. But to me it’s a shame, given the pockets of great need for students in the Jefferson and neighboring Alameda articulation areas, just west of Denver. Last November I first highlighted the significant positive […]
Let Me Repeat Myself Once Again: Colorado Needs Course Choice
It has been said far more than once: “Repetition is the key to learning.” Given the number of times I’ve been told the importance of cleaning my room and eating my vegetables, my parents are firm believers in this statement. But hey, little Eddie gets it, too. Sometimes you have to make the same point […]
A Little Rain on the Graduation Rate Parade
What’s in a number? If you’re talking about educational choice, numbers like the ones coming out of Arrupe Jesuit High School can be beacons of hope for tough populations of kids. In other cases, numbers can convey more concerning trends. And in still other cases, numbers can be rigged in such a way that they […]
Tick, Tock: Accountability Clock Leading Some CO School Districts to Watershed
Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Not many clocks today actually make that noise anymore. But even with the digital timepieces we’re more accustomed to now (and are pretty much all little people like me have known), if you set the alarm you know that it’s bound to go off at some point. Whether it’s a soothing […]
Reading New ETS Report on Millennials Not Likely to Cheer You Up
A few weeks ago I raised the question: Should I get my hopes up about Colorado course choice again? Today, it seems more appropriate to ask whether I should get my hopes up at all. Yeah, you might think that sounds kind of depressing. But dare I say you haven’t yet had the chance to […]
Exciting Stuff: Jeffco’s Jefferson Area Plan Moves Closer to a Vote
Some positive efforts for change are underway in the Jefferson Articulation Area, one of Jeffco’s most challenging regions. An important improvement plan faces a March 5 board vote. The plan is the culmination of a huge process that pulled together district officials, school leaders, community members, and parents. Education collaboration is a beautiful thing. Let’s hope it leads to better results for students!
In K-12 “Education Reform” Debates, Blind Spots, Blind Spots Everywhere
Welcome to a new week. With all the snow and cold outside, it seems like a good time to pause and reflect on the big picture of improving K-12 education. Which takes me straight to a Thursday thought piece by Andy Rotherham, titled “Education Reformers Have a Big Blind Spot.” What is the big blind […]
Report Card Skirmish: Falcon High School’s Standards-Based Grading
What’s in a grade? Strange question, I know. From my perspective, a good report card means praise and, if I’m lucky, a cookie or a new toy. Bad grades mean I get a “talkin’ to” from my parents. Those aren’t all that fun. For my parents, report cards are an important way to track how […]
Harrison: More About Real Performance Pay than Former Presidents
What kind of a holiday is Presidents Day anyway? For many kids, it’s just a great excuse to stay home from school. Speaking of which, yours truly decided to dig up eight little factoids about Colorado public schools named after former U.S. presidents: Hardly a shock, “Lincoln” is the most popular presidential school name with […]
Should I Get My Hopes Up about Colorado Course Choice Once More?
Hopes were a little high last May when I offered K-12 online pilot program ideas in the wake of House Bill 1382′s adoption. My Education Policy Center friends have been talking about the promise of Course Choice and course-level funding for a few years now. It sure would be nice to see Colorado take even […]
