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 […]
Joyce Rankin Joins State Board of Ed
Back in June, I used a precious Friday post to say goodbye to State Board of Education chairwoman Marcia Neal after her eyebrow-raising departure from the board. Last week, a 3rd Congressional District vacancy committee selected Marcia’s replacement: Joyce Rankin of Carbondale. Today was Joyce’s first day on the job, and I want to take […]
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 […]
U.S. History Course Now More Balanced
Accusations of censorship against the Jeffco board and other critics linger. Given recent changes to APUSH, however, perhaps the most appropriate question to ask is who was censoring whom.
A(New)PUSH for Truth in American History
Yesterday, I highlighted a brave Jeffco mom who was willing to go on camera and thank the Jefferson County Board of Education majority for standing up for reform. I also ran through a distressingly lengthy list of inaccurate claims—maybe “fabrications” would be more appropriate—and downright disturbing revelations about the recall. Included in the list was […]
Freedom Minute: JeffCo Mom Thanks School Board
JeffCo graduate and mom Jennifer Butts thanks the current school board for listening to parents like her, and for advancing reforms that help ensure her kids — and all JeffCo kids — have access to options that best serve their needs.
Jeffco Mom Speaks Truth, Thanks School Board
One of the harder lessons I’m learning in my youth is that quite often tall tales can spread life a wildfire before the truth has a chance to catch up and extinguish it. Thanks to lots of help from Complete Colorado, I’ve already pointed out the fact-challenged / math-challenged nature of the Jeffco school board […]
On Pay for Performance and Using the Right Yardstick
Pay for performance (PFP) is an incredibly hotly debated facet of education reform. I’ve never really quite understood that because, well, rewarding folks for doing great work strikes me as common sense. I mean, I get more allowance money if I do my chores well, and not so much if I “clean my room” by […]
A Tale of Two Standards? Who Can Reject a Proposed Union Contract?
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…. So begins one of the most famous novels of the last 200 years: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. I’m too little to know what it’s all about. But the idea of making a clear and direct contrast just seemed to […]
Fact-Challenged (or Math-Challenged?) Jeffco Recallers Send Wrong Messages
You can learn a lot by observing people’s actions, not just their words. How do you “get politics out of our schools”? More politics. How do you “restore democracy”? By trying to overturn the will of the voters. How do you “fight to save education”? By feeding people lies and misinformation rather than encourage critical […]
SCOTUS to Hear Friedrichs Case: Big Moment for Educational Freedom?
After last week’s legal setback for school choice in Colorado, I found a hopeful silver lining in a path to the U.S. Supreme Court. How great is the hope? Honestly, little me doesn’t know. But my attention was so wrapped up in that story and others, that I nearly missed the U.S. Supreme Court’s announcement […]
Denver Post Editors Hit Back-to-Back Homers for Students, Parents
My dad told me about these crinkly pieces of paper with print on them that people used to get, something they would read to find out what’s going on in the world. I guess they’re called “newspapers”? Apparently, some websites actually have newspapers, or so I’m told. The last few days, the editors of one […]
