"Be a part of all that is decent and be an ambassador for the kind of world that you want to live in."

he index score is the number of college-level tests given at a school in 2012 divided by the number of graduates that year. Also noted are the percentage of students who come from families that qualify for lunch subsidies (Subs. lunch) and the percentage of graduates who passed at least one college-level test during their high school career, called equity and excellence, (E&E). A (P) next to the school's name denotes a private school.

The Washington Post: America's Most Challenging High School #460 - Lakewood High School

All children deserve access to a world-class education and the chance to pursue their dreams. Our schools are a gateway to those opportunities and the key to our Nation's economic prosperity and civic life. This week, we reaffirm our national mission of educating our students and training our workers better than any other country on earth.

AMERICAN EDUCATION WEEK, 2012 (Presidential Proclamation, PDF)

"I think it is important that students have an identity for their school that they can connect with. It is something that creates a sense of pride and a connection to the school that should last over the years."
---SGA president Gordon Hamby

School days, school days
Dear old Golden Rule days
'Reading and 'riting and 'rithmetic
Taught to the tune of the hick'ry stick ...

Ben begins his Junior year of High School today!

In many states, testing shows that more than a third of students fail to rate as "proficient" in algebra; teachers tell me that math classes make some students feel stupid, and are a major reason why as many as 30% of kids drop out--especially among minorities. How about teaching statistics, budgeting skills, and math used in public and personal life instead?

The magazine that brought us all kinds of kid-appropriate stories, from presidential elections to fuzzy animals, is ceasing independent publication after more than a century in classrooms.

No matter what struggles or setbacks you face in your life, focus on what you have, not on what you are missing ... the true measure of success will be what you do when life knocks you to the ground.

Michelle Obama pays tribute to dads and grads: 143Rd Annual OSU Commencement

Life is my college. May I graduate well, and earn some honors!
- ~Louisa May Alcott

The Boulder Valley School District's next superintendent will be Bruce Messinger, now the chief of Helena Public Schools in Montana.

School board President Ken Roberge said:

Messinger is a visionary who's also "patient, methodical, yet never lets up on the pressure."

It's National Teacher Day.
If you can read this, thank a teacher!

Deaf Broomfield students "recite" the Pledge of Allegiance at the State Legislature.

March 23rd, 2011 is the 1st Annual Democracy Day

To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the 26th Amendment, Rock the Vote, in partnership with the National Education Association, brings you the first annual Democracy Day. We are kicking off Democracy Day on March 23, 2011, asking educators, principals, school support staff and community organizations nationwide to commit to teaching Rock the Vote’s Democracy Class lesson to students before the end of the school year.

The president of the Jefferson County Board of Education announced today that because of the state’s escalating budget crisis, the district will be cutting nearly $40 million from its 2011-12 budget. The cuts include the proposed closure of two schools, a three percent loss of compensation for all employees and the suspension of outdoor lab for sixth graders.

Jeffco Public Schools announce nearly $40 million in cuts.

Metro State becomes Denver State University.

An assessment commissioned by Metro State last year found that the current name doesn't reflect the school's size or complexity of its offerings. With 24,000 students, Metro has been growing and recently added master's-level programs.

The assessment also found some confusion about whether the school, located on the Auraria campus, is a community college or a four-year institution.

How writing by hand makes kids smarter.

From President's Obama's State of the Union Message:

In fact, to every young person listening tonight who's contemplating their career choice: If you want to make a difference in the life of our nation; if you want to make a difference in the life of a child - become a teacher. Your country needs you.

CU student pays tuition bill a dollar at a time.
Using dollar bills, a 50-cent piece and a penny, Nic Ramos paid his entire spring semester out-of-state tuition, $14,309.51.
It took three people nearly an hour to count the money.

Are you smarter than a 9th grader? Are 9th graders smarter than everyone else? 9News wants to know...

It has always seemed strange to me that in our endless discussions about education so little stress is laid on the pleasure of becoming an educated person, the enormous interest it adds to life. To be able to be caught up into the world of thought -- that is to be educated.

---Edith Hamilton, educator and writer (1867-1963)

Adjustable desks help fidgety kids.

A teacher affects eternity; s/he can never know where her/his influence stops.
---Henry Brooks Adams

Boulder Valley School District is considering offering an on-line school for grades 6-12. It will be called Boulder Universal.

Boulder Valley Schools offer Elementary College Nights so even the youngest can start planning their futures.

Girls may learn math anxiety from female teachers.

Protesters and supporters attend the dedication of the Cheney International Center at the University of Wyoming.

Some quoteable quotes from President's Obama speech to schoolchildren today:

Where you are right now doesn't have to determine where you'll end up. No one's written your destiny for you, because here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.

No one's born being good at all things. You become good at things through hard work. You're not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don't hit every note the first time you sing a song. You've got to practice. The same principle applies to your schoolwork.

But whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it.

The giant copper-plated Tyrannosaurus rex statue outside the geological museum and the treasures it protects have a future at the University of Wyoming.

The S.H. Knight Geological Museum, which was closed earlier this summer, will be supported by an endowment started by a $570,000 donation from longtime UW professor Brainerd Mears and his wife, Anne, UW announced Thursday.

Casper Star-Tribune: Donation fuels plans to maintain, upgrade UW geology museum

It's the birthday of Maria Montessori, born on this day in Chiaravalle, Italy (1870). She was a bright student, and she wanted to study engineering, so when she was 13, against her father's wishes she entered a technical school, where all her classmates were boys. After a few years, she decided to pursue medicine, and she became the first woman in Italy to earn a medical degree. It was so unheard of for a woman to go to medical school that she had to get the approval of the pope in order to study there.

As a doctor, she worked with children with special needs, and through her work with them she became increasingly interested in education. She believed that children were not blank slates, but that they each had inherent, individual gifts. It was a teacher's job to help children find these gifts, rather than dictating what a child should know. She emphasized independence, self-directed learning, and learning from peers. Children were encouraged to make decisions. She was one of the first to use child-sized tables and chairs in the classroom.

During World War II, Montessori was exiled from Italy because she was opposed to Mussolini's fascism and his desire to make her a figurehead for the Italian government. She lived and worked in India for many years, and then in Holland. She died in 1952 at the age of 81.

Amazing! Horrifying!
This past week my High School graduating class held its 50th reunion (yes, FIFTIETH)
Natrona County High School, Casper, Wyoming

Today is Sarah and Ben's last day of school. Summer vacation is here!

Even with social barriers eroding every day, it can still prove difficult for young girls to get a start in art and science. That's where "Cool Girls" comes in. The group of third- and fourth-graders meet once a week at Crest View Elementary School in Boulder to talk about science, make art, and find ways to combine the two.

The Curse of Cursive

Keyboarding has replaced cursive as the priority in most schools, and most kids don't use it when they have the chance; in 2006, just 15% of SAT takers used cursive on the written test.

Students petition to rename Boulder High School Barack Obama High.

Last Friday my old elementary school, Emerald Elem. in Broomfield, celebrated its 50th anniversary.

Recently we got an Apple TV and I've been looking for content to play on it. Poking around, I found iTunes U a set of free educational resources available through the iTunes store. So far I've pulled down programs on Nanotechnology and lectures on Infinity. It turnes a consumer product into a great learning tool!

Asians turn to Ten Sleep, Wyoming, for English tutoring.

It's International Walk-to-School Day

What does it cost for 4 years of college these days (including books, food, rent, etc.)?

$80,000, at least at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

In March, Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, testified before the House Committee on Science and Technology about the abject failure of American schools, colleges, and universities to prepare students for advanced study in the sciences

Every year Newsweek magazine does a survey and posts a list of the top high schools in the nation. Sarah's new school, Lakewood High, ranked 105th. It came out ahead of Boulder High and Fairview High, which means something in this neck of the woods!

May 6 is National Teacher Day.

Manual High School in Denver paid students $5 per test to take the CSAP exams this past week. They had perfect attendance!

A group of fifth grade students from Westminster are urging the Colorado State Legislature to name the western painted turtle as the official state reptile.

Ben and Sarah begin their Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) testing today. They both have test this week and next week. They've done well in the past and should perform the same this year. Good Luck!

Today is Read Across America Day. The theme this year centers around the Seuss book "Horton Hears a Who", which is also being made into a movie.

Need to brush up on your math skills? Check out this list of Free Math Courses Online - everything from the introductory to the complex!

Diane Hewlett-Lowrie, has worked for 20 years in a variety of environmental education positions in Scotland and the U.S. and she currently lives in New Jersey. She has a special interest in how children learn and believes in nurturing the development of the whole child. She and her husband have one son, age 6, and their experience with homework to date has been that it is pointless, causes stress, has no real merit and takes time away from much more valuable activities at home.

Record number of teachers set to retire.

After applying for, taking tests, and completing interviews, Sarah has been invited to join the Lakewood High School International Baccalaureate Program.

And after much thought and deliberation, Sarah has decided to accept the invitation. She'll start as a 9th grader in the fall. Congratulations!

Last night Cameo, Sarah, and I attended the Wheat Ridge High School information night for prospective students. We know the principal there, so Sarah was warmly welcomed. The event went well and gave her a good idea about what the school is like. Right now WRHS is #2 on Sarah's choice list, behind the International Baccalaureate Program at Lakewood High.

November 11-17 is American Education Week.

The teaching of penmanship fell out of favor some years ago (Why would you need to learn good handwriting with computers around?). Now the educational pendulum has swung back, and new research indicates that, developmentally, writing by hand is "a key part of learning".

Local Broomfield elementary school bans Halloween this year. Why? Some kids feel left out.

An elementary school in Colorado Springs has banned tag on the playground.

From June 30th to July 5th the National Education Association will be holding it's annual convention in Philadelphia. It was there, in 1857, that 43 educators first met to discuss the needs of teachers, and formed the Association. View the century and

Today, May 8, is National Teacher Day.

ED in 08 is a new campaign funded by the Bill and Malinda Gates Foundation aimed at making the improvement of education a top priority in the U.S. Former Colorado Governor Roy Romer is heading up our state's push.

This information came from an article in the Colorado Education Association magazine "The Journal""

**A week's worth of New York Times has more information than someone learned in a lifetime in the 18th Century.
**In the next few years the l

33 Reasons Why Libraries and Librarians are Still Extremely Important
I like number 5: School Libraries and Librarians Improve Student Test Scores and 1

The important thing is not so much that every child should be taught, as that every child should be given the wish to learn.
John Lubbock

Forbes.com looked at data from Sperling's Best Places and chose Boulder as the country's "smartest city" from a field of 200 metropolitan U.S. areas. Fort Collins-Loveland came in seventh. <

You are the author of your own life story.

This week Sarah is participating in the Outdoor Lab Summer Session (this time at Windy Peak). All 6th graders attend Outdoor Lab during the schoo

I love this quotation:
Books are the compasses and telescopes and sextants and charts which other men have prepared to help us navigate the dangerous

I finally figured out (with the help of the mammoth OED) the difference between British and US