In the beginning, there was Monte Vista On-Line Academy. Its state-assigned “pilot project” status signaled its daring, and its 13 students, wired up and logged on, were spared hours of bumping along rugged San Luis Valley roads to and from brick-and-mortar schools. Now, no longer provisional or experimental, and championed by a strange-bedfellows mix of […]

This November, Colorado voters will have the chance to stop additional cuts to Colorado’s schools and to start reinvesting in our kids. Proposition 103 is a simple proposal that offers a five-year time out from school cuts by going back to the sales and income tax rates that Colorado had throughout the 1990s. All new […]

Last year, I wrote about the kindergarten dilemma. Mainly, whether I should enroll my son on time or hold him back a year so he would be one of the oldest vs. youngest in class. It was one of our most highly-debated posts ever. In the end, I enrolled him. I have not regretted my […]

I’ve always been a big fan of Target so when a Super Target was built 2 minutes from our house, my husband braced himself for the repercussions. My bank account will confirm there were many. But my Target spending is being put to good use. The corporation donates five percent of its income (that’s more […]

New proposed school lunch standards have some members of the Colorado congressional delegation wrangling. Over potatoes. Both small and large, purple and brown and gray — but not sweet ones, it turns out. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has suggested changing the rules on what can be served to more than 31 million kids — […]

Many retailers and schools are advocating waste-free options for back-to-school shoppers this year, especially when it comes to lunch. School lists call for Tupperware instead of Ziplocs, neoprene lunch bags instead of brown paper ones, and aluminum water bottles, not the throwaway plastic versions. Sales of environmentally friendly back-to-school products are up just about everywhere. […]

Dear Mama Drama: I was bullied in school and have a lot of anxiety for my daughter who just started preschool. I worry that the teachers won’t stand up for her and that she’ll be picked on, so I’ve told her to hit anyone who bothers or hurts her. Her teachers say that she will […]

Three cases of heat-related illness during the back-to-school heat wave are being used to fuel the argument that kids shouldn’t have to be in the classroom before Labor Day. “The bottom line for me comes down to health and safety,” said Stacy Smith, a parent of two Denver Public Schools students who is petitioning for […]

An interview with Dr. Jeffrey I. Dolgan, Senior Psychologist at Children’s Hospital Colorado Q: How can parents help their children choose good friends? A: Parents need to find out who is in their child’s peer group. You can get a good idea about the other kids by making connections with their families. I suggest hosting […]

It’s no secret that schools are hurting for cash. Parent volunteers are stepping up as best they can, and schools turn to fundraisers to help bridge the gap between the Have and the Want, or in some cases, the Need. (Stock photo by muresan113) I do not begrudge the schools for doing fundraisers, and kudos […]