Moments after Gov. Polis declined to intervene in the impending Denver teacher strike, the Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA) took to Twitter to make their own announcement. “February 11th we strike for our students.” #FakeNews. Don’t get me wrong, good teachers deserve to be paid like doctors, lawyers, hell, even pro athletes. Like doctors and lawyers, teachers are dealing with…
Author: Chyrise Harris

Families in my neighborhood are getting a new school option thanks to a charter network crossing the Denver divide
It’s been less than six months since I moved into Stapleton’s Bluff Lake neighborhood. My neighbors are warm and welcoming. The Bluff Lake Nature Center is the perfect city oasis for a runner like me, and the Stanley Marketplace is quickly becoming one of those places “where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came.” Oh, and there’s…

Fully funding Colorado’s schools is like the worst game of tag ever…and it has to end
Watching Colorado voters and legislators try to fully fund our schools is like watching a bunch of middle-aged adults play the game tag in the movie so brilliantly titled…Tag. It’s utterly ridiculous and exhausting. In any case, here’s how it’s gone down over the last year. In his final State of the State address back in January, Gov. Hickenlooper acknowledged…

Everyone’s talking about the drag queen who spoke on career day. But can we talk about what she had to say?
What do you get when you put a middle schooler, a third-grader, a teacher and a drag queen in a classroom together? Well, that depends on the school. At The Studio School, where Mr. Stuart teaches 3rd-graders by day and entertains adults (as Shirley Delta Blow) by night, you get glitter with a dash of kindness. But at Rocky Top…

Getting in the zone in Northeast Denver
If you’ve ever played competitive sports, you’ve probably had at least one coach tell you to “get in the zone.” It’s that signal to get your head right and start mentally preparing for the opportunity in front of you. But what if you don’t know anything about the opportunity before you? What if you don’t really know what’s at stake,…