Not long ago, I found a statistic that blew my mind: 104 of 178 school districts in Colorado operate on a four-day school week. My brain started to race in an effort to address two key questions: What could we do with that extra day? And how could we help districts and administrators do more for kids? I came up…
If you’re headed to college this fall, here’s four tips to make your first year as successful as mine
When I started at Claremont McKenna College (CMC) this past fall as a first-generation college student from Denver, I knew I was in for a big transition. While many of my fellow classmates had parents to help them adjust to the unfamiliar world of college, I was essentially alone when I got to campus. But I was extremely fortunate to…
It wasn’t until I enrolled in a charter school that the future I desired started to become a reality
As a naturally quiet person, it was easy for me to be overlooked in the classroom when I was younger. Although I was born in the United States, I spent my childhood in a Tibetan exile community in India and only knew a few words of English when I moved to Denver as a fourth grader. Throughout elementary and middle…
20 Years After Columbine, I Still Have to Worry About My Students’ Safety
Before I left school on Tuesday, I looked at my classroom. Not to check and make sure the floor was clean, or to look for coats left behind, water bottles on the floor, or rows askew. Rather it was to glance at the line of sight from my door. I spent my last minutes in my room debating whether I…
Our Graduation Requirements Are Doing a Disservice to Students Who Want to Serve in the Military
For the most part, state legislators and the Department of Education have maintained high standards for students in Colorado by requiring students to meet a variety of graduation requirements and benchmarks that prove they’re ready for success in college and career. But, are we challenging students who want to go into the armed forces with the same rigor as those…