Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: School Accountability

DPS Fires Teacher After Students Report Pressure To Participate In Same Sex Kissing Skits
CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

DPS Fires Teacher After Students Report Pressure To Participate In Same Sex Kissing Skits

By: Logan Smith | CBS Colorado Denver Public Schools board members voted unanimously May 20 to dismiss a 50-year-old foreign language teacher following a district investigation and an independent review into student complaints about a class assignment. The board voted 7-0 after meeting in executive session to consider the firing of Jennifer Honka. Honka taught French Language and Culture at Northeast Early College for all of her eight years with the district. Officially, Honka was fired for incompetence and neglect of duty. There was no public debate among the board members prior to the vote. Honka's classroom instruction first came into question during the 2023-24 school year. She had received the highest possible rating in district assessments the prior three years. ...
Parents allege school mistreatment of autistic child as Cherry Creek faces federal civil rights investigation
Rocky Mountain Voice, Local, Top Stories

Parents allege school mistreatment of autistic child as Cherry Creek faces federal civil rights investigation

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice In response to concerns raised by a family in Colorado about the treatment of their young son in kindergarten, the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education opened an investigation into whether the Cherry Creek School District was in compliance with federal civil rights and special education law, a problem that is not new to the district.  The concern was raised after months of unanswered questions, the parents said. Special Education Changes the Parents Say Were Never Explained Ana and Brandon Lantz’s son started kindergarten in 2023. As time went on in the school year, records indicate that their son received special instruction outside of the general classroom. At first, it was ...
False report, bad judging, real results: Montezuma schools find their footing
Rocky Mountain Voice, Local, Top Stories

False report, bad judging, real results: Montezuma schools find their footing

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice For two difficult years, Superintendent Tom Burris and the Montezuma-Cortez board were cast as the problem in a community at odds. Detractors said they buried misconduct. The situation became a tangle of problems—courtroom misconduct, staff discipline, politicized claims and social-media outrage—all amplified by one-sided reporting that drained time, money and focus. The photo that never should have existed A courtroom image of Superintendent Burris ran the next morning on the front page of The Journal. No photographs are permitted inside a Colorado courtroom—a violation later cited in the judge’s ethics case. “No photographs are permitted inside a Colorado courtroom,” attorney David Illingworth recalled. “The next day it was front-page...
1776 Project PAC launches accountability campaign against teachers celebrating Kirk’s assassination
Fox News, Approved, National

1776 Project PAC launches accountability campaign against teachers celebrating Kirk’s assassination

By Andrew Mark Miller | Fox News Conservatives have been successfully calling on teachers to be fired for justifying Charlie Kirk's murder A conservative political action committee launched an effort to expose teachers across the country justifying Charlie Kirk’s assassination online and is pushing back on claims from the left that conservatives are being hypocritical about free speech. Stefano Forte, executive director of 1776 Project PAC, spoke to Fox News digital about the new form live on the organization’s website where users can flag teachers and administrators who have justified Kirk’s killing online, a form he says has already yielded an "endless stream of tips." "Many people are essentially happy that Charlie Kirk has been killed. And these people are in char...
Free speech and consequences: CU Boulder lecturer and Vail teacher face scrutiny over Kirk assassination remarks
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Free speech and consequences: CU Boulder lecturer and Vail teacher face scrutiny over Kirk assassination remarks

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Editor’s note: This story was updated on Sept. 23 to include a statement from CU Boulder spokesperson Nicole Mueksch. Freedom of speech is one of America’s most cherished rights. But too often it is misunderstood as a free pass to say anything without consequence. The killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk earlier this month has made that painfully clear. Across the country, people who publicly cheered Kirk’s death — whether at work, online, or in classrooms — soon found out that words can carry real consequences. Some were fired. Others were suspended. Many faced a wave of anger from the public. In Colorado, questions about free speech and accountability are now playing out in two very different settings. One invol...
Denver Public Schools under fire: Legal twist could force transparency in school debt strategy
denvergazette.com, Approved, Local

Denver Public Schools under fire: Legal twist could force transparency in school debt strategy

By Nicole C. Brambila | Denver Gazette After arguing in court filings that its lease-financing structure is legal because a nonprofit organization — not the district — incurred the debt without voter approval, Denver Public Schools now contends the same corporation is a “public entity” entitled to governmental immunity from lawsuits. The contradiction is more than semantics. If the Denver School Facilities Leasing Corporation (DSFLC) is deemed a public entity, it would be subject to Colorado’s open records and public meetings laws, an attorney and a watch dog group said. DPS has denied a public information request for documents in the corporation’s possession, suggesting district officials, despite their legal arguments, recognize DSFLC as a private organization. Scott Pribb...

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