Education

More than half of the Colorado third- through 11th-graders who took the controversial PARCC exams last spring did not meet expectations in math and English language arts, according to data released by the Colorado Department of Education.

Last fall, thousands of Colorado high-schoolers made headlines by refusing to take the Colorado Measures of Academic Success exams, which were developed by the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, a multi-state group that uses Common Core standards.

The outgoing conservative majority on Jeffco’s school board approved an application from a group that wants to establish a charter school in north Jeffco, despite concerns raised by staff and the district accountability committee.

Tears were shed when Evergreen High veteran social studies teacher Scott Haebe was told he was one of three Jeffco teachers receiving the Hero Award this year.

Science teacher Ali Meyers made the presentation at a recent faculty meeting. Meyers knows Haebe both as a colleague and as one of her teachers/mentors when she was an EHS student.

She fought back tears as she talked about the impact Haebe has had on her life and on the lives of students and colleagues.

What could be more fun for youngsters than making homemade Silly Putty during their Halloween celebration?

Parmalee Elementary students were treated to spooky science assemblies on Friday that also featured chemistry lessons. The students were divided into two groups starting with the kindergartners through second-graders. The children sat in the gym holding bags of white stuff that they squished to make the putty.

The bags contained equal amounts of glue and cornstarch. Sometimes more glue had to be added.