Author: Sue Mcmillin
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Pilot involved in Gulf cleanup gets fighter escort
The pilot of a twin-engine Beechcraft being used to apply dispersant on the Gulf oil spill got a jolt Friday afternoon as he approached the Mississippi coast and a couple of F-15 fighter jets swooped alongside him. The fighter pilots, from the 159th Fighter Wing of the Louisiana Air National Guard, were sent to check…
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District 11 has an idea for three vacant schools
Colorado Springs School District 11 has come up with plans for three vacant schools, including the proposed sale of Ivywild Elementary School to two well-known businessmen.District officials are recommending the sale of Ivywild for $1.2 million to $1.4 million, depending on appraisals, to Joseph Coleman and Mike Bristol. Coleman owns the Blue Star, Nosh and…
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High school students rack up college credits, earn degrees
Lacy Sramek pretty much missed the social scene during her last two years of high school because she rarely was on campus. She wasn’t skipping. She was in classrooms at Pikes Peak Community College. At her recent high school commencement ceremony, she was handed an associate of arts degree from PPCC along with her high…
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D-11 names state turnaround expert to lead Wasson
If you’re trying to remake a school, hiring a turnaround expert to lead it might be a good idea. That’s just what Colorado Springs School District 11 did Wednesday when it named Darryl Bonds as the new principal for Wasson High School. Bonds, a principal and administrator in Widefield School District 3 before joining the…
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Too much winter delays summer vacations in D-20
Students in Academy School District 20 will be a few days late in the rush to summer vacation because of too much winter. Snow days and late starts added up to six days that must be made up now, so classes will run through Wednesday. Seniors are the only ones who got a pass on…
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Falcon district may seek bond to build more schools
The superintendent of Falcon School District 49 this week recommended the district ask voters to approve a $125 million bond this fall to pay for additions at several schools and two new schools. The D-49 board won’t vote on the recommendation until August, but indicated at a meeting Wednesday that district officials should continue planning…
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Swigert sixth-graders use new tools to map space station’s path
In two short class periods, sixth-graders at Swigert Aerospace Academy learned how to figure out when they might get a glimpse of the International Space Station when it passes overhead. And Tequan Baker, 12, figured it just might be worth getting up at 4:30 a.m. on June 7 to see if he can spot the…
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Wasson wins $131,000 grant to help minority, poor students
Details in the Wasson High School makeover plan project some lofty targets, including dramatically improving achievement scores, improving minority graduation rates and increasing minority student participation in honors classes. The plan impressed the state enough for the school to win a $131,000 grant aimed at helping minority and poor students do better. The Wasson grant…
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Bells at Bijou synonymous with graduation
When a bell rings at The Bijou School it brings everything to a halt. “We have another graduate,” principal Wayne Hutchison said over the intercom recently after the bell signaled that another senior had turned in all the credits needed for a diploma. “Let’s give it up for Tommy Gallagher.” The office staff stood around…
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Poor reading skills puts fourth graders on track to drop out
Sixty percent of Colorado fourth-graders were not proficient in reading in 2009, but the state managed to be ranked fifth in reading proficiency among the 50 states according to a dismal report released Tuesday that suggests that poor elementary reading skills are an indication of future dropouts. A whopping 68 percent of fourth-graders across the…