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1 week ago | 
rmpbs.org | Cormac McCrimmon |Andrea Kramar |Alec Berg |Ziyi Xu
LAFAYETTE, Colo. — Since Centaurus High School banned cell phones in January, principal Carlyn Carroll said she can hear the difference. At lunchtime on May 6, Jenga blocks crashed to the ground, pucks whistled across air hockey tables and chatter rebounded off the walls of one of the school’s activity rooms. “It used to be really quiet. Kids would be on their phones. They’d be sitting at a table, and every single one of them would have a screen up,” said Carroll.
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2 weeks ago | 
rmpbs.org | Ziyi Xu |Andrea Kramar |Amanda Horvath |Cormac McCrimmon
CORTEZ, Colo. — A pink warehouse with colorful murals and large windows sits at the corner of an intersection. Inside, people moved quickly — too fast to be on foot. On nice days, the garage door is open, and the sound of squeaky wheels and music can be heard from a block away. Two years ago, a group of local skaters created Beech St. Skatepark to have a place to skate during the winter. They found the warehouse, which houses a few nonprofit organizations, including the Good Samaritan Food Pantry.
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2 weeks ago | 
rmpbs.org | Andrea Kramar |Alec Berg |Ziyi Xu |Chase McCleary
DENVER — Carpool looks a little different this year at some of Denver’s elementary schools. Instead of parents dropping off their kids by car, they’ve been doing it by bike. On a brisk, sunny spring morning in Denver’s Park Hill neighborhood, Rocky Mountain PBS joined Park Hill Elementary School’s bike buses. About 70 kids clad in bright helmets and spunky backpacks sojourned together — with parental supervision — on a 1 mile-long bike route to school, picking up kids and parents along the way.
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3 weeks ago | 
rmpbs.org | Alec Berg |Ziyi Xu |Chase McCleary |Joshua Vorse
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Colorado Springs District 49 is the first school district in the state to ban transgender students from playing on sports teams that align with their gender identity, bucking state policy and aligning with an executive order from President Donald Trump. Board members adopted the policy, called Protecting Fairness and Safety in Sports, Thursday night on a 3-2 vote.
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1 month ago | 
rmpbs.org | Alec Berg |Ziyi Xu |Joshua Vorse
DENVER — Each June, an estimated 500,000-plus people gather in Denver’s Civic Center Park for PrideFest, a two-day celebration featuring LGBTQ+ performers, community organization and a sea of rainbow-themed merchandise. Another notable presence at the celebration is massive corporations like Southwest Airlines, Wells Fargo and Verizon, who cover their displays in rainbow colors and hand out free swag during the parade and festival.
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1 month ago | 
rmpbs.org | Ziyi Xu |Chase McCleary |Cormac McCrimmon |Alec Berg
CORTEZ, Colo. — “Salsa, what kind? Green, red, or fire?” asked Esmeralda Estrada. The customers chose the fire salsa, and Estrada suggested they have it on the side — just to be safe. Esmeralda’s Ranchito is the only Mexican grocery store in southwest Colorado. Inside, customers find imported Mexican candies, a wall of spices, colorful paper decorations, piñatas hanging from the ceiling, and freshly made tamales.
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1 month ago | 
rmpbs.org | Peter D. Vo |Carly Rose |Melanie Asmar |Ziyi Xu
DENVER — Paul and Linda McCartney’s “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” played in the background of a brightly lit classroom, construction paper masterpieces lining the walls and preschoolers scattering their work over the carpeted floor: it was the end of class for the early childhood education cohort at Traylor Academy. About 20 three to five year olds lined up next to the door, giggling and whispering about the mess they just left. As they exited, the kindergarten class walked in, eyes wide.
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1 month ago | 
rmpbs.org | Carly Rose |Melanie Asmar |Ziyi Xu
DENVER — Castro Elementary School, which has served generations of students in Denver’s Westwood neighborhood, will close at the end of the school year. The school is named after education and civil rights activist Richard T. Castro. The building will welcome a different cohort of students in August. Summit Academy is moving into the building this summer with plans to open in time for the 2025-26 school year. The academy is a Denver Public Schools-run “pathways school” for sixth through 12th graders.
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1 month ago | 
rmpbs.org | Melanie Asmar |Ziyi Xu |Carly Rose |Chase McCleary
DENVER — Colorado will refuse a demand from the Trump administration to certify that its schools have eliminated what the federal government says are illegal diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, state Commissioner of Education Susana Córdova said Thursday. “I am not signing that,” Córdova said.
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1 month ago | 
rmpbs.org | Joshua Vorse |Amanda Horvath |Ziyi Xu |Alec Berg
Rocky Mountain PBS is producing a documentary about hot springs in Colorado. This and other stories will examine the history and culture around hot springs, and what they mean to Coloradans and visitors today. GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo. — Colorado is home to more than 100 hot springs in Colorado. But next door to Glenwood Hot Springs — and 30 feet underground — sits a natural vapor cave, the only one like it in the state.
