In one corner, children play dress-up with hats, goggles and necklaces. Across the room, three children chatter as they count colorful plastic bears. But what makes this preschool room different from most others in Colorado is how it came to be. The classroom — along with six others sprinkled throughout Westminster Public Schools — was born out of a new…
Are startups the answer to inequality?
A new study finds that Texas is among the national leaders in “economic dynamism.” That’s a technical term: it means businesses starting and closing, workers changing firms or moving to new opportunities. According to the Economic Innovation Group, a think tank and advocacy group in Washington, D.C., dynamism is a more illuminating measure of economic health than typical metrics like the unemployment rate.…
Does Science Support the ‘Wilderness’ in Wilderness Therapy?
Katherine Gibbons’ life turned upside down on the day in October 2018 when she skipped school, stole a liter of vodka, and drank much of it on the walk back from the grocery store. Her mother, who had been worried about Katherine’s erratic behavior for months, saw the 17-year-old was off campus through a phone-tracking app. She arrived at the…
How To Avoid Coronavirus? Lessons From People Whose Lives Depend On It
For the past eight years, she’s been washing her hands pretty much every time she passes a sink. When she’s near a bottle of antibacterial gel, she uses it. She makes a point of avoiding people with contagious illnesses, even though it can be uncomfortable to ask to work from home or miss a date with friends. And she makes…
Utah, America’s Thirstiest State, Wrestles With Unmetered Water Use
Utah, chances are good that you’re getting a sweet deal on water for your lawn and landscaping. In fact, you might be paying next to nothing for it, at least compared to nearly everywhere else in the West. Utah has a unique system of delivering irrigation water to residential yards that dates back to the 1800s, when the state was…
Utah Voters Approved Medicaid Expansion, But State Lawmakers Are Balking
Utah residents may have thought they were done fighting about Medicaid expansion last November. But when Utah lawmakers opened a new legislative session in late January, they began pushing through a bill to roll back the scope and impact of an expansion that voters approved in a ballot measure. That scaled-back version of Medicaid expansion passed the Utah House on…
States begin requiring or considering quarantine for traveling Arizonans
(The Center Square) – As Arizona’s COVID-19 case growth rate increases, residents hoping to travel elsewhere may be required to quarantine for two weeks before they arrive. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment updated their list of locations where travelers would need to quarantine for 14 days after arriving in their state. In addition to Alabama, Arkansas, and Maryland, officials added…
Hechinger Report: What online preschool looks like in Mississippi
A free online preschool pilot program is wrapping up in Mississippi, and program officials say early results are promising, indicating the new offering may boost kindergarten readiness. The pilot is run through the non-profit Waterford Institute, which launched the first online preschool offering in Utah in 2009. The program, UPSTART, received an $11.5 million Investing in Innovation (i3) grant from the…
Journalism branding: Impact on reporters’ personal identities
It’s common for a news agency to request or require its journalists to use social media to promote their work and help market the company brand. Often, reporters, editors and columnists maintain two or more accounts on social media platforms to try to keep their professional lives separate from their personal ones. In many cases, journalists have a love-hate relationship with social…
Free speech on campus means universities must protect the dignity of all students
Free speech, a staple of modern democracy, has become the focal point for political and cultural forces impacting the university. Universities thrive in an environment of open inquiry. But recent controversies in universities around the globe expose the difficulties of crafting a strong position on free speech in this polarized time. Partly these controversies are a demonstration of the external pressures created…