What Schools Can Do
It doesn’t take a bond measure to start. It takes an administrator willing to say publicly that production skills matter — and parents willing to ask why they don’t.
Schools
“The fastest way to move a school is to ask one specific question in one specific meeting.”
This Is Not a Mandate. It’s a Gap.
El Paso County schools are not failing. They’re doing what schools are designed to do — prepare students for standardized paths. The problem is that those paths don’t include production, and production is where economic agency lives.
The ask isn’t to tear down the curriculum. It’s to add one thing: a graduation requirement — or at minimum, a visible pathway — for practical, income-generating skills. Something students can use immediately after school ends, regardless of what comes next.
What That Looks Like in Practice
A school production lab doesn’t need to be elaborate. A screen printing setup, a few sewing machines, access to a 3D printer — that’s enough to teach the fundamentals of making something, pricing it, selling it, and understanding the economics of it. The Pikes Peak Library District already has most of this equipment available to the public for free. Schools could mirror it, partner with it, or simply point students toward it.
The curriculum writes itself once the equipment is present:
- Material sourcing — where does it come