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Students aren't the only ones putting Craig Conrad's ideas to use. The Colorado Department of Education and an independent businessman are working to put two of his schemes to work on a state and a national level.

"The Battle at MoCo High" is a video Conrad created with teacher Lance Scranton to encourage students to put forth their best effort on Colorado Student Assessment Program tests.

The idea blossomed from a seminar about CSAP tests that the two attended. The seminar was more information than a person needed, Conrad said, but it spurred the question "how do you get kids to take the test seriously?"

"There's nothing to gain or lose for kids who are taking the test," Conrad said.

Meeting proctors told those in attendance to motivate students by telling them "it's the law," Conrad said, an answer that nearly drove him and Scranton from the room laughing.

The video the two created pits academic against vocational in terms of value to students. English teacher Scranton represents academics while woodshop teacher Conrad defended vocational skills. The two met in a boxing ring.

Scranton took the first round when his reading of Shakespeare knocked Conrad to the ground, but Conrad came out swinging a power saw in the second.

The video's final scene has a fortune teller with a crystal ball asking the question, "can you really tell your future?"

The answer, Conrad said, is no.

And that's the importance of education, he said.

"High school prepares you for an unknown future," he said.

Opportunity doesn't knock, Conrad said. You need a key and education provides that key. A good performance on the CSAP test is another key.

Conrad presented the video to students at an assembly last year, held right before they were scheduled to take the test.

After hearing about the video, officials with the Colorado Department of Education requested a copy, and Conrad thinks they're now showing it at conferences similar to the one that he and Scranton nearly walked out on. After seeing the video, other school districts have requested copies, Conrad said.

His Tradition of Excellence is an idea that's been picked up and is slated to go nationwide in May. Bob Spencer, with Woodcraft, has asked Conrad whether he can duplicate the program that awards teens "Tradition of Excellence" T-shirts for exceptional behavior.

Conrad used profits from his mass production program to create T-shirts. Anytime a student displays some form of excellence, they earn the right to wear the T-shirt.

"I tell kids I reserve the right to reward a T-shirt for anything that I deem excellent," he said. "Because I take it seriously, the kids take it seriously."

His kids have earned T-shirts for doing a good job on a project, going out of their way to help others or just about any instance of going above and beyond.

"I just try to have fun with it and really look for things," Conrad said. "It's pretty cool."

Spencer is working to improve awareness of school-based wood working programs, which are dying across the nation. He thinks the Tradition of Excellence program will help.

"If this helps strengthen these programs ..." Conrad said.

It also might be an economic boon. When Conrad agreed to share his idea with Spencer, he stipulated that Spencer have the T-shirts printed in Craig.