Education

REAL LIFE EXPERIENCE FOR CHANGING EDUCATION

Nothing is more important to a vibrant Colorado economy than an outstanding Pre-K -20 public education system. As a teacher who has been on the front lines in Colorado public schools for nearly 30 years, I bring experience and common sense to Colorado public education policy.

In 1983, when I was just three years into my teaching career, the National Commission on Excellence in Education issued its report, A Nation at Risk, assessing the state of America’s public schools. The report called for content standards, stronger curriculum, better teacher training and increased compensation for teachers. Throughout my 27 years of teaching, many similar reports have been issued with suggestions for change.

This clamor for educational reform has been with us for decades, yet has not been very successful. Our current public education system is not very different from the one I entered in the early eighties. It is from another era and does not meet the needs of today, let alone tomorrow. I believe it is time to stop reforming education, and begin restructuring education.

When making education policy in the legislature, I will always consider the needs of Denver Public Schools first and will have two guiding principles: 1) a permanent, adequate funding source for K-20 public education and 2) I will listen to school communities first, beginning with teachers and parents.

To that end, as a legislator I will:

• LIBERATE public education from the constraints of the TABOR Amendment.

• SHIFT funding priorities to pre-K and full-day Kindergarten, while downsizing K-12 schools.

• ATTRACT quality teachers by cutting class sizes, increasing compensation, and creating a state-wide salary scale for Pre-K-12 teachers.

• END social promotion and eliminate CSAP testing. Instead, establish Colorado standards and assessments for every grade level. Tie student grade advancement to demonstrated mastery of standards.

• EXPAND options for middle and high school students in vocational training, community colleges and independent study. Maintain a solid college-prep option in Pre-K-12, but measure results, not seat time.

• FREE DPS from the financial and time-consuming burden of administering a retirement fund by renewing negotiations with PERA to combine the two systems.

• RESTRUCTURE school governance so it is reflective of faculty and staff to ensure that people who have responsibility also have power. Work with the collective bargaining unit in each district to gain agreement, through a vote of their members, on a governing structure that eliminates the current top-heavy principal/assistant principal environment, especially when dealing with discipline issues.

FUNDING PRIORITIES:

● LIBERATE public education from the constraints of the TABOR Amendment.

Colorado’s education funding is greatly impacted by two conflicting amendments, the TABOR (Taxpayer's Bill of Rights) Amendment and Amendment 23. The TABOR Amendment limits spending and Amendment 23 compels spending. TABOR expires in 2010, which is also the last year that Amendment 23 requires a 1 percent increase in K-12 public school funding, although other provisions requiring funding increases for student growth and inflation will continue indefinitely. In order to untangle this fiscal knot, we need a two-step process. First, a ballot referendum is required to seek a one-time suspension of the Colorado constitution's provision limiting amendments to a single subject. Then, a referendum can be presented to voters that offers a multi-part solution to the conflicting amendments that limit education funding.

● SHIFT funding priorities to pre-K and full-day Kindergarten, while downsizing K-12 schools.

The Colorado legislature and the city of Denver have had success in providing more funding for pre-K and full day kindergarten. It is time, now, to build on that success by downsizing schools and classrooms; shifting the funding emphasis to reflect these priorities.

State legislators, school boards, school administrators, parents and citizens need to listen more carefully to the people on the front lines – teachers. When you listen to the people who deal with students day-in, day-out for weeks, months and years at a time, a clear picture begins to emerge of what ails our Colorado public schools: Too many of our students are coming to school unprepared to learn. Early childhood, in far too many cases, has not been nourished with a love and appreciation of learning. Too many children have not been read to, counted with, or experienced hands-on learning activities so crucial to early childhood developmental education. Furthermore, a lack of parental involvement follows them into kindergarten and beyond. Teachers become responsible for filling the vacuum along with their myriad of other responsibilities. Although funding for pre-school and full-day kindergarten can never take the place of family nurturing, it is sound public policy that can supplement and enhance early childhood development. Through my teaching experience and a summary of educational research, I’m convinced that nothing is more important to “fixing” our schools than providing early childhood education through pre-school and full day kindergarten opportunities

● ATTRACT quality teachers by cutting class sizes, increasing compensation, and creating a state-wide salary scale for Pre-K-12 teachers.

We need to make class sizes smaller. My colleagues and I experience daily the frustration of trying to teach in a building with over 2,000 students and in classrooms with more than 30 students. Research shows that this approach does not work. It is impossible to adequately build relationships with students or analyze their personal data to tailor instruction accordingly.

Let’s face it, Colorado will never attract larger, quality pools of college students to the teaching profession with our current compensation plans. We must make teacher pay commensurate with other college-degreed professions, and we must establish a state-wide salary scale for Pre-K-12 teachers reflecting the value we place on education. Incentives for increased compensation such as Denver Public School’s Pro-comp are desirable, as long as they are fully funded and collaboratively agreed to by all parties through collectively bargained agreements.

● END social promotion and eliminate CSAP testing. Instead, establish Colorado standards and assessments for every grade level. Tie student grade advancement to demonstrated mastery of standards.

Denver teachers, and teachers throughout Colorado, are frustrated with so-called social promotion, usually a de facto administrative policy of moving inadequately prepared students to the next grade. While often done in the name of preserving self-esteem, it is a reckless and dangerous policy that contradicts Colorado’s standards-based education model. What happens to a person’s self-esteem when they enter the worlds of higher education, work or military life only to realize that well-intentioned school officials have done them a disservice by advancing them through the system without adequate preparation? Social promotion must end.

In addition, CSAP testing should be scrapped and replaced by a new assessment. We need to tailor learning standards for each grade level, creating meaningful assessment for each student and tying advancement to the next level on the successful mastery of the standards. Although holding back failing students causes obvious logistical and financial problems, we must consider it in the funding priorities mentioned above.

● EXPAND options for middle and high school students in vocational training, community colleges and independent study. Maintain a solid college-prep option in Pre-K-12, but measure results, not seat time.

Communities, schools and individual teachers are currently locked into a system that forces everyone into the same box. Moving away from the one-size-fits-all college-prep model that most Colorado schools have adopted increases our ability to meet the challenges of the future and respond more effectively to our students. By providing middle and high school students different opportunities in vocational learning, and allowing independent progress toward standards, we ensure diverse skills and self-determined individuals entering the Colorado workforce.

● FREE DPS from the financial and time-consuming burden of administering a retirement fund by renewing negotiations with PERA to combine the two systems.

It is time to free Denver Public Schools from the burden of administering a retirement system separate from all of Colorado’s other school districts. Legislative authority has been granted in the past to begin this process, only to have negotiations between PERA and the Denver Public Schools Retirement System break down. The time and financial burdens placed on DPS is detracting from the business of running public schools. New legislation must be passed to not only restart the negotiation process, but to provide incentives and economic common sense for both entities to make sure that PERA and Denver teachers and retirees each benefit. This process has begun and we must insure everyone wins.

● RESTRUCTURE school governance by faculty and staff to ensure that people who have responsibility also have power.

First, in order to provide more opportunity, I believe that faculty, staff and community governance of schools is essential so that people who have responsibility also have power. Why not give authority to those closest to schools and students – those most familiar with the characteristics specific to their community demographics and needs? I believe that they, and not a centrally located school board, should determine school policy and the best way to deliver services, much like doctors and architects offer their services to the public.

Rather than operating under stringent rules from central administration, Colorado schools should have the flexibility to manage themselves according to what is best for their unique demography and needs as long as the collective bargaining unit in each district agrees through a vote of their members, and helps design the governing structure. A school governing board made up of teachers and administrators would be given autonomy – within state and federal guidelines – to make decisions about budget, length of year, staffing, professional development and other issues. This model allows small schools, with small classes to determine what is best for them. In return, these schools must be accountable for enhanced academic performance. This model is being successfully implemented in Boston Public Schools, and will soon be functional in Aurora Public Schools under a pilot program that has been ratified by the Aurora Education Association (the teacher’s union). For more information please view: http://www.aps.k12.co.us/schools/pilot/overview.htm.

These action items are what will begin to turn the tide for Colorado schools, and I welcome the chance to use my knowledge, education and insight to make the change happen.