President (To Win Colorado)
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(D) Kamala Harris
(R) Donald Trump
80%
20%
CO-01 (Denver)
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(D) Diana DeGette*
(R) V. Archuleta
98%
2%
CO-02 (Boulder-ish)
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(D) Joe Neguse*
(R) Marshall Dawson
95%
5%
CO-03 (West & Southern CO)
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(D) Adam Frisch
(R) Jeff Hurd
50%
50%
CO-04 (Northeast-ish Colorado)
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(R) Lauren Boebert
(D) Trisha Calvarese
90%
10%
CO-05 (Colorado Springs)
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(R) Jeff Crank
(D) River Gassen
80%
20%
CO-06 (Aurora)
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(D) Jason Crow*
(R) John Fabbricatore
90%
10%
CO-07 (Jefferson County)
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(D) B. Pettersen
(R) Sergei Matveyuk
90%
10%
CO-08 (Northern Colo.)
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(D) Yadira Caraveo
(R) Gabe Evans
70%↑
30%
State Senate Majority
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DEMOCRATS
REPUBLICANS
80%
20%
State House Majority
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DEMOCRATS
REPUBLICANS
95%
5%
April 26, 2007 07:01 PM UTC
51 Comments
I hope that education reform comes to the forefront of the ’08 election. This is a debate that needs awakening, especially at the federal level. NCLB is a debacle and early-childhood learning couldn’t be more important.
There was an interesting article written for the Politico yesterday on the same subject.
http://www.politico.com
There will be no real reform of education as long as Democrats are in power, and it appears they’ll be in power a long time. Democrats are owned by the CEA and DEA, which do not want reform. They want dues.
And the problem with all the reform ideas I’ve seen over the decades is that are based on false assumptions and an unwillingness to deal with the real problems.
The questions are:
How do we create safe learning environments for kids smart enough to learn who want to learn?
How do we create safe learning enviroments for kids who shouldn’t go to college but want to learn the trades?
How do we sell all kids on the benefits and financial rewards of learning, when the socialists who administer our schools and teach our kids don’t believe in capitalism or financial incentives for anyone but themselves?
How do we take the special ed kids out of class rooms so kids who want to learn can?
How dow we drill the basics into kids so they can learn the arts, sports, and how to be powerful women and minorities?
How do we give teachers the power to enforce discipline, demand tons of whome work and flunk the failures?
How do we take power from parents who don’t know what to demand from schools, having never attended any good ones?
How do we teach parents how to help their kids succeed in school and life, having failed to teach the the parents anything worthwhile when they were in school?
I could go on, but forgetaboutit.
Mostly. Overlooking the snarks.
I should start by apologizing, but I am basically going to repeat what I found in the commission’s report. I figure 25 professionals in education and economics have a better understanding than I ever will, so why not just repeat.
How do we create safe learning environments for kids smart enough to learn who want to learn? – The more important question you’ve just asked is – why do we have to distinguish between the “kids smart enough to learn who want to learn” and the rest of them? But, to answer your question, addressing safety is obviously going to be an ongoing issue, where some will argue the need for metal detectors at entrances and armed officers wandering the halls. I’m more in support of better counseling programs, better student teacher ratios, more involvement by parents, and an adjustment towards a more productive learning environment; all of which are included in ed reform efforts.
How do we create safe learning enviroments for kids who shouldn’t go to college but want to learn the trades? – Read the executive summary of the “Tough Choices or Tough Times report” (http://www.skillscom…). Page 13 of the pdf illustrates a new schema for student progression, including technical exams rather than AP or IB exams. It promotes student efforts in learning the trades.
How do we sell all kids on the benefits and financial rewards of learning, when the socialists who administer our schools and teach our kids don’t believe in capitalism or financial incentives for anyone but themselves? – Interesting observation: a socialist interested in only their own well being… huh. Well, because I’m not exactly sure how to answer, let me jump into teacher recruitment. According to a report done by the National Council on Teacher Quality, “college graduates whose SAT or ACT scores were in the bottom quartile were more than twice as likely as those in the top quartile to have majored in education.” Meaning, most of our top minds don’t want to become teachers, and this is a huge problem. Being an educator is a difficult profession, and the compensation and rewards are minimal.
How dow we drill the basics into kids so they can learn the arts, sports, and how to be powerful women and minorities? – Start at an early age. Pre-K education should be a necessity. Statistics are showing that children without early childhood ed are more likely to fall behind and drop out of school (looking for source).
How do we give teachers the power to enforce discipline, demand tons of whome work and flunk the failures? – Again, I’ll point you to the executive summary of the Commissions report. The new structure would not continue promoting students to new levels based on age. One cannot move on in the system if one doesn’t pass the State Board Qualifying Exam, but students will be encouraged to take it as many times as necessary.
How do we take power from parents who don’t know what to demand from schools, having never attended any good ones? – I don’t know if “taking power” from them makes any sense, but involving them more in their child’s education and creating a more interactive environment for the parents would be a start. Side note: adult ed is something that can’t be overlooked. As the economy moves further from industrial jobs and companies continue to outsource labor, adults are finding their skills aren’t as useful in America’s workforce. There are a number of different solutions, including an education insurance fund developed by the government in conjunction with companies that guarantees money to be used for job training after layoffs.
Although my SAT was solid, I went into education partly because I didn’t know what I really wanted to do.
I rented a room once to a certified teacher doing subbing. This guy should not have been put in charge of dead dogs, let alone live kids. Unstable and prescription druggy. Kicked him out pronto when I found out.
As I read or experience about young teachers wearing sexy clothes or messing with the kids sexually, I really wonder about the clearing process. One can be smart yet lack common sense. To a large extent, that’s my sister.
Digression: Do you remember years ago when PeeWee Herman got locked up for masterbating, and then a deputy got in serious trouble because she gave him some funds or something? Well, that was my sister!
I think the vast majority of young teachers are not the ones that make it into the newspapers and are knowledgeable and dedicated. I’ve looked into teaching again several times over the year. When I discovered what I would have to do to get certified again, for the salary involved, despite all my experiences of almost 40 years since I officially taught, I can see why there are two classes of people who choose education: The Very Dedicated, and The Inept.
Your sister is a teacher who wears sexy clothes? Messes with kids? Gave funds to PeeWee Herman? For what? More details please!
My sis definitely does not wear sexy clothes. She went to HS with the sister of Paul Reubens, aka Pee Wee. She helped him throw bail, which is against policy (and common sense, which was my point, the lack of commone sense with some teachers.)
That makes more sense. I always liked Paul Reubans. “I meant to do that”.
I/m with u, pr….I looked into teaching as a second career a while back. When I graduated from CU, JFK was President, the Soviet Union was powerful and menancing and Africa was still colonized….we only had a handful of “advisors” in Vietnam…..forty years later…when I looked into a teacher certification for social studies…I was told I would have to spend $3000-$4000 dollars in getting education course…BUT…NO pol sci, history or geography course….they were still valid. That is simply crazy. I pride myself on knowing a little bit about history…but even I couldn’t fake forty years,
Plus, I realized I didn’t have the patience to teach…a lot of respect for teachers…but kids like dr dooby would have me running screaming for the teacher louge and I’d probably take up smoking again….
Smart, smart women used to teach because they had no other option….nuns were bright…..now smart smart women run the House and the State Department…
to decrease the pool of qualified applicants and increase the ability to demand higher wages. It has other benefits (Like making sure your mechanic isn’t practicing medicine) but the main intent is the former.
…but I’m sure both elements are components of the increasing requirements for certification.
I can recall lots of second career teachers back in the 50’s and 60’s. I doubt if they had much of a hurdle to overcome. Yet, they brought a lifetime of experience in business or crafts to the classroom that no 22 year old, highly credentialed, possibly could.
As I’ve said, they make it so hard that the only people who jump the hurdles are either extremely dedicated or have no other career options they are such failures.
I looked into teaching a year ago and found that I would have to spend sums of monies as you suggest, over a period of three years, to get a $24K job teaching in rural Colorado.
For someone already with an Ed degree, they should require some kind of refresher class and let me have at it. If I don’t show kids porn or some other egregious action, I should get certification in two years of successful teaching.
My mother taught from 1960-ish to 1982-ish. She was hired because the rural school in Sarasota needed a bilingual teacher due to all the field workers. (The school is now well within city limits and the celery fields are condos.) Obviously, this was way before the huge illegal immigration population came along.
My mother spoke Portuguese fluently and had a working knowledge of Castillian (upper crust) Spanish. Good enough! For that overlooking of perfection, they got a teacher that was incredibly dedicated, frequently recognized as outstanding, became one of the teachers in the district “brainiac school”, and occasional gadfly to the board. She sacrificed a lot and got an M.A. in Ed, eventually.
Try to do that today…..
She really hated teaching by the end of her career. Surly kids, unsupportive parents, chickenshit shool board. She often said that the atmosphere over that quarter century changed radically.
No. But there could be. People bring issues to the attention of the masses all the time. It just takes a concerted effort. That sounds like what Romer is doing.
A teachers union advocate asking for more money to throw at their failed system so they can stay in power.
Our education system is a tragedy that I don’t think people really understand the gravity of. And it’s one of the clearest examples of how a union has gone from being an important safeguard in a system to a greedy, self-important culture where the needs of the students are fairly far down on the ladder of priorities.
It’s a disgrace.
You’d be surprised how little power the union’s will have if a lot of the proposed education reform takes place. The purpose of the commission and Ed in ’08 is to take a step back and really evaluate the future of education in America. Our system is jacked, including teacher advancement and power.
Many experts believe that our current method of compensation, where years experience is more valuable than tangible results and effectiveness needs to be thrown out.
Also, keep in mind Ed in ’08 isn’t just Romer. Marc Lampkin, a Republican lobbyist and former deputy campaign manager for President Bush, is the co-chair.
Can you tell me how in the world you could affect education in this State without either cow-towing to or functionally disbanding the CEA?
Look at the idiots on the State Education Committee for crying out loud. Tell me Madden would do any single thing the union didn’t want her to.
It’s the largest union in the State and the biggest budget item.
You are fixated on “the union”, which doesn’t have near the power that you give credit for, and the Education Committee make up. I guess you’d rather have chiropractors making education decisions.
You also broadly proclaim that public education is a failure. PE has always had “problems”, real or imagined. Kids can get a damned decent education in most schools in Colorado. Inner city schools struggle with huge non-English speaking immigrant populations.
I heard Romanoff speak briefly on the national report that really took a look at our systems here in America. Included in that are fresh looks at compensation, such as pay more but no more PERA contributions from the taxpayers.
You have valid concerns, although nothing offered in terms of facts or stats. Why not participate in the efforts to make changes instead of just whining?
PS, I got a damned good public education. I bet you did, too.
I did, and I’m grateful. I actually work with inner city kids from DPS, and that’s why I’m so overcome with anger about this. Look how alternatives that might have a chance are targeted by the CEA and their politicians – Hope Academy is a fantastic example.
Two years ago, the CSAP results showed that 33 African-American students were proficient in math to the 10th grade level.
Not percent – 33 total students.
That’s why what Merrifield said is so offensive. We are burying these kids every month because they never had a chance against the gangs. Nothing to keep them in school, and the same people that are in charge of the agenda will do anything they can to maintain their own power and at the same time be so Goddamned smug about it. Nobody gets to be arrogant about the status quo. Not in my book.
Just so you know, teachers (95% anyway) are not the problem IMO.
What you describe is by my perspective a failure of the homes and the racial sub-cultures. Yes, lack of fathers in the homes, gangs and gangsta culture, and a general decline in insisting on high performance (that includes the white culture) have all been key players in the mess our system is in.
But there is little that the teachers or the educational system can do to change those things. I used to live by Manual. My neighbors didn’t have one book in the house, but they had a big TV and lots of videos. I’d watch the kids walking to school without one book or even a backpack.
Hope Academy is not the answer, even if there weren’t the thousands of questions it is raising about its operations.
deal with the rest. Longer school days, meaningful curriculum and classroom discipline are all within the control of the teachers and administration. The home life of the students is not. It is time to stop making excuses.
Longer school days = fight with union
Curriculum = fight with union
Discipline of teachers – fight with union, even in the most ridiculous, egregious cases like Jay Bennish. Forget all of his silly, anti-US rantings, he had major historical facts wrong in his lecture, and got to be on the Today show for being incompetent.
Discipline of students = not happening at all because of fear of lawsuits. This is yet another issue where private schools would have an advantage.
I agree fully on the blaming of the parents or the culture. I agree it’s a problem, but it is what it is. I think that argument is usually more of a red herring thrown out to deflect blame from the powers that be.
Denver voters were conned, my opinion, into voting a mil levy increase to fund Pay for Performance which would pay teachers just as you propose. First consequence, a lot of good experienced teachers got the hell out of Denver…plus who is monitoring the results? Can you tell me where I can a “report card” for the first year of “pay for performance?” I bet not.
I didn’t see that specifically addressed on the website, but maybe I missed it.
Most advocates for change aren’t asking the Fed to throw more money at education. Reform involves a complete overhaul of structure, how students evolve through the ed system, teacher compensation, early-childhood and adult education, all without spending more money.
The report Romanoff has been pushing, “Touch Choices or Tough Times” has details on how this is possible.
Using existing resources and reforming the system. I’m all ears.
The unions aren’t going to like that one (and it’s supposedly in the package being pushed by the Ed in ’08 crowd.) That and longer school days and years.
Actually, I had heard that they were going to be putting everything short of vouchers on the table.
We don’t need Bill Gates, Eli Broad, Roy Romer or Andrew Romanoff to get us to talk more about “what’s wrong with education.” People believe all these horror stories about how poorly our kids do in international comparisons, but the reality is that middle-class white kids do great, while poor black and brown kids do poorly. But this isn’t only because they go to bad schools and have bad teachers. You can have the best teachers in the world, but if the families and communities you serve are poor, those kids simply aren’t going to do well in school, on average.
The problem is poverty and inequality. If you look at the test scores of kids who attend mostly poor schools versus those who attend mostly middle-class schools, it’s obvious. But there are a whole host of reasons why poor families stay poor, many of which have to do with public policies that actually perpetuate their poverty. There’s way too many of these policies to go into here, but they have to do with transportation to good jobs, the minimum wage and other income supports, health insurance and access to health care, child care, housing, job training, etc.
My point is that more talk about improving schools is not going to solve the problem. Schools don’t exist in a vacuum, and we need to find ways to help families and communities so their kids are actually able to benefit from better schools and teachers.
The middle class students have learned to coast. Worse, their parents allow it. Back in the 70’s, I attended a catholic high school, where every student was required to take SATs and/or ACTs. Another example is that back in school, most of the kids took college calc. as seniors. Now, high school students are doing good to take entry level algebra.
Worst of all, the middle class kids do not respect education. That is what is wrong. Not only do the schools need to be improved, but we need to work on the parents. Parents need to focus on teaching and helping kids.
When I moved out to Colorado in 79, this state was in the top half for higher education. I was not that impressed by the high schools (based on what I heard and saw of the students), but the higher ed was improving. Colorado State had one of the more interesting Alternative Energy programs going (well I read about it all the time back east). Over the next 12-18 years, Colorado and the higher ed. kept improving. We had lots of engineering going on leading to all sorts of good jobs. This became a high-tech mecca due to the education level and the desirability to live here. And that was at a time, when RRRs were accusing us of having too much taxes. Over the last 8-10 (esp, the last 6) years, this state has progressed dramatically backwards. So has the high-tech jobs. The level from our higher education has plumeted. One place it improved was for UNC when hank brown took over and owens opened up the money to him. In addition for CU when again more money was funneled to him. But did the overall schools improve? No.
Owens focus so much energy on little things like going after churchill in any way possible. But the guy should have focus on the higher education AND the state as a whole. We now need to restore the state from 8 LONG years of destruction.
should be at the top of the list of priorities for our government must live in a world of fairytales, daffodiles, peaches and Herb.
The war is still raging on.
Illegal immigrants are coming in by the millions taking our jobs and draining our social programs.
Healthcare costs are high.
Car insurance costs are high.
Gasoline costs are obscene.
Crime is everywhere.
Prisons are full.
Drugs are an ever steady problem.
And taxes are out of this world.
Now how can any sane person say that education reform is a priority?
which will be here in a short decade or so, I’d say HELL YEAH it’s a priority! I wouldn’t necessarily try to make it number one on this list since all you listed is important too, but it definitely belongs there.
You don’t want a nation of subliterates in charge when you’re 80 (and I know, you think you’re not going to make it that long – fate has a way of granting people like you long life) so I think you’ll see reason…
Our taxes in America and especially in Colorado, are amongst the lowest in the first world.
Your issue should be with the tax structure. Things like huge tax cuts for the richest 1% of Americans (you aren’t, are you?) and corporate taxation at the lowest level ever in history. Not too many years ago, they paid 35% of the fed’s income taxes, now it’s 7%.
Colorad used to have a graduated income tax, now you pay the same rate as Pete Coors.
So, who do you think has to make up the difference?
Ding! Ding! Ding! And which party do you think made these changes? Ding! Ding! Ding!
Yeah, they suckered you right in with talk aboug guns and gays while their hand was in your back pocket.
but I have heard of “Education Reform” so many times now, and nothing has come of it without rabid resistance from the NEA and it’s state equivalents. I’m sure former Governor Romer and his backers have the best of intentions, he was a good governor, and they seem to have good ideas. But with the Democrats in charge in Denver, and both of the Education Commitees in the State House run by lock-step unionists, I don’t think it has a chance at this time.
the usual government morass and effect meaningful change. Aren’t I the optimist?:)
Gates has not been afraid to put his money where his mouth is when it comes to education. He has more money than I would ever be able to get through living the most debauched lifestyle imaginable, and he made it by being a cutting-edge entrepanuer, in the best American tradition.
Many of the old Robber Barons, as they were called, gifted communities with libraries, museums, and places of higher education. Bill Gates could do a lot worse as a legacy by gifting us with an improved education system. It is something to hope for. Thanks LB!
Doesn’t anybody remember a place called Manual High School? That was a Gates Foundation experiment….they came in with the big bucks and blew away a school with their experimenting….so bad…the school got shut down and 500 (more?) kids got tossed to the four winds….
Any of you educrats know where I can read an “objective” report of what went wrong with Gates and Manual? I didn’t think so…..Gates has A LOT of money….and people have their hands out….
and the unions. The Republicans mostly held the purse strings.
Just like the Dems are at least looking into doing something, the R’s could have, too. Maybe they did, I’m not familiar with the history here.
My son attends Rocky Mountain School of Expeditionary Learning. This is a great school with very engaged, motivated, creative teachers. Their are two Expeditionary Learning schools in Denver.
I’ve also heard great things Denver School of Technology and Science. Waiting list to get into the school, excellent CSAP scores, with an very progressive principal.
Then we have Denver School of the Arts. One of the best arts schools in the region. Huge pool of applicants to get into the school.
My take is that public education is rapidly changing with many excellent alternative schools starting up. By giving parents public school alternatives – it will only strengthen local public schools.
I’ve read quite a few broad, non-focused posts on the terrible state of education in Colorado – I really don’t agree – from my point of view, education has dramatically improved since I attended school ~30 years ago (yikes).
…and I’ll show you North High School with it’s graduation rate that hovers around 20%.
Is the school your child attended a charter?
Well, you know what the former head of the State Education Committee thinks about you, then…
RMSEL is not a charter school. Here’s the description on their website:
A public school of choice, RMSEL is a vital partnership of five Denver-area school districts: Aurora, Denver, Cherry Creek, Douglas County and Littleton; and two non-profit organizations actively involved in the renewal of public education: Outward Bound and the Public Education and Business Coalition. Expeditionary Learning captures the power of Outward Bound principles and research about best practices and combines them in the classroom to promote high academic achievement and character development.
As I’m sure you know, classroom time is only part of the education equation. You need support from the parents, a safe community and neighborhood, and the recognition from their peers that school is very important. If you only have teachers working their ass off, without support from parents, community, neighborhood, peers – the child will only succeed with inner determination.
But I think you’re naive where DPS is concerned. I’d encourage you to tour a middle or high school in the city.
You’re right, I probably won’t send my daughter to that school – even though it is 2 blocks away. The point I was trying to make is the public education is making great strides. It’s going to take time. The resposibility for change does not lie directly on the shoulders of educators – the issues are more societal.
I’m not trying to give you a hard time, but I totally disagree that public education is making great strides.
Enrollment is falling, nearly 1/3 of DPS teachers left after last school year, and DPS was notified by more than one college that their diploma didn’t carry enough weight at the university level – that kids coming into college from DPS couldn’t keep up in entry level courses.
Given the size of the budget for public education, it’s a disgrace.
South High is the nicest of the DPS high schools. What does that say to you?
DPS was notified by more than one college that their diploma didn’t carry enough weight at the university level – that kids coming into college from DPS couldn’t keep up in entry level courses.
I graduated from Manual in the 80s and DPS was well regarded then. What the hell happened?
Also, I specifically said that 95% of the teachers bear no responsibility for this mess.
The system is broken, and the people in charge are more interested in holding on to their power than in educating our kids, and that’s revolting.
School of the Arts is a DPS funded school with enrollment based on a rigorous application policy…until last year no preference was given to Denver residents..(I think that policy changed)…kids have to have talent and training to get in…very few kids make it…
I am pretty sure that the science and tech charter has all kinds of demographic/income categories which kids have to fit into before they are accepted….I don’t think there is any academic or IQ requirement..but I could be wrong…
As for Expeditonary ….isn’t that a joint effort among three or four districts???
Waiting lists are marketing tools…
1) I don’t think that the School of the Arts gives any preference for Denver residents – they should, though.
2) Science and Tech is a pure lottery admission process, no prior academic requirements.
3) RMSEL is a joint effort between Aurora, Denver, Cherry Creek, Douglas County and Littleton school districts.
Yes, waiting lists are good for schools.
Science and Tech is a lottery but isn’t it within certain categories? I don’t think waiting lists are good for schools…I think they are a marketing tool…..they market “exclusivity”…..some parents want that…others just want their kids to learn…