Education

Many people agree that education is a top issue in Colorado and nationwide. Whether or not you have children in schools, you have no doubt been hearing that our schools are under funded and underperforming. These facts are of grave concern because the students of today will be the employees and employers of tomorrow. As our world becomes ever smaller, we must realize that our students are competing for jobs not only with their peers in Colorado and across our nation, but also with students from Europe, Asia and elsewhere in the world.

Research shows that to make our children more competitive in the global economy we must improve our state’s education system in some key areas:

• The Colorado School Finance Project reports (based on Publisher Morgan Quitno’s 2004-2005 data) that Colorado spends an average of $6,884 per pupil. The national average was $7,701.
• The Colorado Department of Education reported that in 2004-2005 more than 16,000 children dropped out of school (4.2% dropout rate). Of those, 2600 were in Denver (a dropout rate of 7.2%).
• A study by The Donnell-Kay Foundation estimates that the infrastructure needs of schools statewide total 6 to $10 billion.
• Great Education Colorado reports that Colorado ranks 45th to 49th nationally in the percentage of the state's wealth directed to funding K-12 public schools.

What can we do to improve and appropriately fund our schools in Colorado and ensure that our students will be ready and able to compete in a global economy?

Continued and increasing access to pre-school – We know that preschool helps prepare children to learn – they gain important social skills and the ECE experience sets the stage for learning in years to come. Research by the Piton Foundation shows that school districts can save $11,000 for each child that attends a quality early childhood education program due to decreased special education and remediation costs. We are making gains in this area, but we must continue to work to fully fund early childhood slots.

Full day kindergarten for all children – Children in full-day kindergarten, versus half-day programs, are improving their capacity to learn. The Colorado Children’s Campaign’s 2007 Kid’s Count reports that children in all day programs make more significant gains in reading and math assessments. This issue has been on the table for years and I believe we need to make full-day kindergarten for all children a reality.

Smaller class size – As class sizes in our urban and suburban schools often exceed 30 students and teachers are stretched to meet the students’ diverse needs, it’s no wonder the level of learning isn’t where we would like it to be. The cost associated with reducing the class sizes in our schools is incredibly high, but the gains prove to be significant. I would like to explore ways to reduce the number of students in K-3rd grade classes. I’d also like to explore the possibility of relieving some of the class-size stress by providing incentives to districts that are willing to hire additional educators (paraprofessionals or interns) to assist teachers with large classes.

Quality Teaching – Colorado, through its statewide assessment program, CSAP, and a curriculum and culture that now “teaches to the test,” has made it difficult for teachers to do what they do best – teach. The focus in the classroom has turned from how to help each child achieve his or her educational goals (using CSAP as an indicator), to what a teacher must do to increase the CSAP school rating. It’s time to refocus our efforts and resources toward supporting our teachers in serving the individual learning styles of their students.

CSAP – The CSAP program was designed to measure an individual student’s progress in achieving the educational standards set at the state level. Unfortunately, we turned an individual assessment into a tool to “rate” a school. We need to revisit the original intent of the assessments, ask the testing company to determine in what way the assessment is valid for educators and to use the information appropriately. Finally, we need to reevaluate how CSAP is used in our statewide accountability process.

Balancing the need for more funds with accountability – When facing the issue of improving education in our state, the emphasis is either on more money, or using our current resources more wisely. We need a combination of both. We need to recognize that we are not “keeping up with the Joneses” in our funding of schools. We need to add resources in specific areas, such as Kindergarten, ECE and class size, and begin to fund areas where we know we can get “a bigger bang for the buck.” Finally, we need to closely examine all the education laws currently on the books and determine if some should be removed or consolidated to make our system more efficient.

Dropout prevention – The Colorado Commission on High School Improvement (CCHSI) – a diverse, bipartisan group of state and local leaders brought together in 2004 by the Colorado Children’s Campaign – reported that high school graduation rates across the state are only 70 percent (based on students who entered the ninth grade in the fall of 2000 and graduated in 2004). The Commission also found that high school graduation rates among Colorado’s minority students are even worse.

The commission highlights a number of ways that districts can address the dropout issue including the need better allocate new and existing resources, including funding. In addition, Governor Ritter’s P-20 Education Coordinating Council is addressing dropout prevention by researching best practices and proven strategies that can help tackle this pressing problem. I would support legislation, if appropriate, to implement these best practices.