April 9, 2009
DFER-CO Press Release on US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Visit to Colorado
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Encourages Colorado "To Lead the Country to the Race to the Top" in Meeting with Colorado Education Leaders About $500 Million for Education Innovation
Denver, CO - U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan met with a small group of education leaders, including five Democrats for Education Reform -CO advisory committee members: Lt. Governor Barbara O'Brien, Senate President Peter Groff, Speaker of the House Terrance Carroll, State Board of Education member Elaine Berman, and Mapleton Expeditionary School of the Arts principal Mike Johnston.
According to Lt. Governor Barbara O'Brien, Secretary Duncan said that the winning states for Race to the Top must have a proposal for taking best practices to scale, and for stimulating innovation across all four priority areas: data systems, teacher quality, internationally bench marked standards, and turning around chronically low performing schools.
After the meeting, Mike Johnston, DFER-CO Advisory Committee member and Principal of Mapleton Expeditionary School of the Arts, said, "Today Secretary Duncan showed the courage and the depth of the Obama Administration's commitment to education reform. He invited Colorado to join the Race to the Top by embracing a common core of internationally benchmarked college-ready standards and assessments and committing to recruit, retain, and reward teachers and principals based on their demonstrated effectiveness. The question is: Will Colorado answer the call?"
In a symbolic move, Duncan visited two Denver schools that have taken advantage of a 2008 bill sponsored by DFER-CO advisory board member Sen. Peter Groff. The new law allowed the schools to apply for autonomy waivers that granted them power to make their own personnel decisions and budget decisions, which are traditionally tightly controlled by labor contracts and district administration. The measures are intended to drive student achievement.
Duncan praised Colorado for its education reform leadership and Denver Public Schools for its track record of innovation, saying, "I encourage Colorado to lead the country to the Race to the Top and where we need to go."
Governor Bill Ritter has asked Lt. Governor Barbara O'Brien to spearhead the effort to put together Colorado's Race to the Top proposal. She will convene the first stakeholder meeting to outline the RFP process on April 27th from 8-9:30 AM at St. Cajetan's Cathedral on the Auraria campus.
Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) is a political action committee whose mission is to encourage a more productive dialogue within the Democratic Party on the need to fundamentally reform American public education. DFER operates on all levels of government to educate elected officials and support reform-minded candidates for public office.
