a strong voice for kids 2nd Congressional District
a strong voice for kids 2nd Congressional District
CHLOUBER: Thanked CDE staff for their hard work while the Legislature was in session. Mentioned how much we enjoyed the opportunity yesterday to meet with the CASB board and CCCOES people.
BURNETT: A man from CU Colorado Springs called to interview him for his paper on some issues that Burnett disagreed with his premise on; he said, "I don't want your opinion, I just want your views." It was tough to do.
DEHOFF: This has been a quieter month. Had breakfast with board members from metro area school districts and feels that we have a lot more in common than what separates us. Thanks CASB for the opportunity; it was a good interchange. CSAP scores had a lot of good news; it is encouraging that the news coverage is more positive - this is progress. Attended Columbine High School choir concert; it was very emotional for choir members as well as the audience. His daughter was in a study-abroad program last year and got to go to Tunisia, where she went to the set of Star Wars. She got an internship with Skywalker Ranch, the George Lucas (Lucasfilm) studio in Marin county.
HUDAK: Since I was approved by this Board to be the liaison to the State Advisory Committee for Gifted and Talented Education and the Colorado Special Education Advisory Committee, I'd like to report briefly on what these two committees are working on, since they both have met in the last month and I attended the meetings. Then I have just a couple of things to mention that are from the recent State PTA Convention, which I also attended. The State Advisory Committee for Gifted and Talented Education has historically given an oral report to the Board once year, but did not have that opportunity last year; they would appreciate our inviting them to report to us at the work session of our August meeting in Grand Junction. They have three main areas of concern: (1) Adequate categorical funding - they very much appreciate the State Board's position on Amendment 23, requesting an increase in categorical funding for Gifted and Talented Education. (2) Accreditation - they have submitted suggested amendments to the proposed rules, and someone will likely be presenting these during our hearing today. (3) Professional development and supplemental endorsement - Research shows that less than 2% of teachers have had any training in teaching gifted and talented students, and teacher express a lack of confidence and competence in working with these students. Districts have difficulty finding teachers for GT classes. Therefore, the committee requests that the State Board support the creation of a supplemental endorsement in gifted and talented education, which teachers would be able to get when they go for recertification. This would likely bring up all students' achievement and have a positive economic effect. The Colorado Special Education Advisory Committee also did not have the opportunity to report to the Board last year and would like to report to us in person at some time in the next few months. They are working on preparing studies on two topics: (1) Literacy instruction and intervention - Policy-makers and educators need to become familiar with new research on how children learn to read and methods of effective instruction based on this research. This would help all students and could prevent some reading failure. Much of the research shows that we need to change the emphasis from 3rd grade literacy to pre-kindergarten. (2) Linking general education and special education - With special education having such a deficiency in funding, the shortage of special education teachers, the increasing numbers of students with disabilities in regular classrooms, and the increase in students needing special education services, collaboration between general education and special education would be highly beneficial. There are two items from the State PTA Convention that I'd like to mention. The first is a workshop entitled "Boom, Boom, Boom!" This reported on the large number of middle and high schools around the state that have dangerous, volatile chemicals improperly stored. Some of these could, by simply having a few drops of water fall on them, explode and destroy half the buildings. The Department of Public Health has been trying to go into schools and remove and destroy these safely, but there is a huge hazard still out there. The second thing I want to report on relates to our proposed rules for accreditation, with the addition of contextual learning. The PTA Convention had a very touching report by a young woman, Melissa Helmbrecht, who is about to graduate from DU Law School. Until the middle of her high school years, she was a straight F student. Then a teacher recognized some potential in her and encouraged her to be on the debate team, which led her to do research by volunteering at a homeless shelter. This experience of service learning radically changed her life. Not only did she find the relevance of getting an education and go on to succeed in school, but also she was inspired to help other kids to discover it. She has developed service learning programs in a number of schools, taken the "worst" students from schools and turned them around with similar programs, and worked worldwide to develop an Internet site for kids to communicate. She emphasizes the importance of all children realizing that they have value and that what is important is one's character, not one's skills.
POLIS: At the next meeting of Gifted Advisory Committee, would like them to talk about having a person at CDE in charge of Gifted and Talented rather than through the regional centers. Commended the districts receiving accreditation contract approvals. Congratulated a principal from St. Vrain Valley who recently became an American citizen. In regard to the role of schools in society, said that schools can't do everything for children; they need to partner with community groups and nonprofits. Went to a meeting on Asset Building, a convening of community stakeholders to benefit children. Regardless of what we do, true character education comes from family and church. We rely on the efforts of nonprofits and community groups who contribute much. Spoke at the graduation at UCD of new teachers; it was disheartening to know that some will burn out, but inspiring that people of all ages are committed to being a teacher. We pulled CU Boulder from the consent agenda - hope we'll write a letter to CCHE about our indignation at their self-righteousness for political, ideological reasons; this is a time that we need teachers. The Jared Polis Foundation has been launched to provide technology training. Girls and Boys Clubs are also working on this. The digital divide is as important as the learning gap, because there will be a pay gap if kids can't use technology.
ORR: Was on Channel 9 News last week regarding the issue of Internet filtering. Need to raise the consciousness level about horrible things that can be accessed on the Internet. Businesses spend millions of dollars to advertise products, and we're fooling ourselves if we think that our children won't be affected by these. We will be addressing this during our accreditation hearing. This is a new medium that we need to get a handle on. Recognized all the mothers in the room, since Mother's Day is soon. One of his daughters graduates from college this weekend.
STANFORD: We don't always sing the praises of the people across the street at the Legislature, but can today for what has been a remarkable year for public education: full funding for education (it really IS full funding this year because it includes funding for the categoricals); character education; bullying prevention; SB98, so we will improve how we report on the Report Card, including funding for it to be a fair and accurate reporting; and funding for teacher incentives, textbooks, and full-day kindergarten. How different this was from previous years. Not just Amendment 23 - also the Governor's office and CDE staff. Celebrating 3rd grade CSAP scores - particularly proud of Ashley and Bromwell Elementaries, and pleased to see that some schools that we thought might get a bad report card designation; Valdez moved from 10% to 28% proficient and will be reporting 53% because Spanish language test results will be reported.
COMMISSIONER MOLONEY: Roscoe Davidson has done a marvelous job as Acting Assistant Commissioner and did excellent work on accreditation; he has now, with unanimous enthusiasm of SBE, accepted this position on a permanent basis. He has been recognized several times as one of the truly great educators in Colorado; he is a model and inspiration for everyone.
Approved the content of the following teacher preparation programs leading to licensure:
[SB 99-154 requires the Colorado Department of Education to do site visits of all teacher preparation programs within 2 years of their being implemented and for SBE to then approve them. These programs must meet the Performance-Based Standards for Teacher Preparation Programs, which SBE approved in January 2000. All programs must also be approved by CCHE (Colorado Commission on Higher Education). The deadline for the programs to become standards-based is July 1, 2001.]
Approved a contract between the State of Colorado - for the use and benefit of the Department of Education - and the following organizations through June 2002 for adult regional education resources, as follows:
(1) ON-GROUNDS SCHOOL FACILITIES
Approved the establishment of the following on-grounds special education schools/facilities, which have met the criteria for eligible facilities as described in the Rules for the Administration of the Public School Finance Act of 1994, as well as the requirements set forth by the Special Education Services Unit:
(2) ACCREDITATION CONTRACTS
Approved accreditation contracts for the following school districts:
(1) APPOINTMENTS TO THE COLORADO COUNCIL FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT
Approved the following appointments to the Colorado Council for Library Development:
[Due to resignations, the SBE was asked to appoint these two new individuals to serve on the CCLD. CCLD is the principal advisory body on library matters to the SBE, the State Librarian (Commissioner of Education), and the Assistant Commissioner for State Library and Adult Education Office. There are 19 members. Members serve 3-year terms and are eligible for reappointment to one additional 3-year term. Meetings are held quarterly (Feb., May, Aug., and Nov.).]
(2) EXPENDITURE FOR COLORADO TALKING BOOK LIBRARY
Approved interest expenditures of $61,344.81 from the Mary Jones Trust fund for the next fiscal year. [The MJT fund was created in 1981 with a donation to the Colorado Talking Book Library. The intended use of the fund is to support projects that have an impact on a large number of CTBL patrons. CTBL has always made it a practice to expend only the interest of the trust. CTBL will use the interest income for operational expenses at the library. The expenditure of the interest funds will be monitored by the Chief of Staff at CDE.]
(1) EMERGENCY EDUCATOR AUTHORIZATIONS
Approved emergency Type III educator authorizations for 40 initially and 4 renewals .
[Local districts may request Type III Emergency Authorization to employ non-licensed teachers, principals, administrators, or special services providers if they agree to provide an induction program. The SBE's approval is based on consideration of whether the district has demonstrated a shortage of licensed personnel and the employment of non-licensed personnel is essential to preserving the instructional program and to the well-being of the children enrolled.]
(2) DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS
(3) TEACHER IN RESIDENCE PROGRAM
Approved the Teacher Residency Program for the following:
[Colorado school districts and boards of cooperative educational services (BOCES) are authorized to establish teacher in residence programs, enabling them to hire non-licensed individuals with appropriate degrees for two years, providing that they give these people individual training, support, and evaluation and that they recommend them for licensure upon completion of the program. The intent of the teacher in residence program is to enable districts to address teacher shortages and reduce the number of people employed under Type III Emergency Authorizations. It also attempts to help school districts and BOCES to recruit and employ nontraditional teacher candidates.]
(4) WAIVER REQUEST
Approved request of Eagle Rock School and Professional Development Center in Estes Park for a waiver of the requirement that their alternative teacher candidates pass the PLACE assessments prior to accepting employment as alternative teachers. The waiver allows the school to employ alternative teachers who have not yet passed the assessments but meet all other requirements for the program. The teachers are then required to complete the assessments during the school year and prior to receiving their provisional license.
[The SBE may grant waivers, with a two-thirds vote, for any requirement in the rules regarding alternative teacher programs. Waivers may be granted only if they are necessary to improve the quality of the affected educators and with evidence of the need to prevent extreme hardship to the district. Waivers may be for a two-year period and are renewable.]
(5) ALTERNATIVE TEACHER PROGRAM
Approved Alternative Teacher Licensure Program for the following:
[SBE rules provide that Colorado school districts, BOCES, accredited independent schools, or accepted institutions of higher education may develop and implement alternative teacher programs for the preparation and licensure of individuals who have not completed a program through an approved teacher education institution. Such programs must meet the requirements of SBE rules and state statutes.]
(6) ESTABLISHMENT OF FEES FOR LICENSING PROGRAM
Approved the increase in evaluation fees for the next fiscal year for teaching licenses from $36 to $48, and for one-year substitute authorizations from $18 to $24. (The proposed revenues to be generated from the increased fees is based on an anticipated 31,600 applications next year. The fee increases are needed to keep the reserve funds above the statutory limit and at the minimum necessary to maintain operations.) The current charges for background checks will remain at $36, reflecting known costs for CBI/FBI.
[The Educator Licensing Act of 1991 authorizes the SBE to annually establish the evaluation fees for licenses, authorizations, certificates, and endorsements. In addition, the Department is required to conduct CBI and FBI background checks and to collect the actual costs of those background checks from applicants.]
(1) CONTRACT FOR FIRE CONTROL AND AIR CONDITIONING
Approved a contract between the State of Colorado - for the benefit and use of the Colorado Department of Education - and [vendor to be determined by competitive bid] in an amount not to exceed $78,000 for the replacement of the fire control and air conditioning systems in the CDE Data Center. [The current fire suppression and air conditioning systems are over 15 years old. The rapid increase in the Department's information technology resources (most recently the School Report Card system) has magnified the need to replace the data center environmental control systems. The cost of replacing the equipment in the center would be $854,000, if it were damaged by fire, water, or heat.]
(2) CONTRACT FOR PRINTING OF SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY REPORT
Approved a contract between the State of Colorado - for the benefit and use of the Colorado Department of Education - and Johnson Printing in an amount not to exceed $1,393,111.65 from June 1, 2001, through August 31, 2006, for printing the School Report Card/Accountability Report. [The School Report Cards will be sent to approximately 1700 public schools in Colorado, to be distributed out to the parents. In order to produce the Report Cards mandated in SB 00-186, CDE must develop a data warehouse, a report card application, a web interface, and a business intelligence system, the output of which will be a Report Card for each public school in Colorado. This contract will permit an outside vendor to print the report cards.]
(3) CONTRACT FOR AUDIT OF SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY REPORT
Approved a contract between the State of Colorado - for the benefit and use of the Colorado Department of Education - and Deloitte and Touche in an amount not to exceed $182,050 from June 1, 2001, through June 30, 2001, for an audit of the School Accountability Report.
[The SBE, per the requirements of SB00-186, is required to "contract with a nationally recognized, independent auditing firm to annually audit the process of preparing the report cards . . . to ensure data reporting integrity and quality control. The Department shall award the contract based upon a competitive bid."]
(4) NEGOTIATED BUSINESS INCENTIVE AGREEMENTS
Approved $1,937,066 for negotiated business incentive agreements, payable to the school districts that are entitled to receive these funds, pursuant to the School Finance Act.
(5) PAYMENTS TO SCHOOL DISTRICTS FOR SCHOOL FINANCE ACT
Approved amounts payable to school districts in June 2001 under the School Finance Act for state share of total program, in the total amount of $167,006,957.29. [The June payments reflect final, closeout payments for the 2000-2001 fiscal year.]
(6) PROJECTED STATE SHARE OF PAYMENTS TO SCHOOL DISTRICTS FOR 2001-2002
Approved total projected fiscal year 2001-2002 state share payments to school districts under the School Finance Act in the amount of $2,212,479,666.94. [The SBE is responsible for determining the amount of funding which local school districts are projected to receive for the next fiscal year. Actual amounts paid to districts beginning July 2001 will be approved at subsequent Board meetings.]
(7) EXCESS COST RATES FOR ELIGIBLE FACILITIES
Approved excess cost rates for eligible (special education) facilities for 2000-2001 and extended school year rates for 2001. These include daily cost rates and maximum indirect costs for day treatment centers and hospitals which are programs for students with emotional disabilities.
Approved charter school waiver requests from May 10, 2001, to July 12, 2001, for the following:
Approved charter school waiver requests from April 12, 2001, to June 30, 2006, for the following:
[Colorado school districts and boards of cooperative educational services (BOCES) are authorized to establish teacher in residence programs, enabling them to hire non-licensed individuals with appropriate degrees for two years, providing that they give these people individual training, support, and evaluation and that they recommend them for licensure upon completion of the program. The intent of the teacher in residence program is to enable districts to address teacher shortages and reduce the number of people employed under Type III Emergency Authorizations. It also attempts to help school districts and BOCES to recruit and employ nontraditional teacher candidates.]
The SBE is asked to review the process and timelines for future actions regarding the list of grant recipients recommended by the Read to Achieve Board. The Read to Achieve Board has committed an additional $5 million from the Tobacco Settlement funds to support those schools that either did not apply or were not successful during the first round of funding for intensive reading instruction. Applications were due on May 4. Peer review will occur on May 24. Notifying schools before June 15 would be preferable, so they can make hiring decisions for summer programs. The Read to Achieve Board is required to recommend to SBE which schools should receive these grant funds.
Weld County School District RE-4 in Windsor requests that SBE allow it to repay the original request in the amount of $810,572 and approve a new Contingency Reserve grant in the amount of $1,391,437 with no expectation of repayment. (See original request approved at March 1, 2001, SBE meeting.)
[The SBE has the authority to make supplemental payments to school districts experiencing financial difficulties.]
Annually at the May meeting, the SBE appoints new members to the Colorado Special Education Advisory Committee (CSEAC) to fill positions vacated due to terms ending or resignations. Currently, vacancies exist for one parent or adult with a disability, one teacher, one representative from the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind, and one special education administrator from a rural area. The CSEAC nominating committee has made recommendations for all of these positions except for the teacher.
A resolution (suggested by Clair Orr) to encourage school districts to appropriately display the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, the Bill of Rights, and the Constitution of Colorado.
Roscoe Davidson and Gerry Difford, CDE staff who have been working on the revisions to the Rules for the Administration of the Accreditation of School Districts, reported that there have been several areas of concern: (1) How to measure "one year's growth over one year's time" - this calls for some interpretation, but the CSAP is a sequenced, scaled test that will be appropriate for longitudinal analysis. (2) Assessing the 12 content areas - it is a challenge to deal with all 12, but none should be neglected; each district can decide how to assess the content areas not tested by CSAP. (3) Districts going on "Academic Watch" - the resources of CDE will be used to help these districts. (4) The new additions of contextual learning, technology, and the recruitment and professional development of teachers - these should just be part of the district's plan that they report how they will address; it is there so that CDE can talk with districts annually to see how they are doing; districts that have already turned in their accreditation contracts can report to CDE what they will do to address these areas. (5) Disaggregation of data - it will not necessarily require districts to have "over 200 categories," which some feared it might; districts can lump together by grade, subject, etc., to avoid having so many different disaggregated groups, and if they don't have a particular category, they can ignore that one. It was pointed out that the goal is to have CDE help all 178 districts succeed, and we are trying to make these rules flexible.
Comments and suggestions were submitted orally at the hearing by CASB (Colorado Association of School Boards), CASE (Colorado Association of School Executives), the Large District Accountability Committee, DASSC (Denver Area School Superientendents Council), the State Advisory Committee on Gifted and Talented Education, and the Association of Colorado Educational Evaluators.
Because the districts are required by law to submit their accreditation contracts to the SBE by June 30 for approval, and the SBE doesn't have a scheduled meeting in June to do the official approval (the SBE has its annual retreat in June), the decision was made to have Davidson and Difford submit a revised draft of the rules after reviewing the written and oral input given, and later in June the SBE will have a publicized teleconference to officially approve the rules. This teleconference will be done in such a way that anyone can dial in to hear the proceedings.
Passed unanimously a resolution (suggested by Jard Polis) that the State Board of Education promote student engagement in policy-making and on the progress of education in Colorado's public school system, encourage all educational stakeholders to facilitate student participation, recognize the importance of and continue to solicit student input, and designate one week each year as Student Engagement Week.
Regarding the approval the content of the following teacher preparation programs leading to licensure:
Approved 4:3 (Burnett, DeHoff, and Orr dissented) after discussion on the following: Concern expressed by DeHoff about the report by the National Association of Scholars and others regarding the "overt ideological proselytizing that goes on in the name of teacher education at CU." Polis expressed concern about the ideological approach of CCHE and their elimination of 44 of the 55 majors eligible for certification to teach at the elementary level, causing the dean for teacher preparation at CU to resign. The site review performed by the team from CDE and CCHE recommended that we approve this program, saying that CU has "aggressively implemented the mandates of SB99-154. . . . The performance-based standards are evident in all of their courses and fieldwork." One of the issues appears to be the state requirement that colleges provide the ability for students to graduate in 4 years, whereas if they major in a science or art field and want an elementary teaching endorsement, most students need 5 years to complete all the required coursework.
Approved charter school waiver requests from April 12, 2001, to June 30, 2006, for the following:
Regarding waiver of 22-32-109 (1) (bb) (I), ban of tobacco use on campus: Hudak moved to remove this waiver; denied on vote of 6:1 (Hudak was the only affirmative vote).
PAT PATTERSON: Referred to a statement made by an Assistant High School Principal that seniors lack appropriate life skills. Also, said: "There are propane tanks. They are a bomb." Referred us to the article "The Reluctant Student" in the May 2001 issue of the publication Active for Justice: A Voice for Social Justice and Nonviolence" (about a teacher who describes himself as conservative politically, socially, and religiously, who took the "Urban Experience for Educators" seminar given by the Pikes Peak Justice and Peace Commission because he urgently needed the continuing education credit; he found it to be a profoundly moving and life-changing experience which gave him great awareness and a strong desire for justice for the poor and oppressed).
LOLLY SANDOVAL: On the Brighton School Board. Also on the Colorado Hispanic School Board Members group. Serves the community in numerous other capacities. Ran against Clair Orr this past year. Here to celebrate the 3rd grade CSAP results. At North Elementary in Brighton, CASP scores moved from 70% to 93% proficient and advanced, and at South Elementary from 55% to 77% in English and in Spanish from 87% to 100%. Commends all districts for their hard work, as well as SBE's.
Copyright © 2001-2007 Evie Hudak - All Rights Reserved