a strong voice for kids 2nd Congressional District
a strong voice for kids 2nd Congressional District
BURNETT: [Absent]
HUDAK: As the Board's liaison, I attended the quarterly meeting of the State Advisory Committee for Gifted and Talented Education. They are studying improved methods for the identification of gifted students and for ensuring that gifted students make commensurate growth. Gifted students are often overlooked in the current environment of No Child Left Behind - the committee wants to be sure that districts remember that their accreditation is dependent in part on gifted students making reasonable progress. An important question is whether GT students who score Advanced in CSAP do so because of the instructional program - if so, they should continue to score Advanced, but there is a decline through the grade levels. The committee recently did a survey of GT teachers, which showed that the majority thought that it is necessary for Colorado to have an endorsement in GT in order to have qualified personnel in the field. The greatest needs in GT professional development are for assessing which students qualify for GT and for designing curriculum. I continue to attend meetings of the Alliance for Quality Teaching; at the last meeting there was a report on a survey done about why special education teachers leave the profession. It showed that the main reasons were salary and stress/burnout; next was lack of administrative support. Surprisingly, the excess paperwork scored very low as a reason. I have been attending the bimonthly seminars of Zero to Five, where experts come to share their research on preschool and early childhood. The most recent topic was bilingual education. The researcher from California found that students who received bilingual education in K-2 scored better on state assessments later on than those in English immersion. I attended the ELC conference. I commended Karen Gerwitz on her excellent preparations for the dinner that the SBE sponsored and Gully Stanford for arranging to have the DCPA location for it. I especially enjoyed the performance of the students from the Denver School of the arts. I mentioned that during the general session of the conference, the Executive Director asked the group to applaud the recent Supreme Court decision on vouchers; this shows that I was correct a year ago when I mentioned in my Board report that the ELC supports vouchers [which several Board members had said was untrue].
ORR: Congratulated the Commissioner for receiving the bomber jacket as a warrior for the cause of education [it is officially called the Rebel Without a Cause award]. Honored that he's in our state. Neat to have had the ELC conference here. It's the leading edge and think-out-of-the-box organization. Was disappointed with the conference because they didn't have as much of the rigorous debate that they used to have. They're willing to stand up and take the heat for their positions. Will be going to NASBE.
POLIS: Taught a government class in Jeffco - tries to teach one class once a month. ELC is a self-described band of happy warriers; it's exciting to see various things that are afoot by these social entrepreneurs. GT students are generally at-risk for dropping out, because when they're not engaged in classes, they fall through the cracks. It's important to have good programs for them. Went to Milwaukee and it raised the question of what is a good education. Saw an all-girls Catholic school; there was no all-boys school, which limits the choices. Is having boys and girls separate inherently unequal? Wants to praise Kids Voting; they will be doing the program mostly in Denver and Grand Junction. Amendment 30 is very close to his heart; it would encourage people, especially young adults, to vote.
STANFORD: The Commissioner should wear the leather jacket that he got from the ELC. We have a set of audio tapes of the plenary sessions; it was a stimulating conversation. Compliments the Commissioner on his leadership of that. Attended a watershed meeting of C-TAG this week. Erlinda and Sam Batey did a wonderful job. Thoughtful discussion with our communities of color. The four prongs of the C-TAG are moving along, and even in a year of budgetary cutbacks, we should be able to find some funding for closing the achievement gap. Won't say anything about ballot issues, but compliments Flo Lenhart's work with ELA; her axiom that it's not a matter of philosophies, but what helps our teachers is to address the diverse learning needs of our students. Is bringing forward a resolution on family literacy that we'll get to later. Celebrated with Lenhart the reliable data about how kids are learning English, where the successes and challenges lie. That has been acknowledged by the federal Department of Education - the Commissioner can address it in his comments. Thanked the Commissioner for the fortitude of following an hour-long "sermon" on abstinence at the Governor's Strengthening Families conference and getting the conference back on track on the topic of family literacy.
SUCKLA: Interesting to go to ELC and hear what they think. Feels like a lone wolf, but found that there are others who feel the same. Will be interesting to see the comparison with NASBE. Complimented Karen and Gully and congratulated Commissioner on the ELC conference. Spent some time with CASB in their fall regional conferences in CD3. Found it interesting compared to her service on their board in the early 1990s, especially that they had been against charter schools so strongly and support them now. Also, they hadn't been willing to discuss vouchers, but this year it was one of the topics of conversation. Had a panel with a home school parent, a charter school parent, a state legislator, a teacher, and an administrator to discuss school choice. Unlike Ms. Hudak, is open to all forms of education. In Montezuma County, there is an extremely strong Young Republicans group in the high school and had a candidates forum, but they didn't include the SBE. Surprised that the SBE is not known or considered much, even though we're elected. Commended Stanford for his hard work on Amendment 31 and encouraged fellow Board members to help win that fight.
DEHOFF: Went to DC two weeks ago for a conference of publishers, which mentioned brain scans of children learning to read and current brain research on that topic. Biological evidence of kids not reading by 2nd or 3rd grade shows that they haven't been taught, not because they lack the ability. If the pathways in the brain are not developed, they won't learn to read. Susan Neuman, Assistant Secretary of Education, spoke; states are making progress with Reading First. They are pleading with publishers about too many books with different programs - need good assessments, curriculum, professional development. ELC - Friday night was wonderful at DCPA with Columbine Senior Ensemble and dancers from Denver School of the Arts. The highlight was Commissioner Moloney receiving the Rebel Without a Cause award, which is given to someone who has done much to push the system. ELC does support vouchers, but there are a whole range of issues on the table related to them. The Supreme Court decision removed the cloud of First Amendment issues from vouchers, so we can explore the other issues. Members of ELC believe that schools should be to help students, not to protect the education bureaucrats. We can see that the face of public education will be very different in 10 years, moving from government-run schools to funding from a variety of sources. Our role is to make sure that as we go through those changes, we focus on providing opportunities for all students, not protecting the system. Agrees that we need to improve the schools. How do you tell a parent whose child is in a school that is not helping students learn that they have to wait a few years for the school to improve? The Virginia Alumni Association newsletter has an article that really hit home on what it means to be literate and educated: "Use words wisely...." A survey showed that students don't like to read. "It is not how much information you have available to you, it is how you use what you know. Ignorance and intolerance are like commas - they usually go in pairs." [This last quote was given especially for my amusement, since I'm always correcting people's comma use.]
COMMISSIONER MOLONEY: The ELC was its most financially successful conference yet. People have said that most of the members are the "insiders." Maybe they shouldn't be comfortable in it anymore if that's the case. Many things are happening on the theme of convergence. Family literacy is something that is now emerging for understanding; it used to be misunderstood and a point of political contention. Thanks in great part to many people's work, including CDE staff like Pam Smith and Erlinda Archuleta, it has become better accepted. Learned last week that the grant Flo Lenhart wrote for the department was awarded $10 million by the USDOE. That is because it focuses not on a particular side of an argument but on what works. We have been damaged in the past by political controversy over programs. We can see this with Amendment 31, which is a battle over programs. Where we want to be is where Flo leads us. Hers is the best approach in the country. In family literacy, there is a coming together. The other area where convergence is taking place is the Coalition to Close the Achievement Gap. We are reaching out to the chambers of commerce and the education organizations to take advantage of this opportunity to help with this cause. When you hear the same thing from Senator Kennedy and Representative Boehner, it is really something.
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:
Approved the following dates for SBE meetings in 2003:
(1) EMERGENCY EDUCATOR AUTHORIZATIONS
Approved emergency Type III educator authorizations for 122 initially and 111 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
Instructed the department staff and the attorney general's office to prepare the documents requesting a formal hearing to revoke the licenses of two teachers.
(3) WAIVERS OF PLACE ASSESSMENTS FOR ALTERNATIVE LICENSURE PROGRAMS
Approved waivers for the following designated agencies for alternative teacher licensure, so that their alternative teacher candidates do not need to pass the PLACE test prior to accepting employment:
[The waivers allow the schools 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.]
(3) TEACHER INDUCTION PROGRAM
Approved the proposed teacher induction program for University Schools (formerly University Laboratory School), an external charter school of Greeley School District.
[The Educator Licensing Act requires school districts wishing to hire provisionally licensed educators to have induction programs approved by the SBE.]
(4) SCHEDULE HEARING
Scheduled a hearing for December 12, 2002, on the Permanent Amendments to the Rules for the Administration of the Educator Licensing Act.
(1) RESOLUTION
Adopted the resolution "In Support of the Colorado Family Literacy Education Fund," submitted by Stanford. The amendment resolves "that the Colorado State Board of Education fully endorses the creation of the Colorado Family Literacy Education Fund, congratulates the General Assembly and the Governor on passage of the Colorado Family Literacy Education Act, and encourages the corporate, foundation, and philanthropic community to contribute generously to the fund by December 1, 2002." Stanford commended the work of the SBE and CDE in moving the cause of family literacy forward. There will be a contribution to the fund of $850 from personal contributions from SBE members. DeHoff said that family literacy is an issue that the SBE has been united about since he's been on the board, that the research is powerful about the importance of family literacy on student achievement.
(2) RULES FOR THE ACCOUNTABILITY OF ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION CAMPUSES
Conducted a hearing to consider proposed rules for the Administration of Accountability for Alternative Education Campuses. [SB 02-94 requires the SBE to adopt rules specifying the criteria and application process for a school to be designated an alternative education campus. These schools will be exempt from receiving an academic performance rating or improvement rating on the School Accountability Report.] The emergency rules are currently in place. There have been no changes submitted to the rules by the CDE staff or Board members. Nobody came to testify.
Approved a motion to close the oral portion of the hearing and schedule for Board-only discussion at the next meeting.
(3) HEARING ON AMENDMENTS TO THE SUMMER SCHOOL GRANT PROGRAM
Conducted a hearing on amendments to the rules for the Administration of the Summer School Grant Program. [This program, created in SB 01-129, was amended by HB 02-1304. The program, designed specifically to fund summer reading programs for children who scored "Unsatisfactory" on CSAP reading after they have completed 3rd and 4th grades, will now add services for the additional group of children who scored "Unsatisfactory" on the Colorado Basic Literacy Act assessments after they completed kindergarten. The new bill also requires that grant monies be available only for the kindergarten students in schools that are participating in a full-day kindergarten for schools performing with an "Unsatisfactory" rating on the School Accountability Report.]
Approved a motion to close the oral portion of the hearing and schedule for Board-only discussion at the next meeting.
(4) EMERGENCY AMENDMENTS TO THE EDUCATOR LICENSING ACT
Approved emergency amendments to the Permanent Amendments to the Rules for the Administration of the Educator Licensing Act, adding Performance-Based Principal Licensure Standards. At the Work Session yesterday, the Board suggested several changes to these Performance-Based Principal Licensure Standards. Dorothy Gotlieb submitted a revised draft today with those changes. The board discussed these and submitted some others.
[SB 02-152 requires the SBE to adopt rules for principal preparation with performance-based standards to guide the development of principal preparation programs offered by institutions of higher education. The standards are to be developed in collaboration with superintendents, the Commission on Higher Education, and institutions of higher education that offer principal preparation programs.]
COLORADO COUNCIL FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT
The SBE will be asked to appoint two individuals to serve on the Colorado Council for Library Development to fill the vacancies created by resignations, as citizen representatives from the 3rd and 6th Congressional Districts. The SBE is asked to reappoint Su Eckhardt, who is eligible for a second term, representing an urban school/media center. [The CCLD is the principal advisory body to the SBE, the State Librarian, and the Assistant Commissioner for State Library and Adult Education Office on library matters. The Council consists of 18 members who represent public libraries, school libraries, academic libraries, special libraries, and citizens, including a representative for the handicapped.]
[Nobody came to address the Board.]
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