DFER-CO Press Release on US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Visit to Colorado

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.