Disputed Dougco Evaluations? Don’t Turn Up the Heat, Just Share All the Facts
If you can’t stifle dramatic local innovation at the legislature, there’s always the route of misleading newspaper articles. When it comes to the bold transformational changes going on in Douglas County, and the overheated political opposition that goes along for the ride, you almost have to expect it. The local journalists at Our Colorado News [...]
Surprise! Perpetuating Power Top Priority for Teachers Union Leaders in Adams 12
After a lot of recent attention, it seems to have grown awfully quiet this month in the Adams 12 school district. Two of four scheduled negotiation sessions with teachers union officials already have taken place, but beyond that it’s left to the open-ended curiosity of a perpetually precocious 5-year-old to try to guess what’s taking [...]
Finding the Positives in Colorado’s Latest 3rd Grade Reading TCAP Results
It’s that time of year again. I get to share some news and thoughts with you about the latest release of Colorado’s 3rd grade reading test results. We’re talking the “preliminary and unofficial” results from TCAP, the Transitional Colorado Assessment Program, formerly known as CSAP. As last year’s debate on HB 1238 (the Colorado READ [...]
Amy Oliver Show: State Board Member Appreciates Teachers
Pam Mazanec talks about her role serving eastern Colorado on the State Board of Education, and celebrates Teacher Appreciation Week with some positive news statewide and in Douglas County from Colorado’s latest official TELL teacher survey.
A Tale of Two Surveys: Dougco Embraces Reform, Colo. Reluctant on New K-12 Taxes
A great classic novel my big friends tell me I need to read someday starts with a famous line. I’m talking about Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was [...]
Yes, Really! Blended Learning Great Reason to Appreciate AND Celebrate Teachers
Happy National Teacher Appreciation Day! What better way to celebrate here than to talk about blended learning? I saw a few of you scratch your heads out there. But the national Digital Learning Now (DLN) group has blessed us with a new report titled Improving Conditions and Careers: How Blended Learning Can Improve the Teaching [...]
State Report Shows Colorado Public Charter Schools Outpacing Their Peers
Having been long-winded the past couple days, I will keep this Friday posting short. But in case you missed it, please check out this week’s K-12 radio podcast interview, as Colorado League of Charter Schools president Jim Griffin breaks down the Colorado Department of Education (CDE)’s latest report on the state of charter schools. The [...]
TELL-ing Dougco Results: Teacher Satisfaction Mostly High and Growing
The latest results of Colorado’s TELL teacher survey are out, and reported satisfaction among Douglas County teachers is high and growing. The news is especially remarkable in light of the fact that in the past two years Dougco has expanded school choice, has ended the union contract, and is pushing ahead with a slate of ambitious performance-based innovation. Challenges lie ahead, but bold school reformers should be heartened.
CO Observer Features Comment on Union Local Strategy
In a story highlighting contentious negotiations in the Adams 12 school district, The Colorado Observer’s Sunana Batra cites an Education Policy Center expert about the teachers union leadership’s strategy to resist local reforms:
Critics believe the Colorado Education Association (CEA), of which the DTEA is a local affiliate, may be attempting to fight a pitched battle [...]
Ex-Education Secretary William Bennett Visits Dougco, “Very Impressed”
Colorado’s non-union teacher group PACE today posted some more of the results from their recent member survey. Roughly 3 out of every 4 expressed support for “a pathway for career advancement outside of the traditional, seniority-based salary schedule,” often known as a career ladder. One of their members hit the nail on the head: A [...]
