Recently, Colorado Speaker Andrew Romanoff announced his intention to convene a task force to look at the recommendations for transforming the education system made by The New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce and propose a plan for Colorado.
One other eminent source for ideas may be the New York Times editorial board, which today has advocated for the abolition of union-protected teacher seniority rights that often keep the most effective instructors from the neediest schools and students (H/T Edspresso):
Talented novices, with no seniority rights to protect them, often quit the field after being shunted from one place to another. Others give up on the urban school systems where the bumping process is most prevalent and high-tail it to the suburbs. Meanwhile, back in the city, schools are still cobbling together their staffs after the school year has begun. The revolving door turns, instructional time is lost and children suffer.
It’s another small step in the right direction for the Gray Lady, which just a month ago highlighted the success of the KIPP charter school program.
The New York Times is not writing here about an idea without significance to the Centennial State. We do know a similar “teacher gap” exists in Colorado and has an effect on many of our poorer urban schools, as identified by a recent study from the Alliance for Quality Teaching. While enacting and implementing such school personnel reforms in Colorado would be very challenging both politically and practically, it would be a clear sign of seriousness about getting the most out of our state’s education system.
Look for more ideas on Speaker Romanoff’s proposed education task force in the next several days.
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