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Last Updated: Oct 16th, 2008 - 13:33:17 |
Colorado's financial commitment to state education is sometimes summed up by a colorful native bumper sticker, "Colorado first in scenery, 44th in education."
But does this trend serve as a harbinger for larger issues in the state's commitment to education?
Not to Gov. Ritter. He is expecting the now active P-20 Educational Coordinating Council to help him fulfill his Colorado Promise, which includes among other campaign promises, reforming the state's education system.
Three Metro representatives are involved with the P-20 council. Adele Phelan, current chair of Metro's board of trustees, represents Metro on the primary 29-member council. Former chair of Metro's board of trustees Bruce Benson is serving as one of the three co-chairs to the council. And Metro's Associate Vice President for Enrollment, Judi Diaz Bonacquisti, is serving as an invited expert to the Preparation and Transitions subcommittee.
Ritter authorized the formation of the P-20 council in April by signing an executive order. At the signing, Ritter called education the foundation to Colorado's economy but said recently the state's education system had been strained and needed not only proper funding but proper alignment.
The P-20 council is working through the efforts of five subcommittees. The individual subcommittees will collectively review the state's entire education system.
Part of Gov. Ritter's "Colorado Promise" is to reduce state drop-out rates by half and doubling postsecondary certificates and degrees for higher education institutions, like Metro, by 2017.
The P-20 council has until November to propose an action plan, leaving a month to work on any legislative issues the action plan may identify before the next legislative session in January 2008.
Phelan said she is looking forward to being ready with an action plan for the governor by November. But she said the council itself will continue after the November deadline, calling the work of the council an "evolving effort."
"The pre-college work ties in very well with having Metro represented at the table. So we make sure we have some input in helping craft what it will take for students to be prepared to transition from K-12 coming into college," Bonacquisti said. "So it fits in very nicely with the work we are already doing."
Bonacquisti's work as an invited expert to the Preparations and Transitions subcommittee involves examining the transition students make from high school to college. But they are looking at how to make it easier and more efficient for both the students and the administrators.
An example of this transition from the student's perspective is improving the benefits of dual enrollment.
"We are trying to better utilize dual enrollment when students are in high school and using that as a preparation to get involved with college life," Bonacquisti said.
An opportunity that exists from the administrative side is aligning the Department of Education and the Department of Higher Education to better work together.
"They haven't always worked in alignment," Bonacquisti said. "And sometimes, unfortunately, K-12 and higher education have been pitted against each other and the budgetary allotments that have come from the state."
The P-20 council's aim is to help students across the state and should be compatible with the Denver area. "I think without a doubt it will align with the demographics of the DPS in our back yard and Adam's County," Bonaquisti.
Although not intentional, Bonacquisti said the work of the P-20 council does fit in nicely with Metro's HSI initiative but said, "I think that the mission of looking at P-20 would be preparing all students for life-long learning. So it is looking at it comprehensively and not targeting specifically Latino students but looking at how we can better align and prepare for all students."
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