education reform
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SLOAN | The new lesson plan in DougCo schools: Teach kids to hustle for tax dollars
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There is considerable buzz currently about where the line resides, if it still does, delineating the boundary beyond which activity in pursuit of political aims is considered distasteful enough to warrant sanction. Given the parameters of the current contentions, the Douglas County School District’s actions in pursuit of a tax increase hardly constitute the most…
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‘All families have the right to choose the best educational options for their children’
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How interesting – no, how ugly – were the teachers unions’ pro-Cary Kennedy attack ads during the Democratic primary against Michael Johnston and even Jared Polis. Their crime? They dared to discuss parental choice in education. Middle- and upper-income parents who are dissatisfied with the public school to which their children are assigned have the…
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SLOAN | Only in the Democratic primary would education reform carry a stigma
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The Democratic primary race for governor of the state of Colorado took on a certain air of the surreal in the waning days of the contest. It began a few weeks back when a group supporting Cary Kennedy ran what one presumes was supposed to be an attack ad against both Jared Polis and Mike…
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Q&A with Bob Gardner | Policy maven, military veteran, school-choice champion
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There’s an old wisecrack that members of Colorado’s House of Representatives lob at colleagues who get elected to the state Senate – that the move will raise the average IQ of both chambers. While senators of course are quick to offer a second opinion on the well-worn quip, one thing they and their House counterparts…
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Q&A with Craig Hulse | An uber-operative jumps into Colorado’s public ed debate
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Upstart conservative advocacy group Ready Colorado didn’t exactly tiptoe into the state’s Great Education Debate a few years ago; it hit the ground running. As we noted last fall in a Q&A profiling Ready President, Luke Ragland, the formidably funded, politically attuned organization aimed to be much more than another voice at the table. It entered…
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NOONAN | Now’s the time to see who’s getting — and spending — in the guv’s race
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The Colorado governor’s race illustrates the new normal in campaign finance. Candidates need millions to win a primary. Six of eight candidates in the GOP and Democratic primaries have raised more than a million dollars. Victor Mitchell and U.S. Rep. Jared Polis have multiple millions through self-funding as of the most recent reports. Former state Sen. Michael…
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IN RESPONSE | Education reformers tried to hold Democrats hostage
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On April 14, 3,400 leaders and activists from across Colorado came together to proudly proclaim our long-held beliefs that all children in Colorado deserve an equitable public education. I am proud to have been the lead organizer for the state-level push and the author of the equivalent resolution passed at the Denver County Democratic Assembly…
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THE PODIUM | I’m a teacher who didn’t walk out. Here’s why
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Last week, thousands of my colleagues protested at the State Capitol, asking the legislature for increased funding for education; one specific component is for increased teacher pay. I chose not to join them for both personal and professional reasons. While I believe we can – and should – pay teachers more, I also believe we…
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Q&A with Jesse Mallory | ‘Economic liberty will be realized on the community level’
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Worried about the future of freedom? Rest assured; assorted advocacy groups on America’s political right are doing your bidding – though it’s often enough on the far-off battlefront of our nation’s capital. Americans for Prosperity is fighting the fight in the trenches alongside you – in your state, in your community, one issue after another. Hence,…
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Unions have a stranglehold on public ed — while Colorado kids suffer
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Just in case there remained some doubt in anyone’s mind that the Democratic Party’s leftward lurch in Colorado was effectively divorcing the party from any affection it may have had for meaningful education reform, the party f aithful put those doubts to rest. At the Colorado Democratic Assembly two weeks ago, the participants not only…
