Education Commissioner Dwight Jones Meets with CSDC Board

On February 23, 2010 members of the CSDC Board met with the Colorado Commissioner of Education, Dwight Jones.  Our purpose was to:

• Relay the mission, vision, and work of CSDC and its connection to NSDC.
• Understand the challenges the Commissioner faces with the work of education in Colorado.
• Identify possible crossovers or connections in our work with the potential for partnership.

The Commissioner talked about his vision for the work of CDE, Forward Thinking, and his belief that the work is about support and service to the schools in Colorado.  He emphasized that it is important to “allow ourselves to be smarter tomorrow than we are today.”  Flexibility is a significant tenet in his work.  And it is imperative that teachers’ voices are heard.  They are critical in the planning process.   In addition Commissioner Jones stressed the importance of internal capacity in organizations and his focus on building that internal capacity at CDE.

He shared his thoughts about the challenges Colorado faces with limited funding, and identified areas of need for CDE.  Some of those areas include the following:

• Assistance in getting information about the new standards out to teachers, schools, and districts across the state.
• Support with the area of teacher effectiveness and teacher preparation programs.
• Expertise in professional development for schools needing improvement.

The Commissioner also shared information about the Race to the Top grant application.  Colorado will know sometime in March if it is one of three states to be invited to defend its application in round one or if it will be considered in round two.    He encouraged CSDC to look for connections in the Race to the Top grant application.

As a result of today’s dialogue, we were invited to have additional conversations with the Commissioner and his staff about the crossover work that we might share.  We are also hopeful that the Leadership Forum originally scheduled for February 23rd can be rescheduled sometime during the 2010-2011 school year.

To access pertinent information and answers to some of your questions about Colorado education go to . www.schoolview.org.