Friday, August 29, 2008

Jones Appoints School Leadership Board

Colorado education commissioner Dwight Jones today appointed members of the new School Leadership Academy Board, which was created by the General Assembly in the 2008 session.

The legislation authorizing the board requires the state to put in place a "School Leadership Academy Program," including a principal academy that would aim to improve the recruitment, training and ongoing professional development of school leadership in the state.

“We know there is a direct relationship between the knowledge and skills of the school principal and the quality of the learning environment," Jones said. "The members of this board will oversee the development of an important new resource for current and future school leadership.”

The leadership academy board's function is to advise the state Department of Education in overseeing the leadership academy program. Fourteen members will be appointed. Those confirmed to date are:

* Lynn Rhodes, Dean of Education, University of Colorado at Denver
* Floyd Beard, Executive Director, East Central Board of Cooperative Educational Services
* Bruce Caughey, Deputy Executive Director, Colorado Association of School Executives
* Jim Eck, Senior Director, McCREL (Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning)
* Linda Barker, Director of Teaching and Learning, Colorado Education Association
* Jane Urschel, Deputy Executive Director, Colorado Association of School Boards

Additional members will be appointed in the coming weeks.

The 14 board members will serve three-year terms. The board will set policies and procedures for the leadership academy program, monitor the program, define criteria for the department to use in selecting participants for the academy, determine curricular components of the program, and report annually to the Colorado State Board of Education.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Governor's Office Releases Text of Ritter's DNC Remarks

The office of the governor has released text of Gov. Bill Ritter's address to the Democratic National Convention at Invesco Field today. The text follows:

"Thank you. My name is Bill Ritter, and I’m the Governor of the great state of Colorado.

"I am so proud of Colorado. We have hosted a great Convention, don’t you think? It has been an honor to host this 2008 Democratic National Convention.

"This evening, as we mark the Convention’s end, we re-affirm our Western spirit as the American spirit. And this year, the road to the White House cuts straight through the heart of the American West.

"Merle Haggard said it best: 'If God doesn’t live in Colorado, I’ll bet that’s where he spends most of his time.'

"Here in Colorado – like in all of America – we face incredible challenges. And we know why: the Washington of George Bush and John McCain is failing us, on energy, the economy, education, health care and Iraq.

"Have you had enough?

"Are you ready to end the Bush-McCain economic policy that’s weakening the middle class?

"Are you ready to turn the page on a failed Bush-McCain energy policy that opposes investments in renewable energy?

"Are you read to close the book on a Bush-McCain health-care policy that does nothing for the uninsured, nothing to reduce health-care costs, and nothing to help seniors with the costs of long-term care?

"Are you ready for the change we need?

"Are you ready for Barack Obama?

"Maybe it’s the Mile High altitude and all this thin air. Maybe it’s the pioneering spirit of the American West. Whatever it is, we Westerners look at the many challenges facing America and we see hope and opportunity and possibility.

"I call it the Colorado Promise: the chance for everyone to reach their full God-given potential.

"We see the opportunity to build a New Energy Economy based on natural gas, wind and solar power … to create thousands of new jobs.

"We see the opportunity to build an economy around industries of the future, like aerospace the biosciences and technology.

"We see the opportunity to reform our schools so that every child gets the skills they need to fill 21st Century jobs.

"What’s happening here in the West is just a preview of the powerful change Barack Obama will bring to all of America.

"The Western experience can be the American experience.

"In Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Kansas and Oklahoma, a new generation of Democratic governors has replaced Republican governors and we’re showing America how to solve big problems, how to work together with Republicans and Democrats alike.

"The wide open West isn’t just about wide open spaces. It’s about possibilities, and hope for the future. There’s a little bit of that Western spirit, of the Colorado Promise, in all of us. Really, it’s the American Promise, the vision of a country where 'what can be' becomes 'what is.'

"But that vision only becomes a reality when we have a true partner in the White House – a partner like Barack Obama, who will work with our states, not against them.

"For the last eight years, we have not had that partner. And we will not have that partner in John McCain.

"Only if we elect a bold new president named Barack Obama can we get America back on track and bring the change we need.

"Thank you, and God bless you."