Colorado Gov. Jared Polis wants to help students build technical skills to better prepare them for the workforce.
As chair of the National Governors Association, Polis launched his “Let’s Get Ready Initiative,” which adapts policies from across the country to help governors build a strategy to improve education. The project has two main goals: to build skills for students outside of basic subjects such as math and English, and to apply those skills to specific jobs.
Every year the National Governors Association chooses a chair, rotating between Democrat and Republican, to create a project that can be used to benefit their home state and states across the country.
Many chairs of the NGA have developed projects that center on education. Polis said the goal of the organization is to provide common ground between Democratic and Republican governors on issues and have those issues be heard in Washington.
“The National Governors Association helps provide a voice for the governors on federal policy, and very often, Republican and Democratic governors agree and speak with one voice,” Polis said in an interview with The Durango Herald.
Instead of preparing students for jobs with just reading and math skills, Polis said his project looks at specific industries such as construction, welding or IT. The initiative will develop a plan to help schools prepare workers for those industries.
“It's localized around the needs of the private sector in every area, which in a big state like Colorado, there might be different skills and hiring that's needed in Grand Junction, in Durango and Denver, but very much in conjunction with the private sector,” Polis said.
Another way Polis is expanding students’ skills is developing programs for students outside of four-year colleges and universities, such as apprenticeships and dual enrollment. With dual enrollment, students can earn college credits while still in high school.
“We also have expanded apprenticeships in Colorado for high school students,” Polis said.
Polis wanted to center his project around education because he spent time on the Colorado State Board of Education as well as the education committee when he served in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Polis said he is using policies from other states to develop education policy for Colorado. Wisconsin has behavioral health support programs and Delaware has one-to-one tutoring with AmeriCorp members, Polis said.
“We really want to look at all of these exciting innovations in the states and better evaluate how they lead to successful outcomes for students,” Polis said.
U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper is a former chair of the NGA. He served as governor of Colorado from 2011-19. Hickenlooper agreed it is important to use policy ideas from other states.
“Other states are always trying to steal our best ideas,” Hickenlooper said, “but that's the highest compliment we can get in government.”
Hickenlooper’s project focused on making sure state governments are run efficiently. For example, making sure that regulations set by governors do not frustrate or impose on residents.
“Having been a mayor, I understand local decision-making in policies,” Hickenlooper said. “As governor, I saw how important it is that the state doesn't impose costs onto the local government.”
Hickenlooper said his role as chair helped him prepare for his role as a senator.
“You look at how few former governors there are in the Senate,” Hickenlooper said. “We've got governors retiring every year, and most of them don’t run for the Senate.”
Polis plans to release a toolkit for governors to “better evaluate successful outcomes for learners.”
Maria Tedesco is an intern for The Durango Herald and The Journal in Cortez and a student at American University in Washington, D.C. She can be reached at mtedesco@durangoherald.com.
