For years, politicians rightfully grumbled about the federal overreach of the No Child Left Behind Act, the nation’s education law and even we often could be heard saying, “It would be nice to craft our own education policies without having to ask the federal government for permission.”
Well, the time to craft our own policies has arrived. Sometimes you should be careful what you wish for. But this instance is exactly what we wished would happen, even if it means a lot more work getting it all put in place.
A former state school superintendent from back east said recently that No Child Left Behind was easy to implement. All states had to do was sit back and let the feds chart the course. Easy time is over, and we couldn’t be happier.
Last year, bipartisan legislation passed by Congress and signed into law by the president created the Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA, which replaces the 2002 No Child Left Behind law and its federal overreach.
But that means it is now time for us to act.
The new law builds on key areas of ongoing efforts to improve educational opportunities for all students and gives states, including Colorado, more authority to chart their own courses on standards, assessments, accountability and school supports.
This is an exciting time for the people of Colorado, giving them an opportunity to have their voices heard and do what’s right for Colorado.
We launched the statewide ESSA Listening Tour in Pueblo and Grand Junction on May 4 and are bringing the tour to Durango on Thursday, May 12, to gather input from the community with discussions about standards and assessments, accountability, supports for students and parents and community engagement.
This is just the first part in a year-long process to develop our ESSA strategy. The listening tour will be just that, a chance for us to hear from the citizens of the great state of Colorado on how this important law should be implemented.
We will be holding additional meetings in Buena Vista, Greeley, Limon and Thornton. There also will be a webinar broadcast on June 1 for those who cannot make any of these stops. There likely will be more stops added.
This broad-based effort over the next 12 months will be an ongoing collaboration with parents, students, the community, educators, elected officials, and other stakeholders to craft an ESSA framework that best reflects Colorado. After gathering initial input we will work with the state board, governor, legislators and all other interested stakeholders to craft policies and procedures to lead our efforts. We will then go back on the road to gather feedback on the guidance being proposed.
ESSA seeks input from every corner of the state and we will make sure there are multiple opportunities for everyone to participate in the process.
At the meetings, teams from the Colorado Department of Education will present a general overview of ESSA and then facilitate a community discussion. At most locations, two sessions will be held, one in the early afternoon and another after work for parents, teachers and community members. Feedback from the ESSA listening events will be compiled and used by an ESSA working group to inform how the state moves forward. The goal is to develop a Colorado ESSA strategy that is clearly understood and can be broadly supported. Ultimately, the final approval will be given by the Colorado State Board of Education before being delivered to the U.S. Department of Education.
So on Thursday, May 12, the citizens of Durango and its surrounding communities have a great opportunity to come out and talk about what values should be reflected when the ESSA is implemented beginning with the 2017-18 school year. We are all ears.
Richard Crandall is Colorado’s education commissioner. Reach him at crandall_r@cde.state.co.us
Dan Snowberger is the superintendent of the Durango School District. Reach him at DSnowberger@durango.k12.co.us.
