Candidate for Colorado governor and current Attorney General Phil Weiser released his “Opportunity Agenda” on Oct. 30 as part of his wider “Colorado Blueprint” vision.
The plan has six main parts: reinvigorating the economy, quality jobs, supporting rural communities, improving education, tackling the young mental health crisis and building a “ColoradoCorps” program.
The ColoradoCorps, a statewide service and career-building program, would give young people the opportunity to earn a paycheck and gain experience in sectors like education, conservation and public health.
“Sadly, too many Coloradans growing up are not getting set up for success and we’re in a changing world with changing technologies (and) new challenges,” Weiser said in an interview with The Durango Herald. “If we aren’t making sure our education system is up to the challenge of preparing our kids for the future, our kids are not going to have a strong future.”
He said some school districts, such as Durango, are models for what he hopes to accomplish. The Durango “Portrait of a Graduate” plan was adopted in 2022 and guides the district to prepare students for life after graduation, including a range of important skills that people need to develop, he said.
Weiser spent time across the state this year meeting with stakeholders like teachers and aspiring teachers, high school and middle school students and school leaders to hear directly from them.
“I am sharing this plan so that people can get a sense of what my vision is and they can give me feedback on it,” he said. “As I build out my plans for Colorado, this is going to guide us.”
For Weiser, a big aspect of his plan is addressing youth mental health.
“Creating an awareness about mental health, an awareness of youth mental health challenges and providing support systems is foundational for effective learning,” he said.
Mental health is not just about counseling but also connection, he said. He wants every Colorado kid to have multiple mentors in their lives and said parents can’t do it all on their own.
Also among Weiser’s top priorities is school safety, he said.
“Kids are feeling often scared,” he said. “The Evergreen shooting is still very much with us and on our minds, and we’ve got to keep viewing this challenge as a public health crisis.”
Weiser wants to make sure that rural communities “are not left behind” and that they have access to valuable training and skills development that will serve all of Colorado.
“Part of what we’re going to need to make sure is that we’re grounded in different communities and we’re building programs in communities that work for them,” he said.
Artificial Intelligence is becoming a challenge on the student and teacher sides, he said. Students have to be taught both how to use and how not to use AI.
“We have to prepare students to learn how to use AI skills. They’re going to become 21st century skills and it’s not something we can ... ignore,” Weiser said. “We have to recognize these are valuable skills that people are going to be using (and) teach them how to use them properly.”
Pretending AI isn’t there is a big mistake, he said. Incorporating AI into schools is going to be a “formidable challenge,” but he wants Colorado to be a leader in this area.
“I don’t want us to ever lose the critical humanity that is core to the teaching experience and so AI is a very important technological change,” he said.
Weiser wants to expand funding and access to early childhood education. There are two critical periods for children as they develop, ages 0 to 5 and 5 to 13, Weiser said. The brain is most adaptable before age 5, and 46% of Coloradans live in child care deserts, according to the Center for American Progress.
“We can’t ignore 0 to 5 from a learning perspective, we can’t ignore 0 to 5 from a societal infrastructure perspective because if we don’t have child care available, then we’re setting up young people with a terrible choice,” he said. “Either don’t have kids so you can stay in the workforce or leave the workforce when you’ve got kids, and we shouldn’t put people in that position, so we need to build that childhood learning.”
As Attorney General, Weiser said he has “proven executive experience” and proven experience as an innovator. Going forward, he wants to develop the best approach for Colorado and keep learning as he goes.
“These are all areas that we need to continue to work to improve on and continue to learn how we go forward,” Weiser said. “I believe the state has an important role here and I’m committed to leading.”
Abigail Hatting is an intern for The Durango Herald and The Journal in Cortez and a senior at American University in Washington, D.C. She can be reached at ahatting@durangoherald.com.
