Education rivals crafting state education plan - #lakewoodnews

A who's who of Colorado's education community --; including two Jeffco parents and a Lakewood legislator --; will help shape the state's new federally required education plan.

The 17-member committee will be responsible for finding consensus while sifting through wide-ranging opinions about how Colorado should run its schools under the new Every Student Succeeds Act, which is supposed to give states more freedom to chart their own courses.

Among the topics the committee and its various subcommittees must address: standards, testing and teacher quality.

While it's still unclear how much leeway the state will get --; Colorado officials have called proposed regulations a federal overreach --; the process allows the state to stay the course on a number of reforms, start over or strike some balance.

Any plan must win approval from the Colorado Department of Education, the State Board of Education, the governor's office and a panel of educators and parents who will weigh its viability. The U.S. Department of Education will give feedback during the process, then must give final approval.

The committee includes State Board of Education chairman Steve Durham, a Colorado Springs Republican, and vice chairwoman Angelika Schroeder, a Boulder Democrat. Joining them are Republican State Rep. Jim Wilson of Salida and Democratic State Rep. Brittany Pettersen of Lakewood, both members of the House Education Committee.

Here are the 13 other members:

Evy Valencia, governor's office Ken Delay, Colorado Association of School Boards Lisa Escarcega, Colorado Association of School Executives Linda Barker, Colorado Education Association Don Anderson, Colorado BOCES Association Diane Duffy, Colorado Department of Higher Education Jesus Escarcega, Colorado ESEA Committee of Practitioners Jim Earley, Jefferson County parent Ross Izard, Independence Institute Luke Ragland, Colorado Succeeds Jeani Frickey, Stand for Children Kirk Banghart, Moffat School District, Colorado Rural Alliance Dan Schaller, Colorado League of Charter Schools

State education department officials took the lead in choosing committee members. State Board of Education members were asked to nominate potential members, Schroeder said.

One of the goals, Durham said, was to capture diverse viewpoints.

Well, look no further than Early and Izard.

Both were heavily involved in the 2015 Jefferson County school board recall, from opposite sides. The recall campaign became a proxy for a larger debate about education policies such as merit pay for teachers and school choice.

Early supported the recall. Izard did not.

So how might the former foes find common ground?

"We're gonna have to wait and see," Early said. "I think that's the best way to go about this. I can't go into this with the presumption that Ross is going to be steadfast in one way, or that I'm going to be steadfast one way. ... I think the big thing is, 'Let's go into this with an open mind.'"

"Any productive policy discussion is going to involve disagreement," Izard said in an email. "I welcome other points of view and the healthy debate they bring. Hopefully we can tackle the tough issues ahead with grace, honesty, and civility, even if we strongly disagree with each other on some points--;and we almost certainly will."

The committee's first meeting is scheduled for Aug. 8.

from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.com/stories/Education-rivals-crafting-state-education-plan,231971