After much heart-wrenching deliberation, I have decided not to run for a second term as the southwest representative on the Denver Board of Education. I believe that high-stakes standardized testing is destroying public education today. Simultaneously, giant dollars from outside Denver, and outside Colorado flood into local school board races. In good conscience, I will not continue to be a part of this system.
Proudly reading a proclamation in support of John F. Kennedy High School. Go Commanders!!
Just a few years ago, school board races were small-time, local, politics. That meant parents and neighbors had a say in what happens in their schools. Now, it is a big-time political bloodsport, and probably a million dollars will be spent in this year’s races, including shadow money laundered through shadow groups like Stand for Children and Great Schools Denver. Word is that New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has already put in nearly a half-million for such a group. Why the powerful, billionaire mayor of New York cares enough about the schools and children in my district to put in more than twenty times the average household income of southwest Denver neighborhoods is beyond me. It also should be a criminal act.
A Dennison Montessori school parent invited me to a parent meeting to be held tonight to discuss the fact that FIVE new standardized tests are being forced onto students, which could have serious implications for the amount of Montessori-centered education needed to maintain the school’s Montessori certification. I will be supporting them, but mostly for solidarity. I have no power to impact or bargain, as their democratically-elected school board member.
The Common Core Standards were first marketed by the U.S. Department of Education to the National Governors Association. Common Core was created and marketed by the Council of Chief State School Officers and Achieve, Inc., with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Colorado’s Race to the Top application stated that, “Colorado also has embraced the rigorous Common Core Standards, which will be presented to the State Board of Education for adoption in August 2010.” On August 2, 2010, the state board of education voted to accept the standards, effectively circumventing the constitutional authority of local boards of education. In hindsight, it seems clear that the decision to adopt the CCSS was already made far away from Colorado, at the behest of Bill Gates and his money.
But what if school boards don’t agree that the CCSS are appropriate for their student populations? Some critics have pointed out that the standards are actually less rigorous than the standards Colorado adopted just a short time before 2010. In my opinion, the CCSS do not properly provide support for developing English learners or students with cognitive disabilities.
Former State Board of Education Chair, Bob Shaffer, correctly points out that “(a)ccording to a study published by Pioneer Institute, a Boston-based think tank, the transition will cost the states at least $16 billion. The study estimates Colorado’s transition costs at nearly $100 million for teacher professional development, just under $50 million for new textbooks, and more than $130 million for new technology – a total of about $280 million. (http://pioneerinstitute.org/education/study-estimates-cost-of-transition-to-national-education-standards-at-16-billion/)”
Shaffer goes on to ask, “and just what will Colorado get for its money? Even according to the DC-based Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, which itself has received $1 million from the Gates Foundation to advocate for Common Core, ‘Colorado’s standards for literary and non-literary text analysis are more thorough and detailed than the Common Core, addressing specific genres, sub-genres, and characteristics of both literary and non-literary texts.’ Their review goes on to say that ‘Colorado’s standards for oral presentations are also clearer and more detailed than those presented in the Common Core.’”
It seems strange for Denver’s only elected official registered in the Green Party to agree with a former Republican congressman, but as Malcolm X said, “I’m for truth, no matter who tells it. I’m for justice, no matter who it is for or against. I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.”
Section 15 of the Colorado Constitution states that school board members “…shall have control of instruction in the public schools of their respective districts.” Further, in Section 16, the state constitution says, “Neither the general assembly nor the state board of education shall have power to prescribe textbooks to be used in the public schools.”
By accepting the federal intrusion in local school districts by signing onto the Common Core State Standards, the governor and State Board of Education have stripped away the power that my constituents have, through their democratically-elected representatives, to provide an effective, whole-child education for their children that isn’t focused on testing and test prep. The decision-making authority has been taken out of our hands.
In my opinion, because school boards no longer have power to control instruction, the entire arrangement of the CCSS is unconstitutional, and it could set up an opportunity for parents to both opt out of testing and also seek relief from the courts to restore decision-making power to their democratically-elected representatives. With that result, a school board member could impact the number of assessments that schools implement and thereby protect the special designations of certain school programs.
I cannot, in good conscience, serve on a board whose only function now is to give tests.
Right now, the only real power to counteract the onslaught of high-stakes testing lies in the hands of parents, who have the power to opt out of state-mandated testing. While school boards are legally obligated to administer the test, families are not required to take it.
I leave my beloved southwest Denver schools in a better place. Unlike other board districts, no neighborhood schools have been closed or overtaken by charters. Special school designations, like International Baccalaureate, have been preserved at Sabin Elementary, Henry Middle School and Kennedy High. Our third-grade reading scores, an indicator of high school graduation, show nearly the only growth in the entire school district. I am proud to have created a firewall of protection from corporate and profit-seeking interests. I only wish that my authority could have protected students, teachers and families from the consequence of too much testing, and performance outcomes that are determined not by the teacher or the student, but by outside power mongers. It is with sad reluctance but a stronger sense of resolve that I continue my leadership in a different direction.
I offer my deepest gratitude to those who have stood with me in service to education and our future embodied by our Denver students, especially the scores of veteran teachers and committed parents throughout the city. I’d like to take this opportunity to invite parents to an informational meeting regarding opting out of state and federal mandated tests. You will have the opportunity to hear from parents who opt out each year and to better understand your rights in preserving a public education system that honors its learners.
Date: February 4, 2014
Time: 5 p.m.
Location: Ross-Barnum Library, 1st Avenue and Lowell Boulevard
RSVP here: https://gumbolefunque.com/andrea/rsvpmaker/opt-out-of-standardized-testing/
I hope to see you there. Let’s take back public education.
Who said, when it isn’t the money, it is the money. And these folks who are running with so much money behind them do not understand they are being used.
Wow, I get it but am sad to see this. Your absence will be felt, I cannot thank you enough for being the voice of our families.
So sad that students and families will lose such a strong advocate on the school board. I know you will continue the conversation and continue to empower parents.
Thanks, Boggsie. Aren’t we due to hang out over coffee?
Andrea – As always, you say what needs to be said… and do it SO well! I am posting this on my page, so folks can attend your February meeting.
Thank you for being such a great advocate and always asking the tough questions… As always – Have a Blessed Weekend!
Your leadership will be missed. Education is the last line of defense between an uncivilized, profit driven society and one that nurtures the individual and the unique talents of each. Standardized testing only leads to standardized thinking. There is so much creativity and other ways of knowing that cannot be addressed through standard assessments alone.
Sadly, this lady is 100% correct in her assessment of the situation. Too bad she’s leaving because school boards need people like her more than anything else.
I was so sad to hear that you are not running again. However, I do understand. Thank you for being the one true advocate for teachers and for truly caring for our children. You will be missed! Now go out and get yourself a “real job” that pays! Love ya!
I am sad that you will not be fighting for our families in Southwest Denver. I can only pray that our families will be represented by a leader who truly focuses on the children, as you have always! I am very disappointed in DPS.
I wish you well, Andrea. You have always been a mother lion on behalf of the children of Denver, and I thank you for it. I hope you will not be leaving the discussion, merely changing roles. You say what people need to hear about education, and the discussion desperately needs your point of view. Best wishes.
P.S. Although I am not a citizen of Denver (I live in Cherry Creek SD), I watch what the DPS school board does with great interest. It is a role model to special district boards all over the state.
I hope you and your replacement will spend some time together making a smooth transition, and will have a meeting of the hearts and minds. School board races have become heated, which is unfortunate for the kids. Despite the very diverse opinions on the Denver school board, I do believe everyone on it runs because of a sincere desire to do what’s best. All of us need to have dialogue — to listen to each other even when it is painful and difficult, and personalities can so easily get in the way. Effective leaders must be able to acknowledge and push past the personality stuff (we’re human afterall), listen with our hearts as well as our heads, and be willing to learn from our political opponents, as well as respectfully share our own perspectives. In the end, we are nothing if we are not role models to the next generation.
Peace be with you in your next endeavor. Thank you for your service.
Hey Andera, I told you that I liked your Fire Girl. And I still do, I am sorry that are PUBLIC EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM is trying to be PRIVITIZED though it is up to us not to see this shift from a Strong Middle Class to just rich & POOR. Without solid Public Education this is what will happen, if we let it. You and your Fire were a firewall in prventing this, hope you will still be in the mix I will, Public Education makes the difference, of a middle or upper middle class life and proverty. Let us shout this message out from the mountain tops.. God Bless you and your family.
Compañeros for life; I promise!
Dear Andrea, Thank you for your service, your dedication to your work, your honesty, and your brilliance in performing the work that you did on the DPS Board of Education. I am so proud to call you friend! I know that you will continue your strong and sincere advocacy for our students, even if you are no longer a member of the Board. Please know that I will continue my advocacy on behalf of our EL students in my daily work in the district; and, yes, I will continue to call upon you for support! Con Mucho Respecto Y Carino.
Sorry to hear of your unsatisfied struggles. This is why my children wanted to home school and I agreed to do it. Occasionally they want to try DPS but only last a day. Not much creative thinking and discussing and doing going on; lots of preparing for standardized tests, loads of busy work to keep kids busy…we call the kids that do all of that high academic achievers, we love the word academic, but what of their intellects? Paraphrasing another respondent, there are so many creative ways to be intelligent and pursue one’s education that seem not to be fathomed and appreciated in DPS. And why don’t the teachers revolt? Perhaps out of necessity, we are inadvertently brain-washing a whole generation of teachers who didn’t sign up for this kind of teaching but have adapted to it, a bit more they realize. Many parents too. I gave up the fight and let my kids learn at home, where we can be free and have fun and delve into their interests, where they can lead the way with their questions and talents. I don’t want to win a battle like this at the expense of my kids, but I really do respect those parents who do. Thanks again for your efforts.