Date: 12/09/2013
Final
CDE Presentation on SMART Act
COMMITTEE ON JOINT EDUCATION
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09:30 AM -- CDE Presentation on SMART Act
Robert Hammond, Commissioner of Education, Colorado Department of Education (CDE), introduced himself to the committee. He gave an overview of CDE's presentation, and told the committee that two teachers would be speaking about their experiences with recent education initiatives implemented by the General Assembly. Mr. Hammond introduced the two teachers, Kimba Rael and Tiffany Utoft. Mr. Hammond reviewed the information in the notebook that was distributed to each committee member and told the committee about the importance of the strategic plan to the department.
09:37 AM
Ms. Utoft introduced herself and spoke about her perspective on education reform efforts and implementation. She told the committee about her professional background working for the Thompson School District, and discussed the changes made by teachers in the classroom due to new curriculum standards. She told the committee that the new standards give her the ability to provide a road map for each student to achieve his or her goals. She talked about state and local assessments, the new teacher evaluation system, and how the evaluation system and assessments fit together. Ms. Utoft discussed the need to drive instruction based on the data received from assessments. She talked about the differences between the old teacher evaluation system and the new teacher evaluation system and the ways in which the new system supports professional growth.
09:46 AM
Representative Peniston asked Ms. Utoft to talk about how the reforms made by certain education initiatives affect that ways in which she interacts with parents. Representative Court talked about the importance of letting students productively struggle. Representative Murray asked whether there is a need to have liaisons in each school district to help the district implement the education reforms. Senator Johnston asked Ms. Utoft to talk about her role within her school district and how she and her staff support teachers in the district. The committee discussed assessment literacy workshops. Senator Todd inquired about the fiscal impact of Ms. Utoft's office to the district budget.
09:54 AM
Ms. Rael introduced herself to the committee. She talked about her professional background as a teacher in Centennial School District R-1 and as the integration liaison for the district. She discussed issues currently faced by students in her district, including student engagement, achievement, and bullying, and how standards implementation has changed the way teachers teach over the years. She said that there has been a shift from focusing on the test itself to the actual learning process. Ms. Rael talked about her work on the district's curriculum development team and about the concerns that teachers have with the new statewide assessments and educator effectiveness policies. She stated that criticism through teacher evaluations should be viewed as an opportunity for growth.
10:07 AM
Ms. Rael continued to talk about her experiences as a teacher and the impacts of education reform on her personally and on the district. She answered questions from the committee and discussed the need for students to be accountable for their own success.
10:20 AM
Representative Young asked about student learning objectives. Ms. Utoft responded by discussing the importance of setting high-quality objectives. Ms. Rael discussed the differences between district assessments and individual assessments for student growth.
10:25 AM
Commissioner Hammond talked about the challenges associated with implementing large-scale, systemic change and the impact of standards and assessments on teachers' experiences in the classroom. He discussed CDE's vision that all students in Colorado will become educated and productive citizens who are capable of succeeding in society and the workforce. Commissioner Hammond spoke about CDE's strategic goals for all students, which are: start strong, read by third grade, meet or exceed standards, and graduate ready for college or career. He said that in order to achieve these goals, students must have great teachers and leaders and districts must focus on continuously improving schools.
10:33 AM
Jill Hawley, Associate Commissioner of Achievement and Strategy, CDE, talked about how CDE can add value to school districts, and the plans that each unit within CDE created to align with the department's overall strategic plan. She talked about how the department works to ensure that every student starts strong with a solid foundation in grades preK-3. Ms. Hawley discussed the Colorado Preschool Program, school readiness, and the Early Learning Challenge Fund. She told the committee about the department's literacy efforts to ensure that all students can read by the end of third grade, and how literacy is embedded in teacher evaluations and student assessments. The committee discussed the Reading to Ensure Academic Development (READ) Act, regional technical assistance initiatives, and early literacy grants that have been awarded to schools.
10:43 AM
Pati Montgomery, Executive Director of the Office of Literacy, CDE, came to the table to answer questions about student literacy and what constitutes a significant reading deficiency. The committee discussed what happens if a student is found to be deficient and how to remediate the issue. Senator Todd asked how early literacy grant funds are being implemented and used.
10:52 AM
The committee continued to discuss the READ Act and regional technical assistants who are hired to assist with literacy efforts and literacy screenings. Representative Murray talked about the importance of CDE assisting school districts with implementing initiatives if they need help and the appropriate role for the state to assist the districts that need assistance.
10:59 AM
Ms. Hawley discussed the early literacy assessment tool and the Request for Proposals (RFP) process to provide literacy assessments. She talked about the department's strategic goals that all students meet or exceed standards and that all students make adequate growth in reading and math. She discussed the need to maintain or improve the percentage of students who keep up with proficiency targets and moving up to advanced levels. Ms. Hawley discussed Colorado Academic Standards and the ten content standards which will be fully implemented during the 2013-14 school year. She spoke about the difficulty of reaching the standards for English language learners. The committee watched a short video.
11:09 AM
Ms. Hawley continued to talk about the new assessments that will begin during the 2014-15 school year, completed field testing of a new online assessment tool, and the new Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) assessments for language arts and maths. The committee discussed how CDE is ensuring that every district has access to the appropriate technology to administer online assessments, and issues with keyboarding skills in lower grade levels. The committee asked questions about the department's budget request for implementing online assessments.
11:19 AM
Ms. Hawley answered questions from the committee about districts' technology capacity for administering online assessments. Commissioner Hammond answered questions about the department's budget requests and priorities. Ms. Hawley spoke about the department's fourth strategic goal, which is to ensure that every student is graduation ready, and about concurrent enrollment programs, individual career and academic plans, and graduation guidelines.
11:29 AM
The committee discussed concurrent enrollment. Rebecca Holmes, Assistant Commissioner for Innovation, Choice, and Engagement, CDE, came to the table to answer questions from the committee about concurrent enrollment.
11:38 AM
Ms. Hawley told the committee about the impact of Senate Bill 10-191 and efforts made by CDE to help with implementation through a program called Elevate Colorado. She discussed an online teacher evaluation system that is currently being developed and a pilot of specialized service professionals rubrics and evaluation processes. Senator Todd asked about the cost of implementation of SB 10-191 at the district level.
11:48 AM
Dr. Keith Owen, Deputy Commissioner of Education, CDE, talked about the implementation of Senate Bill 09-163 and its effect on school and district performance frameworks, priority improvement and turnaround support, unified improvement planning, and the SchoolView Data Center.
11:54 AM
Commissioner Hammond spoke about lean process improvements within CDE and streamlining data processes in districts. He discussed the department's budget request for information management systems to replace obsolete systems and upgrade existing systems, and reviewed additional budget requests for total and categorical programs. CDE staff concluded the presentation and asked if there were any additional questions from the committee.
12:02 PM
The committee adjourned.