Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

COMMITTEE ON JOINT EDUCATION

Date:02/27/2013
ATTENDANCE
Time:07:50 AM to 08:52 AM
Buckner
Court
Place:SCR 356
Everett
Fields
This Meeting was called to order by
Heath
Senator Hudak
Hill
Holbert
This Report was prepared by
Johnston
Rachel Kurtz-Phelan
Kerr
Landgraf
Marble
Murray
Peniston
Pettersen
Priola
Renfroe
Scheffel
Todd
Wilson
Young
Hamner
Hudak
X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call
Bills Addressed: Action Taken:
Presentation by School Safety Resource Center
Presentation:Congress of Foreign Language Teachers		Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only
Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only


07:50 AM -- Presentation by School Safety Resource Center

Senator Hudak, Chair of the Senate Education Committee, called the meeting to order and invited the presenters to the table. She did not take roll. Kathy Sasak, Deputy Executive Director, Colorado Department of Public Safety, and Christine Harms, Director, Colorado School Safety Resource Center (CSSRC), came to the table and distributed a handout (Attachment A). Ms. Sasak told the committee about the background and organizational structure of the Department of Public Safety, which includes: the Division of Public Safety; the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management; the Division of Fire Protection and Control; the Division of Criminal Justice; the Colorado Bureau of Investigation; and the Colorado State Patrol. She explained that CSSRC was created by Senate Bill 08-001 as a centralized hub for assistance and resources for all schools in Colorado. Ms. Harms spoke about her professional background and experience at CSSRC and introduced the other CSSRC staff members who were in the audience. She stated that CSSRC's mission is to foster a safe and secure learning








environment; assist with prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery efforts; and help schools with early intervention programs to prevent crises from occurring in schools. Ms. Harms explained that CSSRC works especially hard to serve rural school districts, and also provides technical training, outreach, and resources to all schools in Colorado. She talked about the increase in the number of hits on the CSSRC website, which she explained is important because that is how CSSRC gauges what topics are of interest to schools. Ms. Harms noted several items of interest in the executive summary of the handout (Attachment A), and spoke about the community organizations with which CSSRC partners. She discussed online training courses on bullying and harassment prevention, and school crisis response methods that are particularly useful to rural schools.

13JtEd0227AttachA.pdf13JtEd0227AttachA.pdf

08:02 AM

Ms. harms told the committee about CSSRC's threat assessment training and concluded her presentation. Representative Hamner asked if CSSRC has determined the elements that make a school safe in terms of its policies and procedures and the structure of the facilities. Ms. Harms responded that CSSRC provides a safety checklist to schools but that they do no perform facility assessments. Senator Todd spoke about the difficulty of keeping up with new technological methods of bullying and asked whether CSSRC updates its resources based on new forms of bullying. Ms. Harms told the committee about CSSRC's workshops on cyber-bullying.


08:13 AM

Senator Todd spoke about the growing culture of violence in schools and asked whether CSSRC partners with law enforcement agencies. Ms. Harms spoke about student engagement and stated that it is critical to teach students social skills in order to promote positive school climates that focus on equity. Representative Buckner asked whether CSSRC evaluates the effectiveness of school safety programs across the state.


08:20 AM -- Presentation by Congress of Foreign Language Teachers

Senator Hudak welcomed the next group to the table. The following presenters from the Colorado Congress of Foreign Language Teachers came to the table: Janine Erickson, Noah Geisel, Debbie Cody, Anna Crocker, and Toni Theisen. Each presenter told the committee about his or her professional background. Staff distributed a handout to the committee members (Attachment B). Ms. Theisen told the committee that foreign language studies are a pertinent component of education and discussed the importance of studying foreign languages and cultures. She stated that foreign language studies should be considered a core component of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education. She talked about the importance of language studies for college entrance and readiness. Mr. Geisel told the committee about data showing that only 20 percent of students are currently enrolled in foreign language classes, and talked about the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages 21st Century Skills Map, which includes: communication; collaboration; critical thinking and problem solving; creativity and innovation; and social and cross-curricular skills. Mr. Geisel spoke about the need to include foreign language skills in STEM education design and funding. Ms. Erickson spoke about the importance of early language learning, which helps strengthen literacy in a child's first language as well as in the foreign language being learned. She discussed the need to develop students' comfort with cultural differences, and increasing standardized test scores in other topic areas.








13JtEd0227AttachB.pdf13JtEd0227AttachB.pdf

08:32 AM

Representative Hamner asked about the impact of K-12 budget cuts on foreign language courses. Ms. Theisen stated that foreign language departments have been negatively impacted, mostly due to the fact that foreign language classes are considered to be elective courses and not core courses. Ms. Theisen also spoke about the difficulty getting data from the Colorado Department of Education regarding specific cuts to foreign language classes and teachers.


08:38 AM

Representative Murray asked about the success of teaching elementary school core classes such as science and math, in foreign languages. Ms. Theisen told the committee about other states that have started elementary school language immersion programs. Senator Hudak asked the presenters to confirm that other states are incorporating foreign language immersion into their regular elementary school education curriculum.


08:45 AM

Ms. Cody spoke about the impact of foreign language skills to the economy, and told the committee about a 2013 report published by the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade regarding Colorado's international trade partners. Ms. Crocker spoke about reinstating the two year foreign language requirement for high school students and why this is important for college and workforce readiness, increasing global understanding, and sharpening cognitive and critical-thinking skills.


08:52 AM

The committee adjourned.