Issue Position: Education

Issue Position

While listed last, this issue is certainly not least in my agenda. We face many challenges in this state and one of the most perplexing, yet so important, is how to give our students greater educational opportunities and reward the success of our best teachers. I supported the teacher tenure reform bill in 2010 as that is one leg of the stool that needs to be addressed. But, educating our kids is a shared responsibility that also includes the parents and, most at the center, the students. All can and must do better and the state should help where it can and also respect the role of the local school boards and communities.

A couple of years ago, I sat down with about 2 dozen students from around my district and we drafted a bill that was passed that session and created the Colorado Youth Advisory Council, a legislative advisory body that would bring the youth voice from around Colorado directly into the state Capitol. Having worked side by side with our young leaders, I can say with confidence that, despite all of the challenges that exist out there, our future is indeed bright. We need to invest wisely in our future -- our children.

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