CEA Teachers Hold Rally at State Capitol to Tell Lawmakers, 'We Know What Works'

DENVER, April 23 /PRNewswire/ -- This morning, approximately 500 members of the Colorado Education Association rallied on the steps of the State Capitol to demonstrate their support for revising the educator evaluation system in Colorado – and to bring attention to the failure of Senate Bill 191 to address the complexities and costs involved in revising the system.

"The current teacher and principal evaluation system is outdated and broken, and needs to be fixed. It will take a significant financial investment to do it right," said CEA President Beverly Ingle. "SB 191 says that we should rely on 'gifts, grants and donations' to implement the changes it proposes. This is ridiculous. It amounts to unfunded mandates for our school districts, who are already financially strapped. They can't afford to pay for a new evaluation system now," she said.

A number of teachers spoke at the rally, including Jenny Campbell, a special education teacher in Cherry Creek School District. Campbell also testified in opposition to SB 191 in front of the Senate Education Committee yesterday.

Speaking of the current evaluation system, Campbell asked, "How can a principal spend four hours in a classroom of students with severe needs and expect to see the true growth they have made throughout the year? How is it adequate to judge and evaluate the effectiveness of a teacher based on just four hours spent in a classroom?"

Campbell explained that the progress and growth she sees in her students aren't easily captured by standardized tests. (To download a PDF of Campbell's full testimony, visit CEA's blog at www.ceapathways.org.)

Other speakers at the rally echoed her sentiment, saying that SB 191 is the wrong approach.

Ingle emphasized that "CEA has been involved in every education reform measure in this state – CAP4K, longitudinal growth, accountability and accreditation. We know what works in education in Colorado – and SB 191 doesn't."

CEA leaders from across the state are in Denver to attend CEA's annual meeting, which opened yesterday at the Marriott Denver Tech Center.

About CEA

The Colorado Education Association has 40,000 members, the vast majority of whom are K-12 public school teachers. Members also include educational support professionals such as school secretaries and classroom aides, retired teachers, community college professors, and college students who are planning to become teachers. CEA is affiliated with the 3.2 million-member National Education Association.

SOURCE Colorado Education Association