H_ED_2018A 12/17/2018 01:07:44 PM Committee Summary

Senator Hill invited the presenters from the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) up to the table.  Dr. Katy Anthes, Commissioner of Education, spoke about the responsibilities of the department.  Her presentation can be found online here: http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/cde_smart_act_presentation_december_2018.pdf.  Dr. Anthes spoke about several of the department's activities and successes in 2018 and discussed the department's strategic plan, which can be accessed here: http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/cde_fy19_performance_plan.pdf.  She discussed the accountability clock process and stated that 55 percent of schools came off the clock in 2017.  When a school is "on the clock," that school is considered to be in priority improvement or turnaround status.

Dr. Anthes answered questions from the committee about the department's success in helping turnaround and priority improvement schools come "off the clock."  She also talked about the department's goals around postsecondary readiness, including 4-year, 5-year, and 6-year high school graduation rates and concurrent enrollment programs.

Dr. Anthes also spoke about historically under-served populations, the percentage of students currently reading at grade level by third grade, and students identified as having significant reading deficiencies.  She discussed the need to close the achievement gaps for historically under-served student populations and strategies to recruit and retain high-quality teachers, to support high quality principals, and to expand pathways for students.

Dr. Anthes answered questions from the committee. Committee discussed ensued.

There was no public testimony.

Steve Turner, Executive Director of History Colorado, introduced himself to the committee and spoke about the growth and strategic planning of History Colorado.  He also discussed attendance and several new exhibits at the museum.  History Colorado is currently focusing on increasing engagement and outreach, in addition to modernizing technology in order to improve customer service.

Mr. Turner discussed increasing employee engagement and revenue growth and answered questions from the committee.

Sen. Hill invited Dan Baer, Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE), came to the table to begin his presentation.  He distributed a copy of his presentation (Attachment A); the department's annual report (Attachment B); and the department's budget requests and legislative agenda (Attachment C). He talked about the department's progress and goals in terms of statewide degree attainment, and provided information and statistics about those in Colorado who do not have a 2-year, 4-year, or vocational degree.

Mr. Baer discussed the department's master plan and goals, known as "Colorado Rises," which was distributed to the committee (Attachment D).  The strategic goals include increasing credential completion and erasing equity gaps.  He talked about high and low demand credentials, teacher shortages, and lower enrollment in teacher preparation programs.  Mr. Baer answered questions from the committee.

Mr. Baer continued to answer questions from the committee.

Mr. Baer spoke about pell-eligible student completions and stated that the percentage of students need remediation has dropped.  He also spoke about increasing enrollment in concurrent and dual enrollment programs and other strategies to improve student success.  He discussed the department's final strategic goal, which is to invest in affordability and innovation.