New CEA president looks to take ownership of reform
By Kevin Simpson, The Denver Post
Amid continuing education upheaval and shifting definitions of everything from school finance to testing to teacher evaluation, Kerrie Dallman begins her term leading the state's largest teachers union not by working to resist change but to shape it.
"I actually believe that (unions) have to take ownership of reform," said Dallman, recently elected president of the Colorado Education Association. "We can't just say no. If we don't like something, we have to propose alternatives. We've got to put kids front and center."
Dallman brings a reputation for collaboration that strikes a welcome chord with reformers as well as an emphasis on bolstering investment in public education and professional standards that appeals to her membership.
Some call her a game-changer who could help the CEA negotiate the changing landscape with a leadership style that seeks to identify areas of collaboration — a direction Dallman says the organization already had been pursuing.
"I'm absolutely willing to engage in conversations around shared accountability," she said, "as long as it heads toward shared leadership."
Read the rest of the story at this link to the Denver Post website.
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