May 12, 2022 | Press
CONTACT
Frank Valdez
Colorado Education Association
fvaldez@coloradoea.org
(720) 372-8888 Cell
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 12, 2022
Solid Victories and Missed Opportunities Highlight the 2022 Legislative Session
CEA now turns attention to 2022 midterm elections
DENVER – With the 2022 Legislative Session in the books, the 39,000 members of the Colorado Education Association played a key role in advancing consequential legislation that improved the lives of Colorado students and educators this session. The session fell a bit short in some areas but overall, public education in Colorado is better today than it was in 2021.
“We had a bold agenda when we published our State of Education report in December and we definitely improved the lives of Colorado students and educators as we end this session,” said Amie Baca-Oehlert, high school counselor and president of the Colorado Education Association. “Did we achieve everything we set out to achieve? No but we made significant progress with evaluations, educator privacy, shoring up PERA and significantly buying down the Budget Stabilization Factor. We made significant strides and every one of our 39,000 members made a difference.”
Among key victories by the union this year was a significant buy down of the Budget Stabilization Factor to its lowest level in well over a decade to $321 million, with the real promise of buying it completely down by 2024. This was one of CEA’s main priorities heading into the session as a graduating senior in 2022 had never seen a fully funded public education system.
Other key victories include House Bill (HB) 22-1029, Compensatory Direct Distribution to Public Employees’ Retirement Association, which recommit the state’s 2020 missed payment into the PERA system of $225 million and an additional $155 million as a pre-payment. SB22-069, Learning Disruption Effect on Teacher Evaluation, which provides educators a two-year grace period against high stakes testing being used against their evaluations and ensures that educators are not held accountable for poor academic growth measures resulting from the pandemic emergency. SB22-070, Kindergarten through Twelfth Grade Licensed Personnel Performance Evaluations, is the result of the Governor’s 2019 stakeholder process and represents a compromise reform. While it does not go as far as CEA and many members would like, this bill does reduce the percentage of an educator’s evaluation that can be based off of student growth measures from 50% to 30%, as well as provides modified evaluation rubrics and additional resources for districts, among other things. SB 22-137, Transition Back to Standard K-12 Accountability makes adjustments to the school accountability system to make sure hundreds of schools aren’t unfairly placed on the accountability clock due to insufficient data. Finally, SB22-171, Privacy Protections for Educators protects educators from doxing, the release of educators’ personal, identifiable information on the internet, by members of the public. It will also prohibit school districts from releasing the dates of sick leave taken by educators to address situations like what happened in Douglas County.
“We’re disappointed that K-12 wasn’t a part of this year’s attempt at a statewide collective bargaining bill but we will continue to make that a priority for all of Colorado’s public workers,” said Baca-Oehlert. “We can, however, hold our heads high in knowing that we significantly improved the lives of Colorado students, their families and educators in 2022. We’d like to carry this momentum into the fall election cycle where we will work tirelessly to elect pro-public education candidates to help us make more of an impact in the 2023 Legislative Session.”
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About the Colorado Education Association
The Colorado Education Association is the voice of 39,000 educators, working together in a strong union to ensure all students get the exceptional public schools they deserve, in every neighborhood across the state. As Colorado’s largest labor union, CEA works collectively with all education stakeholders to ensure Colorado’s standing as an excellent state in which to learn, live, work, and raise a family.
May 11, 2022 | Press
CONTACT
Jason Malmberg
720-261-0273
jasonmalmberg7@gmail.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 11, 2022
Adams 14 Educators Shocked by State Board Vote
Committed to District-TNTP management consultants partnership
COMMERCE CITY, COLO. – In a surprise move, yesterday the State Board of Education voted to start a reorganization process for Adams 14, just a month after voting for the district to co-govern with a partial manager. The audience at yesterday’s vote was sparse, while so many Adams County residents attended the April meeting, spectators spilled into the overflow room.
“Educators, students and families are stunned that the State Board of Education voted to reverse last month’s decision to support the innovation and partial management plans put forth by the district and supported by the community,” said Jason Malmberg, a music teacher and School District 14 Classroom Teachers Association president. “Even though we’re furious that the State Board continues to jerk us all around, we want to be clear that teachers are committed to not just finishing the school year strong for our students, but also collaborating with Dr. Loria, the district, our community and others to advance the future of Adams 14 schools.
The Adams 14 district has been in constant turmoil since the State Board of Education forced a private for-profit management partner on them, an expensive and failed experiment that left staff, students, parents and community members demoralized and frustrated. Last month’s district proposal for co-partner management status outlined that district staff, educators, students and families would come together to build community schools to provide the wraparound services that are proven to lead to greater student well-being and academic growth.
“The Commerce City community has communicated loud and clear that they want a collaborative school design process that prioritizes the needs and strengths of the community, and we all feel confused and heartbroken about the Board’s vote,” said Lacey Mueller-Taschdjian, a middle school math teacher in the district. “No matter what we look like, where we live or how much we have in our wallets, we all want exceptional public schools that inspire imagination, cultivate critical thinking and encourage collaboration to ensure our children can live fulfilling lives – and the innovation plan for Central Elementary and a community school to open in the fall will help get us there.”
The Adams 14 community has a strong sense of community pride, with multiple generations in families having attended from its local schools. Many students will continue this legacy when they graduate at commencement on May 21, 2022.
“I grew up in a working class minority family, just like the kids in my class. These students are at risk of losing the opportunity to earn a seal of biliteracy, a valuable certification that attests to their language abilities,” said Derene Armelin, an Adams 14 elementary school teacher and Adams 14 graduate. “It looks to me like the State Board of Education is unfairly discriminating against this community based on their income and skin color since I have never seen them challenge and disrespect a white, male superintendent like they have Dr. Loria.”
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The School District 14 Classroom Teachers Association represents Adams 14 educators and is a local of the Colorado Education Association, Colorado’s largest labor union. The Colorado Education Association is the voice of 39,000 educators, working together to ensure all students get the exceptional public schools they deserve, in every neighborhood across the state.
Apr 15, 2022 | Press
CONTACT
Jason Malmberg
720-261-0273
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 14, 2022
Adams 14 & CEA Educators Cautiously Optimistic After State Board Vote
District will move to co-govern with management consultants
The following statement can be attributed to Jason Malmberg, middle school music teacher and president of the SD14 Classroom Teachers Association:
“Today, educators, students and families are breathing a little easier after the State Board of Education voted to grant Adams 14 time to produce its innovation and partial management plans for the district, Central Elementary and Adams City High School. There will be no school closures which is a major victory for the students, families, educators and community.
“Our district has been in constant turmoil since the State Board of Education forced a private for-profit management partner on us, a failed experiment that left us all demoralized and frustrated. We’re cautiously optimistic that under co-partner management status, district staff, educators, students and families can come together to build the community schools we believe will provide the wraparound services that lead to greater student health and academic growth.
“District 14 educators are eager to collaborate with Dr. Loria, the district, and a new partner to provide the academic, social, emotional and other support our students need to learn, thrive and make their dreams come true. We are encouraged to develop a plan that will be envisioned with authentic community input as we heard loud and clear from community members that they want a collaborative school design process that prioritizes the needs and strengths of the community.
“With a strong sense of community pride, our students will continue the Adams 14 legacy when many of them will become third and fourth generation graduates of their public schools in May and in years to come.”
The following statement can be attributed to Amie Baca Oehlert, high school counselor and president of the Colorado Education Association, the voice of 39,000 educators:
“No matter what we look like, where we live or how much we have in our wallets, we all want exceptional public schools that inspire imagination, cultivate critical thinking and encourage collaboration to ensure our children can live fulfilling lives – that includes the hardworking families and educators in Commerce City. The Colorado Education Association will continue to support the students, families, and educators of Adams 14 by supporting our community school model and its expansion throughout Adams 14.”
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Aug 12, 2021 | Press
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 12, 2021
Statement from the Colorado Education Association (CEA) on 2021 Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS) results
DENVER, CO – The Colorado Department of Education (CDE) released 2021 CMAS data today showing an overall decrease in both raw scores and participation. This statement can be attributed to Amie Baca-Oehlert, high school counselor and president of the Colorado Education Association:
“The results of this year’s CMAS data are not surprising considering the number of variables that students and educators have had to deal with since March 2020 while educating students in the midst of a global pandemic. We urge extreme caution in interpreting or drawing conclusions with this data as it does not tell a complete story of how students, educators or schools performed over the last year. We will need to look at a multitude of information and data points to get a full understanding of the 2020-2021 school year. We continue to applaud the tremendous efforts of students and educators who overcame extreme challenges in teaching and learning this past school year.
“We also believe that this is a wake up call and a continued plea for all public education stakeholders to come together to discuss and find solutions to underlying issues like the chronic underfunding of public education, the lack of mental health and social-emotional supports, and crumbling infrastructure and outdated materials.
“We need to prioritize our students and support our public schools’ ability to meet their needs, especially those who are the most vulnerable. Others often interpret lower scores in some schools as evidence that those schools are not doing a good job, but the fact of the matter is, schools are educating student populations that have greater educational challenges with access to minimal resources and supports. Federal stimulus funds can be used to address some of these issues and educators, those who actually work with students on a daily basis, should be at the forefront of these conversations. And while these dollars will help, they do not solve the long-term funding gaps we see on an annual basis. We look forward to the results of the upcoming accountability audit and using that data to spark conversations with other public education stakeholders on the way forward.”
About the Colorado Education Association
The Colorado Education Association is the voice of 39,000 educators, working together in a strong union to ensure all students get the exceptional public schools they deserve, in every neighborhood across the state. As Colorado’s largest labor union, CEA works collectively with all education stakeholders to ensure Colorado’s standing as an excellent state in which to learn, live, work, and raise a family.
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Mar 26, 2021 | Press
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 26, 2021
CEA President Baca-Oehlert:
Colorado’s Largest Union Pleased by Standardized Testing Waiver
U.S. Department of Education grants Colorado’s waiver with one addition
DENVER, CO – Today, the U.S. Department of Education granted Colorado’s assessment waiver request to scale down CMAS testing this year to language arts tests for students in grades three, five and seven and math in grades four, six and eight – and added the requirement of the science test for 8th grade. Waivers for science testing for grades five and eleven were granted.
The following statement can be attributed to Amie Baca-Oehlert, high school counselor and president of the Colorado Education Association:
“Educators across Colorado are pleased that the U.S. Department of Education recognized that full-scale standardized testing this year would be not only completely unnecessary, but also harmful to students struggling to survive the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Students and educators have been bouncing between in-person, virtual and hybrid learning depending on the COVID-19 conditions in their community for a year now. The last thing students need is to have the brakes slammed on learning to accommodate several weeks of standardized testing.
“We are grateful to Rep. Emily Sirota, Rep. Barbara McLachlan, Sen. Rachel Zenzinger, and Sen. Don Coram for sponsoring the legislation to apply for this partial pause that will provide some much-needed relief for students and educators this spring. Our voices matter, and we thank CEA members, parents and community allies who signed petitions, made phone calls and took action in support of the assessment waiver.
“We care deeply about making sure all our students are learning during the pandemic. The wisest thing to do is to focus every single second on instruction so our students are able to concentrate on learning and maintaining their mental health until the pandemic subsides.”
About the Colorado Education Association
The Colorado Education Association is the voice of 39,000 educators, working together in a strong union to ensure all students get the exceptional public schools they deserve, in every neighborhood across the state. As Colorado’s largest labor union, CEA works collectively with all education stakeholders to ensure Colorado’s standing as an excellent state in which to learn, live, work, and raise a family.
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