Growing 2013: Year of the Student Coalition Members Deliver Challenge to State Leaders
► See photos of the event
DENVER, Colo. – Declaring that Colorado’s students cannot afford another “business as usual” session, dozens of students, parents, grandparents, and businesspeople gathered at the Capitol today to hand-deliver a Call to Action to state legislators and the Governor on behalf of 150 organizations and 8,600 individuals from more than 230 communities throughout the state.
The 2013: Year of the Student Project is calling on state leaders to use this legislative session to address Colorado’s long-time failure to fund its schools, colleges and universities in a way that allows every student to succeed – no matter where they live, or how they learn.
Already a low-funding state, Colorado has made deep cuts to pre-school, K-12 and higher education over the past four years. Colorado has fallen to 36th out of the 39 states that fund early childhood education; our K-12 funding level is currently $1 billion below the amount necessary just to keep up with student growth and inflation; and Colorado ranks 49th in per capita support for higher education.
“The message of the 2013: Year of the Student coalition is simple,” said Rev. Dr. Jim Ryan of the Colorado Council of Churches, a member of the coalition. “It’s time for legislators to roll up their sleeves and develop a plan that supports student success one, five, ten and twenty years from now.”
“We are here to convey the urgent need to fix this problem,” explained Liane Morrison, Executive Director of Great Education Colorado. “We all heard phrases like ‘there’s nothing we can do’ and ‘our hands our tied.’ What we need to hear is ‘we’ll explore every option available to make sure we do right by our students.’”
In order to highlight the need for action and to advance the conversation around education funding, the coalition also delivered a cover letter asking leaders a series of questions about Colorado’s broken P-20 education funding system. Responses will be published on the Year of the Student website in mid-February.
The cover letter reads in part:
We understand that decades of underinvestment in preschool, K-12 and higher education cannot be reversed in a single action or a single year. But we know that, with enough political will, you and your colleagues can create a long-term plan for wise, effective and meaningful increases in P-20 education investment, thereby putting Colorado back on the right track.
So, for the sake of the students and communities in your district, for the sake of Colorado: Don’t adjourn without a plan.
"We know what works in education – quality preschool, full-day kindergarten, great teachers and principals," said Jefferson County School Board President Lesley Dahlkemper. "Now it's time for us to work together to develop a new funding model that better aligns with what we know gets results for kids. Colorado needs a long-term, sustainable plan for funding K-12, higher education and other public services that are critical to our quality of life."
From the launch of the Project last summer, students have played a central role in the growing Year of the Student movement.
“What happens in this building has a huge impact every day on my school and my classmates,” said Manual High School student Shafinity Owens. “I’m here representing thousands of students so that we can have an impact on what goes on in this building.”
More than 2,000 of the 8,600 signatures came from high school and colleges students.
“We’re asking legislators to attack this problem the way our parents and teachers tell us to take on tough problems in school and life,” noted ThunderRidge freshman Hayley Stromberg. “Be creative and persistent. Don’t make excuses. Ask questions and really listen to the answers. And don’t give up just because something is hard, especially if it’s the right thing to do.”
The Year of the Student (http://www.2013forstudents.org) is a growing and diverse coalition that encompasses rural, suburban and urban Colorado; business and education organizations; preschool, K-12 and higher education; advocates for special education, gifted and talented education, foster care, and education reform; and student, parent, senior, and educator organizations.
Communities Represented in the Call to Action Signatures
Agate, Akron, Alamosa, Anton, Antonito, Arvada, Aspen, Aurora, Austin, Avon, Bailey, Bennett, Berthoud, Beulah, Black Forest, Black Hawk, Blanca, Blue River, Boulder, Bow Mar, Breckenridge, Brighton, Broomfield, Brush, Buena Vista, Buffalo Creek, Byers, Calhan, Campo, Canon City, Carbondale, Cascade, Castle Pines, Castle Rock, Centennial, Center, Central City, Cheraw, Cherry Hills Village, Cimarron, Cimarron Hills, Clark, Clifton, Coaldale, Collbran, Colorado City, Colorado Springs, Commerce City, Conifer, Cortez, Craig, Creede, Crested Butte, Crestone, Cripple Creek, Dacono, De Beque, Deer Trail, Del Norte, Delta, Denver, Dillon, Dolores, Durango, Eagle, Eckert, Edgewater, Edwards, Elbert, Eldorado Springs, Elizabeth, Ellicott, Englewood, Erie, Estes Park, Evans, Evergreen, Falcon, Federal Heights, Firestone, Flagler, Florence, Florissant, Fort Collins, Fort Garland, Fort Lupton, Fort Morgan, Fountain, Fountain, Fowler, Foxfield, Franktown, Fraser, Frederick, Fruita, Gardner, Genoa, Gill, Glendale, Glenwood Springs, Golden, Granada, Granby, Grand Junction, Greeley, Green Mountain Falls, Greenwood Village, Grenada, Grover, Gunnison, Gypsum, Hasty, Haxtun, Henderson, Hesperus, Highland Ranch, Holly, Hooper, Hotchkiss, Hudson, Hygiene, Idledale, Ignacio, Johnstown, Kersey, Kiowa, Kirk, Kittredge, Kremmling, La Jara, La Junta, La Veta, Lafayette, Lake City, Lakewood, Lamar, Laporte, Larkspur, Leadville, Litlteton, Lochbuie, Lone Tree, Longmont, Louisville, Louviers, Loveland, Lyons, Manassa, Mancos, Manitou Springs, Manzanola, Meeker, Mesa, Milliken, Milner, Minturn, Moffat, Molina, Monte Vista, Montrose, Monument, Morrison, Mosca, Mountain Village, Nederland, Niwot, Northglenn, Norwood, Oak Creek, Otis, Ouray, Ovid, Pagosa Springs, Palisade, Palmer Lake, Parker, Peyton, Pine, Placerville, Platteville, Pueblo, Pueblo West, Rand, Rangely, Red Cliff, Ridgway, Rifle, Rocky Ford, Rollinsville, Romeo, Roxborough, Rush, Rye, Saguache, Salida, San Luis, Sanford, Sedalia, Sheridan, Sherrelwood, Silt, Silverthorne, Snowmass Village, South Fork, Springfield, Standley Lake, Steamboat Springs, Sterling, Strasburg, Superior, Swink, Tabernash, Telluride, Thornton, Trinidad, Vail, Victor, Walden, Walsenberg, Welby, Wellington, Westcliffe, Westminister, Weston, Wheat Ridge, Whitewater, Windsor, Winter Park, Wolcott, Woodland Park, Wray, Yoder
Organizations supporting the 2013: Year of the Student Project as of January 30, 2013)
100 Black Men of Denver
4blackyouth.com
A+Angels Mentor Program, a program of East Angel Friends & Alumni Foundation
A/D Works Workforce Center
Adams County Education Consortium
Ameribuild Company
American Federation of Teachers Colorado
The Arc of Douglas and Arapahoe Counties
Asian Pacific Development Center
Aurora Chamber of Commerce
Autism Society of Colorado
The Bell Policy Center
Boulder Valley Gifted and Talented
Brignac Education Consulting
Club Z! Tutoring of the Greater Far North East and Aurora
Colorado Association of Black Professional Engineers
Colorado Association for Career and Technical Education
Colorado Association for Gifted and Talented
Colorado Association of Middle Level Education
Colorado Association of School Boards
Colorado Association of School Executives
Colorado Black Women for Political Action
Colorado BOCES Association
Colorado Chapter of ASPIRE
Colorado Children's Campaign
Colorado Council of Churches
Colorado Developmental Disabilities Council
Colorado Fiscal Institute
Colorado Progressive Coalition
Colorado Parent Teacher Association
Colorado Rural Schools Caucus
Colorado Senior Lobby
Colorado Seniors4Kids
Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition
Crested Butte Community School PTSA
The Crowley Foundation
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Denver Alumnae Chapter
Denver Council PTSA
Denver Institute for Urban Studies
Denver Scholarship Foundation
Devinny Elementary PTA (Jeffco)
District 51 Education Foundation (Mesa Valley)
District Twelve Educators’ Association
Diversity Dynamics Consulting LLC
Divine America
Douglas County Kid Campaign
Earth Force
Education Foundation of Eagle County
El Paso Council PTA
Every Child Matters Colorado
Friends of Jeffco Music
Get Smart Schools
Golden Music Center
Grassroots St. Vrain
Great Education Colorado
Great Futures Colorado Coalition
Greater Park Hill Community
Hackberry Hill Elementary PTA (Jeffco)
Heart and Hand Center
Hilltop Community Resources
Hulstrom Options K-8 PTA (Adams 12)
IB Connect, ThunderRidge HS
Impact on Education
Jeffco PTA
Jefferson County Administrators Association
Jefferson County Association for Gifted Children
Jefferson County Education Association
Jeffco School Classified Employees Association
Kandie Land Academy
League of Women Voters Colorado
League of Women Voters of Adams County
League of Women Voters of Larimer County
Martinez Elementary PTA (El Paso County)
Men Who Care, Inc.
Meiklejohn Elementary School PTA (Jeffco)
Mesa Valley Education Association
Mi Casa Resource Center
Mile High Japanese American Citizens League
Mitchell Elementary PTA (Jeffco)
Mountain BOCES
My Art Workshop
The National Center for School Engagement
North Arvada Middle PTA (Jeffco)
Open Door Youth Gang Alternatives
Our Kids, Your Kids Coalition
Padres y Jovenes Unidos
The Partnership for Families and Children
Pennock Parent Teacher Organization (Brighton 27J)
Prospect Valley Elementary PTA (Jeffco)
Rooney Ranch PTA (Jeffco)
Ryan Elementary PTA (Jeffco)
Second Creek Elementary PTO (Brighton 27J)
Semper Elementary PTA (Jeffco)
Shaffer Elementary PTA (Jeffco)
Shelton Elementary PTSA (Jeffco)
Silver Creek High School Leadership Academy
Sims-Fayola International Academy
Smart Cow Yogurt Bar
Stand for Children - Colorado
Strong Schools Coalition from Douglas Co.
Students 4 Our Schools
Students Making a Reliable Tomorrow (SMART)
Summer Scholars
Support School Libraries
Taxpayers for Public Education
Tennyson Center for Children
Thornton High School IB Parents Group
Through Christ Everything is Possible
Together Colorado
TreeViver
Tri County Youth Council (Jeffco, Cripple Creek, and Gilpin)
Tubman-Hilliard Global Academy
United States Student Association
Urban Colors Arts and Mentoring
Urban League of Metropolitan Denver
We Teach the Children
Women Informed Network
The YESS Institute
Together Colorado
You Can Begin Again
Young African Americans for Social and Political Activism
Youth Directions
Endorsing Board Resolutions (as of January 30, 2013)
Aurora Public School Board of Education
Denver Public School Board of Education
Boulder Valley School Board of Education
Brighton 27J School Board of Education
Calhan School District Board of Education
Campo RE-6 School Board of Education
Centennial R-1 School Board of Education
Center School District Board of Education
Colorado Commission on Higher Education
Colorado Mountain College
Colorado Springs District 11 Board of Education
Custer County School Board of Education
Eagle County School Board of Education
Englewood School Board of Education
Fowler R4J School Board of Education
Jefferson County School Board of Education
Holly School Board of Education
Mesa Valley School District 51 Board of Education
Monte Vista School Board of Education
New America School – Colorado
North Conejos School Board of Education
North Park School Board of Education
St. Vrain Valley School Board of Education
San Luis Valley BOCES
Sanford School Board of Education
South Routt School Board of Education
Steamboat Springs RE-2 Board of Education
Swink School Board of Education
Weld RE-1 School Board of Education
Weld RE-8 School Board of Education
