As Colorado commissioner of education, I often speak on behalf of the department staff. At other times, I carry messages from my employers, the State Board of Education. Today I speak in no official capacity, but as somebody who cares deeply about the education and welfare of Colorado students.
With the announcement that Denver Public Schools Superintendent Michael Bennet has been selected to fill the remaining term of U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, my message is straightforward: It’s a great day for Colorado.
Given his experience with DPS, Bennet will be a strong and credible advocate for education reform.
Bennet has been a voice for healthy change. He has successfully managed one of the most innovative teacher pay plans in the country, ProComp, which links student achievement to compensation. Recently, teachers overwhelmingly approved a significant shift in how the ProComp money is distributed among their ranks.
Bennet worked hard to make the community more aware of the heavy costs of operating under-enrolled schools. He has redefined DPS by cultivating and developing new ideas to school design and school choice, whether those ideas are from trained educators, independent thinkers, charter schools or commercial enterprises. The district has developed a strong portfolio of school choice.
Under Bennet’s leadership, DPS introduced the School Performance Framework as a means of evaluating school performance by looking at the growth rates of academic achievement. The School Performance Framework clearly signals to schools that the district takes into account each student’s starting point but also holds schools accountable for adding value to each child’s learning experience. DPS and the state of Colorado worked in tandem on this project, now known as the Colorado Growth Model.
Bennet is a firm believer in offering students multiple pathways for success. He knows that students progress at different paces and with different interests and that not all children move seamlessly from kindergarten to a high school diploma. He understands that school systems, particularly those in the urban setting, must demonstrate flexibility to meet the real-life needs of students and families today.
He has made significant improvements in how the district provides professional development to teachers and he has worked to strengthen the teaching talent by being open to instructional talent beyond those with formal teacher training.
Superintendent Bennet has presented the community each year with an increasingly detailed budget, stating how the district’s priorities are deployed. In part, this kind of transparency and trust led to the passage of a $454 million bond in 2008.
Enrollment in DPS is up and achievement rates are trending in a positive direction too, perhaps largely attributable to the district’s clear messages to staff, students and the community at large. On his watch, DPS gains in state assessments exceeded the state average gains in 10 tests in reading and writing and all but two tests in math.
In the recent “Benchmarking for Success: Ensuring U.S. Students Receive a World-Class Education,” a panel examined what qualities high school graduates will need to be successful in the knowledge-based economy of the 21st century. The report made a key point, that the path to improvement involves “being humble enough to admit that someone else has a better a process.”
From my view, Michael Bennet exemplifies the qualities needed of a leader today. As somebody who came to the stewardship of DPS having never taught a class, Bennet demonstrated in a very short time a keen ability to listen, to learn and to advocate successfully for major and meaningful reforms.
He has demonstrated expertise in a range of public and private leadership positions. His willingness to stretch beyond the familiar, coupled with his efforts to open DPS to new ideas and fresh thinking, convinces me that he will represent Colorado extremely well in the U.S. Senate.
Dwight D. Jones is the Colorado commissioner of education.
