The head of the nation’s largest teachers union kicked off a back-to-school tour Monday by visiting a Denver school led by teachers rather than a principal.
The president of the National Education Association, Dennis Van Roekel, met with teachers at the Math and Science Leadership Academy before serving lunch to students. He also visited the Lake Intermediate Baccalaureate Middle School in Denver.
Van Roekel said that school is led by two teachers and served as a good starting point for his national tour looking at how teachers, parents and communities can help transform schools.
He also plans to visit St. Louis today before making stops in Columbus, Ohio; Tampa, Fla.; and San Antonio and Austin, Texas, this week.
Colorado’s branch of the NEA opposed a new state law that requires teacher tenure decisions to be tied to student performance, but Van Roekel said that’s not why he decided to visit Colorado.
Van Roekel, a former math teacher, earlier this year had been flown in to Denver to testify against the bill.
