Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet today toured Holly’s new K-12 school building with former Governor Roy Romer. Holly is Governor Romer’s hometown.
During the tour, Bennet and Romer visited with students, teachers, and regional school officials, and discussed the unique challenges rural schools face, including limited resources and difficulty attracting teachers. The Holly School received a Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) grant from the Colorado Department of Education to construct the facility – which is LEEDS gold-certified – and better serve rural students.
“We’ve got to do everything we can to provide our kids with the highest quality education, no matter what zip code they live in,” Bennet said. “That includes supporting our rural teachers and school leaders with the tools and resources they need to meet the challenges their districts face head on.”
As a former superintendent of Denver Public Schools, Senator Bennet has been a champion for improving our education system with locally-driven ideas that empower teachers and principals. In June, during committee debate of the bill to fix No Child Left Behind, he introduced an amendment to create an office within the U.S. Department of Education that would ensure rural schools and districts have a voice during the rule-making and implementation process.
This event is part of Bennet’s tour of the Eastern Plains to highlight issues facing the region and discuss federal legislation that significantly affects rural Coloradans, including the bill to fix No Child Left Behind and the bipartisan immigration and farm bills.