Colorado Springs, CO – Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet made a visit to Lincoln Elementary School today, the first in a series of education events that will include school and classroom visits and roundtable discussion with teachers, principals and superintendents in Colorado and across the country to hear local ideas on how to improve public schools.
“If we are going to remain competitive in the global economy, we must fundamentally change public education in this country and ensure every child is prepared to succeed in college and compete in the 21st century economy,” Bennet said. “One of the things I learned as superintendent of Denver Public Schools is that the best ideas come from the ground up, not the other way around. This is where the real work of improving public education will get done, listening to teachers, students, principals and parents and ensuring that well intended policies don’t create barriers to success.”
At Lincoln, Bennet toured the school visiting classrooms and talking with students and teachers. He also met with school personnel and parents to listen to their ideas on how to fix No Child Left Behind to respond to and support the needs of those closest to students. Bennet plans to use the events to kick start conversations about how best to improve public education and to build consensus for reforms that will help revitalize our schools and prepare kids for success.
This tour is modeled after the approach Bennet took as superintendent of Denver Public Schools, where he scheduled daily meetings with teachers and principals, and members of the community—conversations that helped build consensus and support for the positive reforms he implemented at the district. Bennet believes that the best ideas come from outside of Washington and wants to bring the voices, ideas and aspirations of teachers, principals, parents and students to the U.S. Senate.
Lincoln Elementary is incorporated in Colorado Springs School District 11, which received a $15.17 million federal Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) grant in 2010. The district will use this funding to provide additional supports to ten schools including Lincoln Elementary to increase teacher effectiveness, recruitment, and retention.