Issues
Support Early Childhood Education. The research is in on ECE and every dollar we spend on quality early childhood education saves five dollars down the road in social services, especially if provided to low income children and English second language learners. Quality ECE programs provide the best preparation and safeguard for our students to succeed in school. Equity in education should lead us to expand early childhood education options in the Metro area and across the State.
Support excellence in teaching. I’ve taught most of my life helping future teachers prepare for the classroom. Every student deserves a quality teacher and every teacher deserves the support and respect of the community. Young teachers need longer mentoring periods, including internships with experienced master teachers and in school teaching supervisors to ensure that they learn best practices and can apply these skills to the classroom. We need to continually use a range of evaluating support systems in the classroom and quickly provide teachers with feedback on how they can improve their skills and become effective teachers. Research shows that keeping experienced teachers in the classroom is a far better and more economical practice, saving money in the long run. Replacing experienced teachers is irresponsible, costly and harmful to our students. The latest research studies show that it takes three to five years for most teachers to reach their stride in this profession. We need to stop the ceaseless firing and opportunistic removal of experienced teachers in the Denver Public Schools and other districts across Colorado. Ensuring every student has quality, experienced teachers is the first step to closing the achievement gap.
I oppose the corporatization and privatization of our public education system and high stakes testing. These practices benefit vendors and major corporations – not our students. We must ensure classroom time is quality learning time which gives every student the best chance possible to succeed. We must put a stop to the radical privatization Douglas County has started and ensure other districts across the state do not follow suit.
Finally, we must support our free public schools and make sure that this beacon of democracy is not sold to the highest bidder on Wall Street. Every child should have the right to attend their neighborhood public school.
Issues | Dr. Val Flores for State Board of Ed http://bit.ly/1nS25tj
About Val
Hello! My name is Dr. Valentina Flores, (Val to many of you) and I am running for the Colorado State Board of Education in District 1.First and foremost, I am an educator who has worked in education for 43 years. With a background as a public school teacher, an education policy analyst, a curriculum development and implementation professional, and professor at several universities, I am uniquely qualified to bring my 43 years of experience to the Colorado State Board of Education.
I’ve dedicated my life to education. In my professional life, I earned a Master’s degree in Education, Reading and Early Childhood, and a Doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction, ESL, Bilingual, Multicultural Education, teaching elementary school students and then using that experience to teach future educators at the University of Colorado at Boulder, the University of Northern Colorado, and other institutions. I have also worked with testing services and advised districts on best practices for practical, useful testing – not high stakes testing that doesn’t add to the educational process.
I support free public education because it is a hard fought for right protected by the US Constitution. Free public education is essential to the development and maintenance of our democratic society. In free public schools, we are taught the ideals of an inclusive United States of America, where we respect the rights of all individuals to fulfill their potential in our society, no matter the color, creed or religion.
In the past ten years, right here in Denver, in Jefferson County, in Arapahoe, and in Douglas County, we have steadily undermined this beacon of equity – public schools. Many of us have bought into the “reform movement” ideology as a necessary step in improving public education. But I ask you, where is the education excellence for all? While there is a place for charter and innovation schools, we must not allow these “reforms” to continue to undermine our commitment to traditional public education offerings. As in all things, we need a balance that provides the best opportunities for all children in Colorado.
I oppose big money and corporatization in our public education system. I oppose high stakes testing that takes away valuable classroom learning time. I oppose a “reform” model that is slowly privatizing our public education system. We cannot allow free public education to be traded on NASDAQ and sold to the highest bidder.
We have a large amount of work to do to bring our public school system up to the levels of excellence necessary for the twenty first century. We can get there by studying and applying the best practices available, by including our communities in the conversation about the education process, and by holding true to the values of a free public education system for all.
I have 43 years of experience in our public school education, curriculum development and implementation, testing, research and policy analysis required for this brave new world in public school education. I ask for your support for the Colorado State Board of Education in District 1 to serve you and the children who are our future.
About Val | Dr. Val Flores for State Board of Ed http://bit.ly/1nS2agB