04771FEECCF9765D87258366007532BD Hearing Summary

Senator Hill invited the presenters from the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) up to the table.  Dr. Katy Anthes, Commissioner of Education, spoke about the responsibilities of the department.  Her presentation can be found online here: http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/cde_smart_act_presentation_december_2018.pdf.  Dr. Anthes spoke about several of the department's activities and successes in 2018 and discussed the department's strategic plan, which can be accessed here: http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/cde_fy19_performance_plan.pdf.  She discussed the accountability clock process and stated that 55 percent of schools came off the clock in 2017.  When a school is "on the clock," that school is considered to be in priority improvement or turnaround status.

Dr. Anthes answered questions from the committee about the department's success in helping turnaround and priority improvement schools come "off the clock."  She also talked about the department's goals around postsecondary readiness, including 4-year, 5-year, and 6-year high school graduation rates and concurrent enrollment programs.

Dr. Anthes also spoke about historically under-served populations, the percentage of students currently reading at grade level by third grade, and students identified as having significant reading deficiencies.  She discussed the need to close the achievement gaps for historically under-served student populations and strategies to recruit and retain high-quality teachers, to support high quality principals, and to expand pathways for students.

Dr. Anthes answered questions from the committee. Committee discussed ensued.