September 2006

Women For Education is pleased to announce our membership in The Colorado Schools First Coalition, a group of leading education organizations that have joined in an unprecedented, non-partisan effort to bring public education to the fore in the public debate in 2006 and continuing that dialogue in 2007 and beyond. Some of the other members are Great Education Colorado, NAACP, NW Parents for Excellent Schools, Colorado Association for Gifted and Talented. For a complete list of members, and for information about their community forums, see www.coloradoschoolfirst.org

The Colorado Schools First Coalition will add value, sustainability and capacity to grassroots pro-education networks within Colorado. Colorado Schools First will help articulate community education priorities and hold officials accountable to these priorities and their promises.

---

From the Executive Director, Celeste Archer

School is Out for Summer
June 2006

In the past few weeks and months we’ve been hearing a lot about graduations and graduation speeches – meant to send the newly educated on to the next step in their life’s journey. I was part of the pomp and circumstance of Denver East’s graduation, where I was treated to incredible wisdom from graduating seniors I’d known and taught as ninth graders. One of these speakers was labeled as “unsatisfactory” in ninth and tenth grade. As a graduating senior, her wisdom was timely, profound and clever. She is a testament to a good and appropriate use of the public system and the “village” that surrounds her. She is a rebel who thumbed her nose at the labels and we should/can all be thrilled to have her as a member of our adult community.

One of my favorite parts of the nightly news during this time is when they show snippets from university and college graduation speeches around the country. Justice Anthony Kennedy’s snippet was “It isn’t rocket science.” He said this after he, with what looked like tear-filled eyes, implored his audience to acknowledge some incredibly tragic world circumstances, especially in regard to treatment of women and children. What he was saying isn’t rocket science was coming together as a world village to work toward eliminating and solving these very real and unimaginable atrocities.

On a smaller scale, the same can be said for our local education communities. I have a cousin who has been a superintendent in small rural school districts for as many years as I can remember. Several years ago we had a conversation where I shared with him all of the very cerebral ideas I had about education reform, with all of the failures of the current system. He listened patiently. Then in a moment of absolute succinctness from a scholar of many years, he replied, “It isn’t rocket science. You put good students with good teachers.” In his thinking, the rest takes care of itself. The challenge for urban districts is acknowledging that it really is that simple, while balancing the complex definition of “good student” and understanding the inherent diversity. But, it still boils down to the words of a Supreme Court Justice and a small town superintendent, it really isn’t rocket science.

Women For Education has evolved into an “ear to the ground” to offer support for those programs, ideas and innovations that address specific and small groups of students, educators and community activists who have simple but good and earnest plans for helping the system in its goals to bridge all of the gaps – whether academic or financial or communication. Once again, it isn’t rocket science. It doesn’t take experts, but empathizers and good workers, to understand and hear that each individual student comes from unique circumstances- but despite those circumstances, good or bad, with the right support they can succeed and excel. In a city with well over 70,000 members of the public school “village” alone – could there ever be enough of us “rocket scientists” engaged in this work?

As always, thanks for your support of Women For Education!
Celeste L. Archer
Director