At last week's member breakfast there was a great deal of discussion and passion around the importance of ensuring that Colorado businesses have an educated workforce, and how at the very elementary level - no pun intended - that ties back to ensuring Colorado children learn to read.
That simple premise is the basis of HB11-1238 - "Early Literacy Act" (Massey-Johnston), which focuses on providing teachers, principals, school districts - and, most importantly, parents - with additional intervention opportunities and tools as early as kindergarten, to ensure Colorado's future workforce is reading at a proficient level by third grade.
Why is third grade so important, and why should business care?
- Because nearly 90 percent of high school dropouts nationwide could not read at grade level by the end of third grade.
- Because 8 to 10 percent of Colorado's third graders are currently functionally illiterate.
- Because here in Colorado, dropouts from the high school class of 2009 will cost $4.5 billion in lost wages over their lifetime.
- Because Colorado has the highest achievement gap between white and minority students in the nation, and by 2021 children of color will represent a majority of students in our state.
- Because when a Colorado student graduates and goes on to college, but isn't proficient in reading, as taxpayers we pay twice: once for the students' K-12 education, and again to remediate them in our community college system.
None of this makes good business sense, and none of this ensures the workforce we need for the 21st Century.
Colorado Concern, along with the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce and our friends in the education reform community, has been actively engaged in crafting HB11-1238. Click here to download a fact sheet on the bill. The simple goal: provide our children with all the tools necessary to "learn to read," which will prepare them to "read to learn" and thus become strong and contributing members of the Colorado community.
If you agree that preparing our future workforce is critical to Colorado's economic future, join with other business leaders from across the state by signing up in support of HB11-1238. Your voice matters. Education Coalition Sign Up.
The House Education Committee hearing on this legislation has been scheduled for Feb. 29. If you are interested in attending the hearing, or would like to testify in support of the bill, please let me know.
A reminder: Our monthly meeting with Senate Leadership is scheduled from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. this Wednesday, Feb. 15. If you have not registered, please do so here. This is an opportunity for you to come and share any areas of interest or concern with our state's elected leaders and hear their thoughts on how the legislative session is progressing to date. House Leadership meetings are next week, and by clicking on the link above you can sign up to attend those meetings, as well.
Additionally, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Thursday, March 15, at the Carriage House at the Governor's Residence is our Annual Member Luncheon with Governor Hickenlooper. We hope you can join us, and urge you to R.S.V.P. here.
As a follow-up to last week's update, Representative Laura Bradford (R-Callahan) has been cleared of any wrongdoing by the House Ethics Committee empaneled to review her response to being stopped by Denver Police late last month. Speaker Frank McNulty has reinstated her committee chairmanship, and it appears she will remain a member of the Republican Caucus.
As always, our current legislative status sheet and news clips of interest are included below.
If you have questions, concerns or feedback, please do not hesitate to contact me at 303.860-1201, or tamra@coloradoconcern.com.
Warm Regards,
