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News & Events
"Group's goal is uncommon, Common Good's target is red tape entangling schools," Karen Abbott, Rocky Mountain News, April 1, 2006
The Rocky Mountain News reports that "[i]t can take months to suspend an unruly student from a public school in Colorado, and it can take more than a year to fire a bad teacher" according to new research done by Common Good Colorado. Common Good Colorado is the first state affiliate of a 4-year-old national organization, Common Good, and "its first target will be sorting out better ways for schools to get things done." Unveiling a chart showing the steps required to fire a Denver Public School teacher who refused to use the science textbooks required by the district or teach the required science curriculum, a process that took 27 months and cost the school district more than $87,000, Elaine Berman, former president of the Denver School Board and a director of Common Good Colorado, said "It wasn't always like this. This is the result of the past 20 or 30 years, where we've layered laws on top of one another."
CGC Board Members in the Denver Post, May 21, 2006
In a piece for the Denver Post, Common Good Colorado board members Elaine Gantz Berman and Jerry Wartgow discuss the impact that excessive bureaucracy and fear of litigation have had on Colorado’s public school system. They write: “Schools are increasingly over-burdened by rules and regulations that undermine the professional authority of teachers and principals to manage schools effectively. Something is seriously awry when teachers feel unable to take children on school trips for fear of being sued and when something as simple as hosting an after-school activity requires lengthy procedures and compliance measures to prevent liability.”
CGC Board Members on Independent Thinking, KBDI Channel 12 in Denver (Channel 32 in Colorado Springs), May 12 and 14, 2006
Common Good Colorado board members Elaine Gantz Berman and Jerry Wartgow recently appeared on Independent Thinking, a show on Colorado's public television station, to discuss problems with Colorado's current teacher tenure laws with host Jon Caldara. The show featured Common Good Colorado's chart depicting the many steps involved to remove an unsatisfactory teacher.
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