A new P-20 council in Colorado

Of the four executive orders that new Colorado governor (and new ECS chair) John Hickenlooper issued his first day in office earlier this week, one of them was to create a new P-20 council. The Governor's Education Leadership Council, which replaces the Governor's P-20 Education Coordinating Council created by former governor Bill Ritter, includes 17 specified members, and will be led by the lieutenant governor. This choice will perhaps provide some continuation of the council's previous work, as, in an interesting twist, the new lieutenant governor co-chaired the former council with the former lieutenant governor. The issues the council is charged with addressing resemble those the former council worked on--including school readiness, dropout prevention, and various aspects of postsecondary entry and completion.

Unlike the former P-20 council, which was largely comprised of K-12 and postsecondary practitioners from varied walks of life, the new council will include leaders of K-12 and postsecondary agencies/governing boards, as well as the chairs of the house and senate education committees. Interestingly, the new council will include at least two explicit early childhood representatives--the exec. dir. of the Early Childhood Leadership Commission (or designee) and at least one member representing an organization supporting or with expertise in infant health and development.