"I want to ask you to consider finding a viable, long-term solution to school funding."-Jess Noffsinger Colorado recently had a blue wave as we elected the most democratic state government in a generation. This made me realize that it was an important opportunity to change how education in Colorado is funded and I vowed to write a letter to our new governor, Jared Polis. A few days after the election, Chalkbeat Colorado asked readers what we wanted the governor to know, so I wrote my letter to him and submitted it there as well. Guess what? It was published. So, here is what I asked:
I want to ask you to consider finding a viable, long-term solution to school funding. The approved text for my science class was approved the same year my students were born. We have not had money to adopt newer texts. My books do not address gravitational waves, Pluto is still listed as a planet, and climate change is barely mentioned. Students in my classroom have never lived in a world without an iPhone. They crave technology in learning, but with current funding levels we are unable to provide students with enough devices to access on a daily basis. We are looking at sharing devices or passing this cost on to families. All 440 students in our school are serviced by one amazing counselor, but as we expand next year, this ratio will continue to go up. My students have lived in a world of trauma. Since they started kindergarten, there have been 188 school shootings nationwide. Parents have deployed to Afghanistan, and teen suicide rates have risen. They need more support! My students have never participated in middle school sports or outdoor education, and have seen average class sizes slowly increase. With the defeat of Amendment 73, future opportunities will continue to be a juggling act for our system as we try to equip students with the needed skills to be successful in the future. Please work with the legislature to find an answer. — Jess Noffsinger, eighth-grade science and engineering teacher at the STEM Lab School in Northglenn I was shocked how quickly this made its rounds. Within moments of being published, it had been shared by no less than 10 other teacher to my feed with a thank you. The next day, someone at Luke's work I had never met talked to him about it. It was an amazing opportunity to use my teacher voice to ask for what my students need. Here is hoping this is a first step, not a final step, to using my teacher voice to advocate in a positive way. Want to see what other teachers had to say? Click this Link to Chalkbeat Colorado Article
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AuthorAlmost 40 and tired of the treadmill, I am going to LIVE each day as a new adventure while finishing todo items on my life list. Mom, wife, teacher, geek! Archives
May 2020
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