THURSDAY: GOV. RITTER TO SIGN COMPREHENSIVE EDUCATION REFORM PACKAGE

           

Tomorrow morning, Gov. Ritter will sign a comprehensive package of nine education-reform bills into law during a ceremony at Denver Public Schools' Career Education Center. The nine-bill package will help reduce Colorado's high school dropout rate; allow students to simultaneously earn a high school diploma and a college associate's degree; and better position the state to secure hundreds of millions of dollars in federal "Race to the Top" grant funds.

           

Prior to the signing ceremony, Gov. Ritter will tour the Career Education Center's technical education programs, where students will be working on "green" technologies and automotive repair. Students will demonstrate a robot built from scratch, a solar display, and a race car designed and built by students.

 

WHO:             Speakers at tomorrow's ceremony: Principal Randy Johnson, Lt. Gov. Barbara O'Brien, Education Commissioner Dwight Jones and Gov. Ritter. Legislative sponsors of the nine bills, State Treasurer Cary Kennedy and DPS Superintendent Tom Boasberg also will be attending and available to talk with reporters.

 

WHAT:          Open-press tour of Career Education Center, followed by signing ceremony, followed by media availability with legislative bill-sponsors in Room 108 (Culinary Arts Room).

 

WHERE:       Career Education Center, 2650 Eliot St., Denver. Media should park in the lot on the east side of the school at 27^th and Decatur.

 

WHEN:          Tour begins at 8:45 a.m., followed by signing ceremony at 9 a.m. Thursday, May 21, 2009.

 

THE BILLS:             HB 1319 (Merrifield & Massey/Williams & Heath) Colorado ASCENT (dual enrollment)

SB 123 (Williams/Todd), Healthy Choices Dropout Prevention

SB 282 (Sandoval & Spence/A. Kerr)  DPS Retirement PERA Merger

HB 1065 (Benefield/Spence), Education Identifier

                                                HB 1243 (Middleton & Massey/Bacon), Reducing High School Dropout Rate

                                                SB 090 (Hudak/Benefield/Merrifield), Parental Involvement

SB 160 (Hudak/Todd), Alternative Teacher Programs and Licensure

SB 163 Hudak/Middleton), Education Accountability System

                                    SB 256 (Romer & Bacon/Pommer & Scanlan), School Finance Act