Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter recently created two education task forces to help address and make recommendations for improving the state’s education system for K-12 students and to establish the state as a national education leader.
Two faculty members from DU’s Morgridge College of Education have been named to the task forces.
Greg Anderson, Morgridge dean, and Kent Seidel, associate professor of education, will make recommendations for increasing principal and teacher effectiveness and advancing services and programs targeted at young children and their families.
Anderson was appointed to the Early Childhood Leadership Commission to help the state improve early childhood services and ensure all young Coloradans are school ready. In February, Ritter signed an executive order creating the commission and making available $1.3 million in federal funds to support its work. The commission will help align policies and funding of services for health, mental health, early learning and family support for children through age 8.
Seidel was appointed to the Governor’s Council for Educator Effectiveness and will chair the Council’s Technical Advisory Group. In this position, he will serve as a point of contact as well as develop and maintain public records on the council’s research. Seidel currently chairs Morgridge’s P20 education programs and has extensive experience in researching educator quality and school reform. He has been involved in the development of models and approaches to better understand teacher effectiveness.
In addition to supporting K-12 initiatives, another Morgridge faculty member has been tapped for improvements in higher education.
Cheryl Lovell, professor of higher education, has been named chief academic officer for the state’s Department of Higher Education.