AV #307 - This 19-year-old can't wait to teach. Let's hope there are more like her!

Thanksgiving issue – November 2026 

“Those who educate children well are more to be honored than they who produce them;

for these only gave them life, those the art of living well.”  Aristotle

 

AV #306 showed the disturbing decline in the number of students enrolling in and                     completing traditional teacher preparation programs in Colorado since 2020.                                                                AV #307 gives a more hopeful picture.                                                                 For we still find young people like Kelly who feel they are called to teach.

    How many high school seniors do you meet who tell you they can’t wait to teach? Kelly is one of them. I won’t call her a unicorn. But I will call her an inspiration. How fortunate our children will be if more exceptional young people like her want to commit to a teaching career. 

   She helped lead a summer camp for young boys and girls during her high school years. We first chatted as she was about to begin 12^th grade in the Littleton Public Schools. She sensed that teaching might be her goal – and perhaps her gift.

   Senior year she enjoyed several classes at Littleton’s EPIC Campus – Explorative Pathways for Innovative Careers. She chose the pathway for Future Teachers, specifically the Early Childhood Education program. This included interning once a week at The Village School for Early Childhood 

We can learn from Kelly’s story. Let’s find ways to enable more high school students to tutor younger boys and girls. After 12th grade, Kelly was so happy to have helped a child, unable to read in September, become a reader by May. Such rewarding experiences can lead one to say – I want to teach!

Education and at two elementary schools in Littleton. She also volunteered in schools and tutored several boys and girls. All of that while taking a rigorous academic program at Arapahoe High School. (I trust you are impressed already!)

   By spring she was certain. She applied and was accepted at the School of Education at the University of Oklahoma. She was thrilled.

   I have been eager to follow her story. We have talked a few times after her freshmen year and again this fall. Is the program all she hoped it would be? What is she discovering about the teaching life. Any second thoughts?

   No doubts at all. If anything she is even more enthusiastic. At the same time, her eyes are wide open. Few illusions about the demands of the job. Well aware that society today does not honor the profession. To Kelly, that doesn’t matter.

   “I know what I’m going into. I know teaching is not the best profession… so if I am treated badly,” she says, as if preparing herself for that possibility, “I also know that is what I signed up for.”

   “I hear a lot about teacher burnout and pay concerns, but I know there’s nothing I’d rather do than to be working with kids.”

   She doesn’t pretend it will be easy. She sounds determined not to let the downsides of this profession stand in her way, to be a teacher who is able to dismiss much of the negative noise, and to do her very best by her students.

   “I’m an optimist. I won’t let these things get me down.”

   “Teachers want to be teachers solely for the opportunity of loving kids. This is what gives me peace about what I want to do.” 

   I ask how she views teaching in a public school versus a private school.

   “I want to be in public education. That is where they need the best teachers right now.”

   “My role is to teach these kids to the best of my ability. If you want to work with kids, the money isn’t the best, but it’s what I’m passionate about.”

 

Her faith

   She has spoken of her faith. I ask her about its connection to her sense of mission.

   “Yes, faith is a driving force behind my motivation. This is what God is calling me to do. It’s why l’m not anxious as I enter this profession. I think God will put me where I’m supposed to be.”

   “I know God is in control and He will take care of the rest.”

 

What she is learning about the state of teaching

   She is surprised to hear about so many teachers leaving the profession.

   “I’m not hearing of many successful teachers.”

   “There’s a lack of resources and support for teachers. It’s really sad. People with a passion and talent for teaching, they’re getting so burnt out.”

   I ask what she thinks is the cause. 

   “I think tech plays a role in all this … Kids are having a hard time …” The omni-present technology, as she sees it, “is not healthy for the developing brain, for the social/emotional health of the boy or girl. It has a huge effect on kids’ behavior.”

   That perspective makes her wary of bringing a lot of technology to her classroom when she becomes a teacher.

   “I know the technology is a really good resource for some teachers,” she says, but she is not eager to see her young students sitting in front of a screen. “I want kids to physically write and physically read …”

 **

  COMMENT: Technology played a huge role in the K-12 education Kelly and her classmates experienced. Older folks might fear that’s the model they might wish to replicate. How encouraging to hear a member of Generation Z determined to create a classroom that will not depend on laptops on the desk of every 7-year-old. As a college freshman, Kelly wrote several papers on the role of technology in schools, perhaps a way to articulate what her ideal classroom will look like.

 

Children’s well-being – and how public education is perceived and supported

   But her concerns go beyond technology. It is a larger anxiety about how young boys and girls are doing, with their academic skills as well as with their social and emotional development.

   “I worry about the kids who were infants during Covid. They didn’t have any interaction; they didn’t leave the house.”

   Overall, what she has seen with elementary students, as a tutor and as a volunteer in schools, leads her to this conclusion:

   “I don’t believe we’re setting these kids up to succeed as adults."

   “Education needs a lot more attention. A good education sets you up for the rest of your life.”

   “I’m not sure why [education] is not getting the attention it deserves. It upsets me that children’s education is put last…  Education needs to be a much bigger priority than it is.”

What's ahead

  As a sophomore this fall, Kelly is taking several classes that are designed for future teachers: elementary math, world geography, and world culture among them. She tells me, “I love all the professors I’ve had this year.” She feels they are preparing her well.

   At the same time, she remains terribly eager to be get into the classroom. She is wiser than many of us were – “I know there’s so much I have to learn” – aware that it is in the doing, in teaching, where we figure out what does and does not work.

  The sequence ahead sounds impressive. Next semester, observations in one classroom. Junior year, working in classrooms quite frequently. Senior year, in a classroom five days a week, teaching lessons, being mentored by her lead teacher.  

   She can’t wait.

  “I’m so excited to start!”                             

How fortunate

   AV #306 highlighted the large decline, in Colorado, in enrollment in elementary education programs. Kelly would love to begin her career with first or second graders. (Some far-sighted school should sign her up now for the fall of 2029!!)

   A million best wishes to Kelly.

   How fortunate we will be to find more young men and women like her, eager to give their all, determined to MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES of the boys and girls they will teach.

   And, again, how fortunate those children will be!

Aurora Central High and Abraham Lincoln no longer “on the clock.” Why? Part 1. Open Letter to Colorado State Board of Education

 

Open Letter to members of the Colorado State Board of Education                                              

Oct. 26, 2026

 

Aurora Central High and Abraham Lincoln no longer “on the clock.” Why? Part 1.

   On the morning of Oct. 14, 2026, the State Board received a progress monitoring update on schools with Board Directed Action from the Colorado Department of Education’s Improvement and Innovation Division.

   In the afternoon five CDE staff members gave an update: “CDE Strategic Plan 2026-2027: Accelerating Student Outcomes – Literacy.”

   On literacy, what a difference! A huge disconnect between what was not discussed in the morning and what was said in the afternoon on the reading and writing scores of our students.

   For this reason, I am sending you some of the information CDE staff did not show you on the literacy results in two schools for whom the Board bears a special responsibility. Without this information, how well can you assess the schools’ progress? (The Improvement and Innovation team had this data for the high schools; I sent it to them on September 1. See closing paragraph.)

Protesting narrative about “40% can’t read” - and a look at schools with Board Directed Action

   As she has done in the past, Board member Kathy Plomer zeroed in on what it means for students who score at Approached versus Met Expectations on the literacy portion of CMAS. Scoring at Approached, CDE staff affirmed, does not mean a student cannot read. Plomer wants this to be well understood. “As a parent,” Plomer said, “I need to know that my kid is okay.”  

  “And that’s where I get concerned,” she continued, “with … the narrative that 40% of our students can’t read. That isn’t right.” No, she insisted, what it means is that “40% did not meet these bands, but they are meeting most of the objectives…. the more we keep saying that, from this dais, from this department, the more we’re telling people some inaccurate information … “

  This matters, Plomer concluded, “not to give false comfort, but to talk accurately about what our kids know and are able to do.”[i] (Transcription mine. I apologize for any errors.)

   Agreed – Let’s talk accurately. Are these kids okay?

   When speaking for the big picture, across the state, Plomer has a point. However, on Oct. 14, no one present acknowledged

“Can’t read.” Others can explain to what extent these scores reflect poor reading and writing skills. CDE’s definition of Partially Met and Did Not Yet Meet on CMAS indicate a performance well below grade level.[i]

that such concerns do not apply to the K-8 schools and the one district (Adams 14) on Board Directed Action, the very subject of the morning session. At these schools, 40% might UNDERSTATE the problem. At these schools, over 50% - in one case over 80% - of students do not score at Exceeds, or at Meets, or at Approaches, on CMAS. I hope this sinks in: The majority scored at Partially Met or Did Not Yet Meet Expectations. (See chart 1, below.)

   And no one said a word about the fact that on the reading and writing portion of the PSAT/SAT last year, at all five high schools/programs (see Aurora Central Campus[iii]) that have been, or are on, Board Directed Action, the majority of students did not score at Exceeds, at Meets, or at Approaches. (For the PSAT/SAT, there are only four performance levels.) The majority scored at the lowest performance level: Did Not Yet Meet Expectations.[iv] (See chart 2, below.)

K-8 – CMAS – Literacy – for 5 schools and one district with Board Directed Action

Percentage of students in grades 3-8 scoring at the two lowest performing levels on the literacy portion of CMAS in 2026. At schools and a district with Board Directed Action, as of Oct. 14.

Chart 1	Did Not Yet Meet Expectations	Partially Met Expectations	Total % scoring in lowest two performance levels
North Middle (APS)	51.4%	29.0%	80.4%
Central Elem. (Adams 14)	35.3%	34.8%	70.1%
Aurora Hills Middle (APS)	38.6%	27.2%	65.8%
ADAMS 14 (district)	32.2%	27.5%	59.7%
Risley School of Exploration (Pueblo 60)	34.6%	23.5%	58.1%
Galileo Middle (Col Springs)	28.0&	37.1%	55.1%
STATE AVERAGE	14.5%	16.8%	31.3%

 

9-11- PSAT/SAT – reading and writing – for 5 high schools with Board Directed Action

Chart 2	Did Not Yet Meet Expectations	Number of students who DNY Meet	Approached Expectations	Met/Exceeded Expectations
Aurora Central High (APS)	61.9%	583	14.6%	23.5%
Abraham Lincoln High (DPS)	58.7%	276	14.9%	26.4%
Gateway High (APS)	55%	491	17.3%	27.7%
Adams City High (Adams 14)	54.1%	533	18.2%	27.8%
Mitchell High (Col Springs)	50.8%	192	17.5%	31.7%
STATE AVERAGE	22.5%	2,075	14.1%	63.4%

    At four of these high schools, the percentage scoring Did Not Yet Meet was over twice the percentage scoring Met/Exceeded. Is it now clear why these are numbers the State Board must have and needs to consider when determining what “progress” at these schools really means?

   In early September, I sent CDE a nine-page summary of 2026 data on the high schools on Board Directed Action.[v] It included the data above showing how many students at each school scored at the lowest level on literacy—and much more about the schools’ performance last year. I hoped it would inform the Progress Monitoring Update. None of this information reached you on Oct. 14. Another reason for this Open Letter, and one that will follow, in the belief it is information you should have.

   And another reason to question why, as CDE reported to you on Oct. 14, Aurora Central High School and Abraham Lincoln High School “fully exited Performance Watch and will no longer be progress monitored by the department.”

Respectfully yours,

Peter Huidekoper, Jr.

Parker, CO

peterhdkpr@gmail.com

Endnotes

---

[i] Video of State Board of Education meeting on Oct. 14, 2026, https://ed.cde.state.co.us/cdeboard/watchlive

[ii] “Performance Levels and Policy Claims,” Colorado Measures of Academic Success, Colorado Department of Education Claims

Partially Met Expectations - Students who demonstrate a limited command of the concepts, skills, and practices embodied by the Colorado Academic Standards assessed at their grade level. They will need additional academic support to engage successfully in further studies in this content area.

Did Not Yet Meet Expectations - Students who do not yet meet academic expectations for the concepts, skills, and practices embodied by the Colorado Academic Standards assessed at their grade level. They will need extensive academic support to engage successfully in further studies in this content area.  https://www.cde.state.co.us/assessment/cmas_perflvl_plcclms 

[iii] The Colorado Department of Education gives the two programs or schools on the “Campus” one school code. Another View #301 explained why this makes little sense and enables the high school to escape true accountability. 2026 results for grade 9-11 at the high school versus results for grades 3-8 at the Burrell Arts K-8 reinforce my point in AV#301: “‘Combining’ results in the School Performance Framework obscures the simple truth: the two programs produce enormously different student outcomes. If CDE won’t classify them as two distinct schools, their results tell a different story.”  

[iv] CDE’s definition - Level 1 - Did Not Yet Meet Expectations

·        Students performing at this level may minimally approach the academic expectations for the knowledge, skills and practices known to be most relevant for success in college and careers contained in the assessed high school Colorado Academic Standards.

https://ed.cde.state.co.us/assessment/sat-psat/educator-score-reports

[v] My email: Subject: “A look at 2026 results at six high schools.” Sent to CDE staff and copied to Commissioner Susana Córdova, Sept. 1, 2026.

Follow up to Another View on the three high schools

AV #296 - These 4,500 high school students deserve something better  

Three low-performing high schools, with rarely seen numbers/graphs

A learning gap? More like a learning chasm

and to my look at six low-performing high schools. (In 2025: Four were on Priority Improvement, two were not. On the 2026 Preliminary SPF: two are on PI, Gateway and Thornton; four are not.)

#301 - When school performance ratings lose their credibility

With 2026 data in, I wanted to take a look and pass on what I see. Having been critical of some reporting and decisions by CDE related to last year’s results, I thought I should study the latest results for these high schools and share my observations. Better to send this to you ahead of time rather than after your updates to the Board.