This story by Jason Gonzales was originally published by Chalkbeat Colorado on July 24, 2024. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters
As the newly-elected chair of the National Governors Association, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis will spend the next year collaborating with fellow elected officials to improve education and workforce connections across states.
The governors association appointed Polis to a one-year term as chair on July 12. Every president chooses one topic to tackle that will help create bipartisan policy solutions and raise awareness on pressing issues.
His plan — called “Let’s Get Ready: Educating All Americans for Success” — will release a roadmap for governors to follow so they can bolster the workforce and help more residents secure jobs.
The plan is to collaborate with educators, parents, students, researchers, and community and business leaders to create the blueprint.
“As the world changes and technology evolves, ensuring all students graduate with the skills and knowledge necessary for success is so important for U.S. economic competitiveness,” Polis said in a news release about his appointment to the governors board. “Our initiative will explore how to better evaluate outcomes from state investments in education, and help drive improved outcomes for learners at all stages of their education journey.”
The Polis administration has focused on aligning education with the needs of the economy.
Colorado has nearly two job openings for every unemployed person. Yet there’s often a mismatch between the skills residents have and the requirements of certain jobs.
This year, Polis and state lawmakers approved a package of laws aimed at overhauling the state’s workforce education system, with the goal of connecting more residents to careers in in-demand, higher-paying fields.
Polis has also advocated for the “Big Blur,” a concept aimed at making the transition from high school to college seamless so students graduate with the skills needed for specific jobs.
The roadmap will be published at the end of Polis’ term on the governors association. To come up with the plan, lawmakers will use data to study:
- What students need to know at each stage of their educational journeys to achieve success in life and maintain the nation’s competitiveness
- How states measure outcomes to ensure that education systems are effective
- Whether states can reallocate resources and change policies and practices to better prepare residents for jobs, and what measures are needed to create accountability.
Past chairs of the National Governors Association have focused on issues such as transportation, civility, mental health, and education. Most recently in 2021, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson spearheaded a campaign around K-12 computer science education.
Jason Gonzales is a reporter covering higher education and the Colorado legislature. Chalkbeat Colorado partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage. Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.