Common Assignment Study and Teacher Effectiveness in Colorado

The connection between teachers and students is at the heart of learning. Our work focuses on ensuring that all teachers have the goals, skills and tools to form and strengthen that powerful bond with their students. The first step in doing that is asking teachers what works and what they need to strengthen the teacher-student bond—and then trusting and listening to what they tell us.

With states and districts implementing new academic standards based on the Common Core State Standards, teachers have more opportunities than ever to collaborate around the shared goals of strengthening curriculum design, classroom practices, and student learning.

It has been thrilling from day one—in August of 2007—when I was hired as the director of the K-12 Education team. The team was given one year to assess the foundation’s work and propose a strategy for the next phase. We were given this advice:  when you take on a cause where government is spending a lot of money, philanthropy can make the biggest impact by finding a strategic lever that others are missing.