Ensuring a Quality Education

What We  Believe

Whether you are a current or aspiring school board member, a parent wanting to dive deep in what your kids are learning or a concerned citizen who wants to understand whether your tax dollars are producing quality schools, this study is a must-read. 

Dr. Scheffel, who served on the State Board of Education for 15 years and is Dean of the School of Education at Colorado Christian University, says it is imperative that curricula be evaluated for quality because a strong curriculum is more impactful on educational success than many other education reform measures. 

She offers a unique and accessible assessment tool to help readers first identify and understand their own educational philosophy, which, she argues, helps frame critically important discussions about priorities and expectations for learning within local schools. 

The heart of the study gives you tools to not only obtain curricula from your local school district but how to evaluate curriculum quality and determine whether it contains the goals, methods, meaning and content to provide a quality education. 

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Meet the Author

Dr. Debora L. Scheffel

Dr. Debora Scheffel serves as the CUS Dean of the School of Education at Colorado Christian University. She earned a PhD in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, and completed a National Institutes of Mental Health post-doctoral fellowship in cognitive science at the University of California, San Diego. Her research interests are in education reform policy, reading, and oral language development and disabilities in children. She is currently serving a second 6-year term as a member of the Colorado State Board of Education representing Colorado’s 4th Congressional District. She is passionate about quality education and providing a range of available educational options for all children.

At Advance Colorado, we believe in an education system that puts Colorado parents and students first through a system that emphasizes:

At the heart of Colorado’s school system is school choice, in which our state has been a national trailblazer for decades. – a system that has enjoyed deep, bipartisan support.

What We  Do

We craft cutting edge policies that empower parents, taxpayers, and teachers and push back on the status quo interests that resist reform. 

Our 2024 Policy Agenda includes several important education reform priorities. Read it HERE

This year, we are leading the charge to protect the school choice rights we currently have – rights that are annually under siege from the education establishment groups that want to eliminate your right to choose the best school for your children. We can secure our rights into the future through a school choice amendment to the Colorado Constitution. 

Read our policy brief on this important issue HERE.

What You Can Do

We help citizens become advocates and leaders.

Whether you are a concerned parent, grandparent or taxpayer, Advance Colorado can equip you with the knowledge and tools to be an effective advocate for high quality, accountable schools. Learn more about our ambassador program.

And if you are interested in running to become a member of your local school board, you can apply to participate in the Advance Colorado Academy New Leader program. LINK If you are a current school board member, you can enroll in our “You’ve Won, Now What?” program. Learn more about our “You’ve Won, Now What?” program.

Our Model Local Policy Team

Yazmin NavarroState Board of Education

Fellow in Education Reform

Rep. Rose PuglieseState Representative

Fellow in Local Government

Dr. Debora ScheffelDean & Professor, School of Education

Fellow in Education Reform

Michael FieldsPresident of the Institute

Kristi Burton BrownInstitute Executive Vice President

Michael TsogtPolicy Analyst

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Colorado is a special place with special people. For too long, leaders have stood by while liberal special interest groups and politicians have turned Colorado into a testing ground for some of the most liberal policies and plans in the nation.