LoginColorado Educator Preparation Innovation Coalition
Teachers are essential to supporting student success and developing the workforce of tomorrow. Colorado, however, is facing a severe shortage of teachers. According to the 2016 Legislative Educator Preparation Report, the number of individuals completing teacher training has declined more than 24 percent from 2010 through 2016. This alarming trend will leave Colorado schools — especially those in rural areas — at a severe disadvantage as they work to keep pace with the demands of Colorado’s students and economy. These dire straits, felt across the state and especially in rural districts, have moved policy makers to consider a wide range of short-term solutions.
The Opportunity
Keystone Policy Center (Keystone) pulled together experts and key stakeholders in education to explore new and innovative models and partnerships for educator preparation at all levels, from Early Childhood Education (ECE) through K-12, and the partnerships between preparers and districts to support the continuum of learning during formal teacher preparation and the first years of teachers’ careers.
Led by Keystone, the Colorado Educator Preparation Innovation Coalition (COEduPIC) is a collaborative effort that brings together stakeholders involved with the training, employment and support of new teachers together with educators, experts in the field, government leaders and business leaders to explore ways in which the teacher pipeline could be expanded and improved with attention to specific areas of need including ECE, STEM, diversity of the workforce and the differing needs of urban, suburban and rural schools.
The Coalition identified a series of pilot programs in Colorado to gather data to improve teacher preparation models. Our goal is to model and replicate exemplary practices that are scalable in teacher preparation in Colorado. By doing so, every school district will be given the tools to meet the specific needs of their teaching professionals, students, and community.
Pilots
Colorado Consortium of Residency Educators (CO-CORE)
This pilot is focused on determining the components of Teacher Residencies that serve as quality indicators of teacher effectiveness. CO-CORE is seeking to achieve a model and process for conducting statewide research on educator preparation providers, with a focus on the strengths of the residency model; develop best practices and critical elements of residencies; understand the resource needs to be sustainable; and, explore the processes educator preparation providers might consider in designing new residencies.
Scaling Residency Statewide
Experts from the National Center for Teacher Residencies (NCTR) and the Sustainable Funding Project (SFP) at Bank Street College highlighted a growing body of research that supports the need for “purposeful coordination between teacher preparation programs and the school districts with which they partner, tightly aligned curricula and field experiences, and extensive clinical practice [that] can improve teacher preparedness.” This pilot is centered on meeting those needs. This pilot will develop partnerships in rural and urban sites. The framework is contextualized to district, recruitment and retention needs.
District & University Induction Partnership
The first years of teaching are notoriously difficult. Teacher turnover has reached crisis levels in recent years, with nearly half of its teachers leaving after their third year of service. Research shows that high-quality, sustained induction can limit turnover. High-quality induction has two primary components: in-classroom instructional coaching and peer support networks. This pilot seeks to identify best practices and critical elements of induction; understand the resource needs to be sustainable; and, explore the processes in designing induction programs.
Grow Your Own
It is critical to close the racial, cultural, and ethnic gaps between the student body and teacher workforce. This pilot seeks to establish intentional pathways to prepare for and earn their initial license to teach, within the single school district host schools where teacher preparation bridges seamlessly into a process of induction and support. Additionally, this pilot seeks to identify high potential students and current non-certificated employees to allow them to earn their Initial Teacher Licensure, and ultimately fulfill vacancies within our highest needs schools.
Phase 2 of the initiative is focused on piloting recommendations and expanding COEduPIC’s scope to explore induction and early career support. Partners recruited through the CoEduPIC will be given needed autonomies for piloting innovations in educator preparation in exchange for being held to the accountability framework agreed to by the COEduPIC. Should exemptions be needed to obtain flexibility for pilot partners, COEduPIC will support members obtaining the necessary waivers. While the partners continue learning and sharing findings from the pilots, COEduPIC will invite additional district and school level partners to participate in an induction workgroup. This workgroup will examine research, share experiences and discuss best practices in teacher induction. The work will include an examination of opportunities to improve collaborations between educator preparation providers and employing schools, approaching induction and early career supports as part of an ongoing continuum of development and barriers to innovations or system change.
Reports
Click here to read the Coalition’s January 2017 report and recommendations.
Effective March 1, 2025, Thomas J. Vilsack, former United States Secretary of Agriculture and Governor of Iowa, became the first Chief Executive Officer for the World Food Prize Foundation. In this new role, Governor Vilsack is focusing on expanding the Foundation’s global network, and will further position the Foundation as a leader in addressing global food and nutrition insecurity, continuing his lifetime of public service.
Shelby Coffey III is a distinguished journalist, media executive, and thought leader whose career has helped shape the landscape of American news and public discourse. Over several decades, Coffey has held some of the most influential roles in journalism, including serving as editor of the Los Angeles Times, executive vice president of ABC News, and deputy managing editor of The Washington Post. His editorial leadership extended to key roles as president of CNN Financial News, editor of the Dallas Times Herald, and U.S. News & World Report.
Jerry Steiner has spent 40 years involved in agriculture following growing up on a Wisconsin dairy farm. He began his career with Monsanto, in multiple business leadership roles. From 2003-2013 he served as a member of the Executive team, as the company’s Executive Vice President of Sustainability and Corporate Affairs. He led the company’s global Government, Public and Industry Affairs teams across the 70 countries where Monsanto conducts business. This experience got Jerry connected to the Keystones centers work in agriculture. Key among his responsibilities were shaping the company’s public policy and building partnerships aimed at helping farmers around the world produce more food, while conserving valuable resources like water and energy. Two unique partnership that developed under his leadership were drought tolerant corn with 5 African countries, CIMMYT and the Gates foundation, and a building a sustainable business model in Brazil with the value chain leading to significant multi-company investment and soybean varieties that can protected themselves.
Jennifer Morris is the Chief Executive Officer of The Nature Conservancy, leading a team of nearly 6,000 staff working in more than 80 countries and territories tackling the dual crises of the 
Congressman Joe Neguse represents Colorado’s 2nd District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was elected to his first term in November 2018, becoming the first Black Member of Congress in Colorado history. In December 2022, Rep. Neguse was elected by his colleagues to serve as Chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC), becoming the first Coloradan to serve in a senior elected leadership role in the House in over 85 years. He serves on the Natural Resources and Judiciary Committees, and was also appointed by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to serve as one of four Democrats on the prestigious Rules Committee. Rep. Neguse serves as Ranking Member on the House Subcommittee on Federal Lands, which he previously Chaired in the 117th Congress.
Llewellyn King was born in Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. He went into journalism as soon as he turned 16, stringing for Time magazine and United Press in Africa.
Steven Williams is the Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo North America, overseeing a more than $48 billion business that spans PepsiCo’s Foods and Beverage operating units. His leadership encompasses more than 125,000 associates and over 900 locations across the U.S. and Canada. Steven joined PepsiCo in 2001 as part of PepsiCo’s acquisition of the Quaker Oats Company, which he joined in 1997, and has held leadership positions of increased responsibility since.