Ah, September! The air is getting cooler, the leaves are changing color, and the kids are back at school. I love this time of year. My social media fills with first-day-of-school-photos; my morning includes a parade of kids heading up the street to our local middle school, and everything feels fresh, new, and somehow settled back into the routine of life. All seems well with the world. But is it?
When we look past the social media filters and shine of a new school year, we see that there is much work to be done to create the Colorado every child deserves. What would our report card look like if we were being graded on our efforts to ensure all kids in Colorado thrive?
Our report card doesn’t look good. The latest KIDS COUNT in Colorado!data book tells us that we, the adults who make the decisions, must do better. Nearly 60% of Colorado’s third graders aren’t proficient readers, about 70% of kids can’t access basic pediatric care, and fewer kids are getting vaccinated leading to measles outbreaks in our state. For the over 600,000 kids who rely on Medicaid and CHP+, things are about to get worse as we await cuts to the program in the new year. We are failing.
“Back-to-school” conjures images of smiling kids on front porches sporting backpacks and lunch boxes, but for many families the picture is far more complicated. While we live in one of the wealthiest states in the nation, over a quarter of our families are experiencing financial hardship and more than 21,000 public school kids are homeless. Kids who lack stability and basic resources at home are less likely to thrive in school and life. Back-to-school is more than just one day, it’s where we begin to see the results of decisions made (or avoided) in public policy discussions, budgets, and legislative debates that happen all year long.
Unfortunately, many of these discussions and debates focus on the wrong thing. Kids can’t vote. They can’t run for office. They have no choice but to rely on us, the adults, to make decisions for them. Every line in our state budget, every vote cast at the ballot box, and every policy choice is a values statement about who counts – and who doesn’t.
I challenge us to change our focus.
Let’s truly put kids first – not just on the first day of school, but every day. Centering kids in policy decisions would fundamentally shift our policy debates, our public discussion, and our outcomes. We have big opportunities to do this in the coming months. Our November ballot includes big choices that will truly reflect who we are as a state. Supporting Proposition NN and Amendment 87 will mean more funding for our schools and systems that support Colorado’s kids.
Colorado is a great state. We have shown up for kids in the past, but it isn’t enough. We must continue to show up, make our state better, and prioritize our kids as we make policy decisions. This November, Proposition NN and Amendment 87 are our next test, real chances to fund the schools and systems our kids depend on. Until every child in Colorado thrives, we have work to do. How we vote is how we grade ourselves. Our kids are watching what we do next.
