Karla Esser
DemocraticQ1 What advisory mechanisms will you implement to ensure that evidence and scientific findings play a crucial role in your policymaking process?
“The State Board of Education is involved in rule making for legislative statutes that impact education and for the State Academic Standards in all subject areas. For statute, we have our CDE representatives over at the capital during the session to make sure the well-being of all students and families is considered. For science standards, I assure that science experts in the field review and recommend the standards that are the most complete and up-to-date. This includes experts in scientific areas at the corporate level, teaching at our universities, researchers, and of course our science and tech teachers in Colorado. We also have a group of very interested high school and college students with Pro Science Good Trouble that I reach out to regularly to hear their concerns and what they are working on.”
Q5 What are your opinions on the current state of science literacy, and how could K-12 education standards be adapted to form a better public understanding of and relationship building in science?
“The State Board of Education reviews the Science Standards every six years, which was done one year ago. We always have open input when working on science literacy to hear all different perspectives, of which there are many. At the end of the day, we must adhere to fact based, scientific method proven standards. I reach out to the science professional field, including science students and professors to learn about any new research, or areas where we have missed the mark in the past. Climate Science is an area where I believe we have more to do and need more professional input to assure, we are current with all new research.”