Immediately after attending the signing of his educator effectiveness bill Thursday afternoon, State Sen. Mike Johnston, D-Denver, headed over to O’Connell Middle School in Lakewood to answer questions from teachers about the bill that has stirred controversy in political and education circles.

Johnston was invited to the school by Amy Spicer, a reading intervention specialist at O’Connell who testified in favor of the bill at recent legislative hearings. As she waited in the school foyer for Johnston to arrive — he was running late for the 3:30 confab — she said she didn’t know what to expect. There were definitely skeptics among the faculty waiting in the library, and the issue had been debated as vigorously in the staff room as under the gold dome.

But when Johnston, a bit rumpled in a light gray suit, strode into the library of the high-poverty school, the 25 teachers greeted him with polite silence. “I know the last thing you want to do late in the day at this time of year is listen to a knucklehead like me,” he said, and that seemed to break the ice.

He talked for about 15 minutes, giving his interpretation of the bill’s merits, speaking from the heart about why he introduced it. Far from being the anti-teacher monstrosity portrayed by its most irresponsible critics, the bill is, in fact, an attempt to make teacher evaluation fairer, he said.

At the State Capitol, Johnston said, critics pounded on the mutual consent for teacher placement provision, and the issue of returning tenured teachers to probationary status if they slipped in their evaluations for consecutive years. But what he’s hearing from teachers in the field, he said, is concern about “whether this can be done fairly.” And he tried to assure them that it can be.

“There is a false perception out there in the general public that there are a large number of bad teachers,” Johnson said in conclusion. That is not the case, he said, winning nods of approval. And, he said “it has been an explicit part of my political strategy” to build a  better system first and then ask voters to “support it with a lot more resources.”

When Johnston finished his remarks, he invited questions but the group seemed reticent. “I have very thick skin — I have been a teacher and principal for a long time,” he said. “If you’re furious, let me know. Don’t pull your punches.” But only the politest of questions followed.

Finally, at the urging of Principal Pati Montgomery, math teacher Richard Matlcok, clearly a skeptic, spoke up (see video above).

After he spoke, and Johnston responded, Matlock said “Instinctively I trust you. I think you’re  good person.” But he said he still feared the new law could have unintended negative consequences.

Still, after 45 minutes, 25 teachers went home, perhaps a bit less fearful about the unknown represented by SB 10-191.

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