Denver Mayor Michael Hancock has been named chair of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Task Force on Education Reform.
In that role, Hancock “will lead the mayors … in a comprehensive discussion regarding closing the achievement gap, through specific strategies and innovative practices and programs,” in the words of a news release.
Hancock talked a lot about education during his 2011 campaign and later that year formed the Denver Education Compact, a group of education, business and civic leaders intended to help coordinate school improvement efforts. The low-profile group meets four times a year and has two main goals – helping ensure that 90 percent of city third graders read at grade level by 2017 and increasing the number of first-generation students who earn postsecondary credentials and get jobs. (Get more information here.)
Unlike mayors in some other big cities, Denver’s mayor has no direct control over the city’s school system.
The conference includes mayors from 1,295 U.S. cities of 30,000 population or more. The group recently completed its annual summer meeting.