Biography
Jane Goff is a Colorado native and lifelong resident of the
metro Denver area. She is both a graduate and retired
employee of Jefferson County Public Schools, where she
enjoyed a 34-year career as a classroom teacher, curriculum
coordinator and elected teacher association leader.
Jane taught middle and high school French and Spanish from
1972 until 2003, when she was appointed Coordinator of World
Languages and International Student Exchange. Among her
responsibilities were supervising the Jeffco World Language
Content Standards, curriculum and assessments; directing the
first-year language teachers’ induction program; and approving
the admission of foreign exchange agencies and students to
Jeffco’s eighteen high schools.
During her years in Jeffco, Jane coordinated the district’s Teacher Performance Pay Pilot, served on the Jeffco PTA Board of Directors and helped to design the Links for Learning program, a teacher-employer partnership between the Jeffco Schools and the West Chamber of Commerce. Jane served as president of the Jefferson County Education Association from 1998-2000 and as vice president of the Colorado Education Association from 2000-2006. While in office, she focused her efforts on the Association’s work in the areas of quality teaching and education coalition building.
Jane was the first teacher graduate of Leadership Jefferson County and she served four years as Vice President for Education on the Jefferson Symphony Board of Directors. She remains very involved in the local community, experience that proved extremely valuable following the 1999 tragedy at Jeffco's Columbine High School. Since then, Jane has often consulted on matters related to school safety and crisis response, presenting the teacher perspective to a variety of audiences.
Following her retirement in 2006, Jane worked as a legislative aide for the Colorado House of Representatives. She continues to develop a deeper understanding of the legislative process, especially as it relates to educational policy making.
In her role as a State Board member, Jane serves on the Race to the Top Struggling Schools Committee, the Read to Achieve Advisory Board, the P-20 Council Preparations & Transitions Subcommittee, the State Advisory Committee on Gifted and Talented, the Colorado State Accountability Network, and the Colorado Teacher Cadet Advisory Committee. She also serves on the selection committees for Colorado's Teacher of the Year and the Milken Family Foundation Teaching Award. She is also the Board's liaison to the Colorado School Counselors Association and the State World Language Advisory Council. She is also a member of the Aurora Public Schools P-20 Campus Advisory Council, the Adams County Education Consortium and the Jeffco Schools Strategic Planning Advisory Council.
In October 2009, Jane was elected to represent the Western Region states on the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) Board of Directors. She is also the recipient of the Colorado Congress of Foreign Language Teachers' 2010 Friend of Foreign Languages Award.
Jane earned her degree in Modern Language Education at Colorado State University and additional graduate training in school administration and counseling at the University of Colorado.
Jane and her husband Harry, also a Denver native, have lived in Arvada for 24 years.They
enjoy traveling, home renovation and spending time with their large extended families who live throughout the Rocky Mountain west and the east coast.
Website: www.Goff4Education.org
Email: jane@goff4education.org