After twenty-three years in the classroom and nearly a decade in the legislature, I will bring a new kind of experience to the office of State Superintendent of Public Instruction. My unique background and proven ability to work with policy makers will help me bridge the gap between the ideologies of the Statehouse and the realities of the classroom as we work to give schools the resources and respect they deserve.
While Idaho's new Superintendent of Public Instruction will face many challenges, their first responsibility is improving student achievement and wellbeing. I believe the best way to see long term results in improving student achievement is to help our youngest students enter the classroom ready to learn. I will advocate for increased opportunities for voluntary pre-k education. Students who are engaged in early learning programs are less likely to need remediation and more likely to attend college. In fact, research shows that every dollar spent in early childhood education saves six dollars down the road - not only is this good for students, it is an investment we can not afford to pass up.
I will fight to protect and expand a balanced and diverse curriculum for our secondary education students. Increased standards are important, but should not come at the expense of preparing students to pursue their individual academic goals or their ability to enter a diverse job market. I will work to find ways to balance the need for increased rigor while protecting the need for an individualized curriculum.
Because I believe teachers are the key to student success, I will focus on cultivating quality educators. I will work to reinstate the beginning teacher mentoring program, promote meaningful training and development to help educators better engage students in the learning process, and fight for competitive salary and compensation programs. Idaho educators deserve to be treated as professionals, and under my leadership they will.
As a high school teacher, I know how important parental involvement is. I believe empowering parents to be partners in every step of their child's education is critical to the success of students and our schools. Local control must start at the family level. I will advocate for programs that give parents a stronger voice - from elementary school through graduation.
In addition, I will work to secure adequate funding. This does not mean simply spending more, it means valuing and understanding the need to properly fund instruction, technology, teacher compensation and facilities if we want our students and our schools to excel.
Finally, I will work on making public education Idaho's first priority. As a legislator, I know the attitude in the Statehouse must shift from seeing public education as an obligation to seeing it as an investment in the future of Idaho. I understand one of the most important roles of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction is to communicate a message of investment and priorities, and I will work hand-in-hand with policy makers to ensure that policies affecting students, educators and schools encourage learning.