This candidate is no stranger to the world of academia. Having started my education in a rural two-room schoolhouse and ended it as a scientist with a PhD from a prestigious university, all in the public school systems, I have a multipoint analysis of the problems with appropriate solutions that I will execute.
This candidate is no stranger to the world of academia. Having started my education in a rural two-room schoolhouse and ended it as a scientist with a PhD from a prestigious university, all in the public school systems, I have a multipoint analysis of the problems with appropriate solutions that I will execute.
THE ARIZONA EDUCATION SUPERIORITY PLAN
(condensed version)
Parents Must Join in the Responsibility
Teachers attribute about 50 percent of a child’s behavioral problems and lack of achievement to parenting (or lack thereof) and home life. Parents, you may not want to hear it but it is your responsibility to raise your children and ensure achievement. The teacher is there to help educate your child with you as a partner. I will institute an environment that will foster a cooperative effort between the parents and teacher with frequent communication of accomplishment and behavior. Parents and an extensive community volunteer system will participate directly in the education program. We will take a much more holistic approach that integrates the parents and home environment into the educational experience.
High Standards for Students
High aspirations with quantitative verification. Some years ago, the AIMS test was developed as a device to measure student achievement and ensure that graduates had mastered an acceptable level of academic competence. When initially administered, surprise, a very large portion of the students couldn’t meet the minimal standards of the test. Arizona’s response, dumb the test down until students could score a passing grade. This was a terrible admission of our complacency with low standards and general apathy for our youth’s futures. Under my administration, achievement compared to the highest standards in the nation will be frequently measured and reported to parents. Welcome to the real world kids, get in the game. And parents, take responsibility.
Reward Excellent and Release Substandard Teachers
A large portion of a student’s achievement may be attributed to a teacher’s ability and willingness to inspire learning (along with the administration’s support and the school’s environment). This is particularly true in the modern era where a teacher must compete with the entertainment culture for a child’s attention. Some teachers have that passion and ability while some don’t. I support and will expand upon efforts to directly couple teachers’ professional reward and survival to the quality of their product, their students’ achievement. As well-stated by a local organization, “It would be immoral to keep ineffective teachers in the classroom simply because they have already spent years mis-educating students. No one – conservative, liberal, libertarian or vegetarian – should support such a policy.” With the frequent quantitative assessment of student achievement described above, we will have a ready and accurate measure of teacher performance. Highly-performing teachers should be handsomely rewarded and should take great satisfaction in being recognized as superior professionals.
English Competency
Thankfully, some years ago, the Legislature ended bi-lingual education. For that matter, it is now unlawful for a teacher to teach or communicate in Spanish during the school day. In the program currently used (English Language Development model), a student is immersed in English instruction for four hours per day until he/she can pass the AZELLA English proficiency exam. While this is an excellent program, the unintended consequence is that the students fall behind in the other non-language classes and do not ever catch up. They ultimately experience extremely high dropout rates. For those students who are delivered to the school with inadequate, or non-existent, English skills, the only true solution is immersion pre-school. Such programs are presently conducted in Arizona by charitable groups working with small groups of students. I plan to duplicate the success of these groups on a broad scale as a statewide policy. We will enable these students to get started on nearly-equal footing so that they have a high probability of success rather than a high probability of dropping out.
Minimize Unnecessary Administrative Oversight
Today in Arizona, 53.6 percent of school spending are actually spent “in the classroom”. Bureaucracy doesn’t teach students but it will paralyze any well-oiled machine. My vision for Arizona schools is to demand performance from teachers then get out of the way. Don’t throw water on their ammunition by smothering energetic teachers with rules, politics and red tape that stifle spirit, initiative and common sense that would otherwise result in transfer of knowledge to students. My school had a principal (who was also the superintendent and CFO) and an assistant principal. That was it. Today’s schools are bloated with administrators for every conceivable niche, each with assistants who also have assistants. When each of these people has to produce some mark on the world to justify their existence, the only likely product will be quicksand. The same is true at the State administrative level. Decentralized school-based management (just like small government) will be most effective. As in any competitive private industry that achieves maximum results, teachers and local administrators should be empowered. They are the boots on the ground of education. Give them local authority (coupled with responsibility) and get out of the way. If they produce results, reward them. If they don’t, quickly replace them. The charter school concept is a fine illustration of this concept which I intend to promote throughout the Arizona public school system.
Allow Teachers to Control the Classroom
Most teachers that I confer with tell me that the number one obstacle to educating children is the inability to maintain discipline and protect the educational experience of receptive students from disruptive classmates. The classroom should be an incubator of learning, not of disruption. It is time for a dose of common sense here. Performing students are to be honored and cherished. Those preventing their achievement need to be moved out of their way. Today, we preferentially value the rights of a classmate to deprive fellow students of their right to become educated. Parents, if you can’t adjust the behavior of your child, your school will no longer accommodate your child’s presence in the mainstream. I will ensure that teachers and administrators will be empowered and required to remove disruptive classmates without red tape.
Unite Students as Unhyphenated Americans
This country went to internal war over the subject of racial separation. My great-great grandfather and his three brothers were among the Union combatants, two of whom lived with the scars of Andersonville. We have spent the 153 years since in painful conflict to rid our country of racial/cultural segregation and ensure equality of opportunity, a status that we have or are near achieving. Yet, in Arizona, we have had academic programs that were designed to divide students into racially/culturally distinct groups and instill racial animosity. Common sense should leave us scratching our heads over this lack of logic. I applaud those in Arizona education who have fought against such racism, ultimately with some success. My administration will end remaining divisive ethnic studies and any other programs that are in contrast to the ideals of this country.
Develop an Army of Volunteer Mentors and Tutors
Superlative academic achievement by all students is impossible without the civic involvement of the entire community. Unfortunately, many parents are unable or ill-equipped to effectively mentor their child’s achievement. However, our community has a wealth of mathematicians, biologists, role models, etc, many of whom would relish an opportunity to contribute to the future by tutoring and mentoring. I envision an army of such volunteers mobilized at every school. Aside from the obvious scholastic benefits to the students, both the young and adult generations will develop a positive mutual familiarity. Also, the adult volunteers will reap the benefit of community contribution and expanded social interaction.
Vouchers
A voucher program was begun some years ago that enabled disabled students to switch to another school that was better capable of providing their specific needs. A portion of State funding was likewise transferred from the old to the new school. The program was enlarged to support a small number of students wishing to transfer from low- to high-performing schools. More recently, the program further expanded and with unspoken promise of extending to all students. This would only enable students whose parents could fund a large part of the tuition to transfer to private schools, thus leaving poorer students in public schools whose meager finances would be further drained. This would decimate public schools and the students trapped there. In principle, I support any effort to enable students to abandon poor-performing schools and seek a better education but only if such opportunities apply to all students, rich and poor. I can not support the voucher program as it is currently proposed.
THE ARIZONA EDUCATION SUPERIORITY PLAN
(condensed version)
Parents Must Join in the Responsibility
Teachers attribute about 50 percent of a child’s behavioral problems and lack of achievement to parenting (or lack thereof) and home life. Parents, you may not want to hear it but it is your responsibility to raise your children and ensure achievement. The teacher is there to help educate your child with you as a partner. I will institute an environment that will foster a cooperative effort between the parents and teacher with frequent communication of accomplishment and behavior. Parents and an extensive community volunteer system will participate directly in the education program. We will take a much more holistic approach that integrates the parents and home environment into the educational experience.
High Standards for Students
High aspirations with quantitative verification. Some years ago, the AIMS test was developed as a device to measure student achievement and ensure that graduates had mastered an acceptable level of academic competence. When initially administered, surprise, a very large portion of the students couldn’t meet the minimal standards of the test. Arizona’s response, dumb the test down until students could score a passing grade. This was a terrible admission of our complacency with low standards and general apathy for our youth’s futures. Under my administration, achievement compared to the highest standards in the nation will be frequently measured and reported to parents. Welcome to the real world kids, get in the game. And parents, take responsibility.
Reward Excellent and Release Substandard Teachers
A large portion of a student’s achievement may be attributed to a teacher’s ability and willingness to inspire learning (along with the administration’s support and the school’s environment). This is particularly true in the modern era where a teacher must compete with the entertainment culture for a child’s attention. Some teachers have that passion and ability while some don’t. I support and will expand upon efforts to directly couple teachers’ professional reward and survival to the quality of their product, their students’ achievement. As well-stated by a local organization, “It would be immoral to keep ineffective teachers in the classroom simply because they have already spent years mis-educating students. No one – conservative, liberal, libertarian or vegetarian – should support such a policy.” With the frequent quantitative assessment of student achievement described above, we will have a ready and accurate measure of teacher performance. Highly-performing teachers should be handsomely rewarded and should take great satisfaction in being recognized as superior professionals.
English Competency
Thankfully, some years ago, the Legislature ended bi-lingual education. For that matter, it is now unlawful for a teacher to teach or communicate in Spanish during the school day. In the program currently used (English Language Development model), a student is immersed in English instruction for four hours per day until he/she can pass the AZELLA English proficiency exam. While this is an excellent program, the unintended consequence is that the students fall behind in the other non-language classes and do not ever catch up. They ultimately experience extremely high dropout rates. For those students who are delivered to the school with inadequate, or non-existent, English skills, the only true solution is immersion pre-school. Such programs are presently conducted in Arizona by charitable groups working with small groups of students. I plan to duplicate the success of these groups on a broad scale as a statewide policy. We will enable these students to get started on nearly-equal footing so that they have a high probability of success rather than a high probability of dropping out.
Minimize Unnecessary Administrative Oversight
Today in Arizona, 53.6 percent of school spending are actually spent “in the classroom”. Bureaucracy doesn’t teach students but it will paralyze any well-oiled machine. My vision for Arizona schools is to demand performance from teachers then get out of the way. Don’t throw water on their ammunition by smothering energetic teachers with rules, politics and red tape that stifle spirit, initiative and common sense that would otherwise result in transfer of knowledge to students. My school had a principal (who was also the superintendent and CFO) and an assistant principal. That was it. Today’s schools are bloated with administrators for every conceivable niche, each with assistants who also have assistants. When each of these people has to produce some mark on the world to justify their existence, the only likely product will be quicksand. The same is true at the State administrative level. Decentralized school-based management (just like small government) will be most effective. As in any competitive private industry that achieves maximum results, teachers and local administrators should be empowered. They are the boots on the ground of education. Give them local authority (coupled with responsibility) and get out of the way. If they produce results, reward them. If they don’t, quickly replace them. The charter school concept is a fine illustration of this concept which I intend to promote throughout the Arizona public school system.
Allow Teachers to Control the Classroom
Most teachers that I confer with tell me that the number one obstacle to educating children is the inability to maintain discipline and protect the educational experience of receptive students from disruptive classmates. The classroom should be an incubator of learning, not of disruption. It is time for a dose of common sense here. Performing students are to be honored and cherished. Those preventing their achievement need to be moved out of their way. Today, we preferentially value the rights of a classmate to deprive fellow students of their right to become educated. Parents, if you can’t adjust the behavior of your child, your school will no longer accommodate your child’s presence in the mainstream. I will ensure that teachers and administrators will be empowered and required to remove disruptive classmates without red tape.
Unite Students as Unhyphenated Americans
This country went to internal war over the subject of racial separation. My great-great grandfather and his three brothers were among the Union combatants, two of whom lived with the scars of Andersonville. We have spent the 153 years since in painful conflict to rid our country of racial/cultural segregation and ensure equality of opportunity, a status that we have or are near achieving. Yet, in Arizona, we have had academic programs that were designed to divide students into racially/culturally distinct groups and instill racial animosity. Common sense should leave us scratching our heads over this lack of logic. I applaud those in Arizona education who have fought against such racism, ultimately with some success. My administration will end remaining divisive ethnic studies and any other programs that are in contrast to the ideals of this country.
Develop an Army of Volunteer Mentors and Tutors
Superlative academic achievement by all students is impossible without the civic involvement of the entire community. Unfortunately, many parents are unable or ill-equipped to effectively mentor their child’s achievement. However, our community has a wealth of mathematicians, biologists, role models, etc, many of whom would relish an opportunity to contribute to the future by tutoring and mentoring. I envision an army of such volunteers mobilized at every school. Aside from the obvious scholastic benefits to the students, both the young and adult generations will develop a positive mutual familiarity. Also, the adult volunteers will reap the benefit of community contribution and expanded social interaction.
Vouchers
A voucher program was begun some years ago that enabled disabled students to switch to another school that was better capable of providing their specific needs. A portion of State funding was likewise transferred from the old to the new school. The program was enlarged to support a small number of students wishing to transfer from low- to high-performing schools. More recently, the program further expanded and with unspoken promise of extending to all students. This would only enable students whose parents could fund a large part of the tuition to transfer to private schools, thus leaving poorer students in public schools whose meager finances would be further drained. This would decimate public schools and the students trapped there. In principle, I support any effort to enable students to abandon poor-performing schools and seek a better education but only if such opportunities apply to all students, rich and poor. I can not support the voucher program as it is currently proposed.
