I believe it is time to change the conversation about public education. The superintendent of public instruction needs to be an educational leader, armed with a depth of knowledge gained over a lifetime of experience in education, not a politician with an ideological formula gained over a lifetime of running for office. We need to move from polarizing political stances to conversations and solutions about what Arizona students need to be successful in the world they will face. High standards and high expectations for our schools, our teachers and our students are essential to our success. In order to be sure we are not just engaging in rhetoric, we also need to talk about the importance of investing in our schools for the future and providing the resources our children need to be competitive and successful. I believe I have the experience, dedication, passion, skill and knowledge to serve this state as a true educational leader and superintendent of public instruction. You can find out more about why I am the best candidate here.

I have dedicated my entire career to public education for the last 30 years. I have lived and worked in Arizona since 1984. I began teaching at Manual High School in Peoria, Illinois in 1978 and I was a classroom teacher and teacher mentor for 18 years, teaching special education and English, language arts and reading. While I spent most of my career in 6-8 grades, I have taught students at all grade levels. I hold six teaching certificates in Arizona, including two administrative certificates. During the course of my years in public education I served eight years as Vice President and then President of the Arizona Education Association (AEA). During that time I worked with three superintendents of public instruction and two Governors and served on several appointed policy commissions, task forces and committees for the Arizona Department of Education, the State Board of Education and the Governor's Office. After my tenure at the AEA, I worked as an independent consultant crafting education policy on topics such as teacher quality, performance based compensation, teacher evaluation, and student achievement and assessment. I have served on national committees related to education issues and presented at a number of national and international education symposiums and conferences in the last 15 years, including England and China. Since 2006 I have worked for the Arizona K-12 Center (Northern Arizona University) as the Associate Director of New Programs and Policy. In this position I developed the foundation of the Master Teacher program, a statewide mentoring program for new teachers. I also develop and manage professional development programs, report on policy related to teacher quality and professional development, and provide guidance and support to our Center and other entities on teacher quality and its impact on student achievement. I understand a very wide range of policy issues impacting children and students from all areas of our state and nation and have dealt with many of them firsthand. My experience in the classroom and my history of successfully engaging education policy makers on complex policy issues gives me the experience, knowledge and skill for this position. I bring tremendous passion, understanding, creativity and innovation to this very important work. More on my background can be found on my background page.

Arizona's superintendent of public instruction has many responsibilities, and one of the most important is advocating effectively for PUBLIC education that will support and nurture success for every student in Arizona. The superintendent's role also includes interpreting policy made by the Legislature as well as participating on the State Board of Education. This includes oversight of teacher quality and teacher certification, the state's school improvement program, and the implementation of state assessment policy and programs, including the administration of the AIMS test. The Department of Education also handles school finance and the management of federal programs in Arizona.

I am opposed to vouchers and tuition tax credits. When the tuition tax credits law passed, I was the chief plaintiff in the lawsuit challenging their legality, Kotterman v. Killian. Though the Arizona Supreme Court ruled in favor of tax credits, I continue to believe they are a detrimental policy and divert support for real funding reform for our public education system. The constant erosion of support for public schools in the name of competition has done nothing to improve the education of the 90% of our children attending public schools, and they cost the state millions of dollars each year. Particularly in a time of extreme budget shortfalls, it is irresponsible to be lifting the cap on corporate tax credits and legislating guaranteed increases of 20% per year and adding additional tax credits for other populations.