Sheridan. Seven years. Elk Grove, IL.

57

I'm a lifelong educator who's worked with middle school, high school, undergraduate, and graduate level students in public and private schools. I have an MA in education and a PhD in political science. Currently, I'm a Wyoming representative working on the Education Committee and the Recalibration Committee. I'm a father of six, including a special needs child who attends public school.

Those with the greatest effect on students are those who work with them directly in the classroom. Professional educators are most affected by the policies and decisions of their local administrators. As Superintendent, my top priority would be to work with local districts to determine which state rules and mandates make their jobs more difficult and which state actions would assist their mission. Success cannot be mandated from the top down. The state should support districts to support their students.

Yes, because Wyoming has a system that attempts to equitably distribute resources to communities regardless of their population or socioeconomic status. The recent recalibration law and school facility law increase funding for resources and learning facilities while ensuring that teachers get well-deserved raises. Transportation and special education are covered well too. That said, the first successful recalibration bill in many years may need adjustments for aspects like activity funds, but that doesn't rise to the level of a constitutional violation.

Evidence is building to show overreliance on technology and screen time is eroding student performance. This trend seen nationally and internationally in some European nations that are returning to books and handwriting in lower grades. Curriculum development and delivery should return to methods that worked for decades in the early grades, as a student who is behind in reading by 3rd grade will struggle to catch up in later years in all subjects. That said, the Superintendent's job is not to dictate curriculum to the local districts. Realizing that the cumulative wisdom and experience of thousands of educators across the states dwarfs that of the WDE, I'd look to remove restraints from professional educators to innovate successful ideas. The state would support innovation and help share successes among districts. Educators should lead on improving education, not state elected officials or bureaucrats.

The educational savings account program, which has greater flexibility than a simple voucher program, is an opportunity to help students who fall through the cracks of a one-size-fits-all educational system. Funded through the General Fund, it doesn't touch funds from the School Foundation. It is an augmentation to the current system that offers alternatives to families with struggling children who don't have the resources otherwise. It's a mischaracterization to claim that it is an attempt to undermine the public school system. As a father of a son with Down syndrome who attends public school, I don't want to see anything undermine the excellent treatment he's received.

Because the Superintendent doesn't control compensation for teachers, the primary method would be to support working conditions and morale of professional educators. Reduced rules, regulations, reports, and testing from the state could assist teachers in two ways. 1) With less pressure to teach to state mandated standards, teachers would have more latitude to innovate with lesson delivery and potentially spend more time on concepts that need it. 2) When administration has to expend fewer resources on keeping up with bureaucratic mandates and reports, those resources could be redirected to the classrooms.

Direct communication with those involved is the best way to proceed. That would include inviting potentially affected parties to provide information and testimony rather than merely posting online the date of a meeting and leaving it upon others to show up. While the main purpose of state trust lands is to produce revenue for the long term, the effects on quality of life in local communities must also be considered.