Not often that I will jump into the political arena, but, as a parent, Tuesday’s election is very important to me. The race I am most concerned with is for the State Superintendent of Schools. I am urging everyone to check out the candidates and make an informed decision and to use your voice to cast a vote in the election.
My DD is a product of school choice. This issue goes beyond race and economic status. This issue speaks to any parent who wants the best for their child and gives them a means to find solutions when their home school districts are not meeting the needs of their child. School choice may also mean deciding to home school your child. The rights of the parents to decide the best method for teaching their children needs to be preserved. School choice is not just an MPS issue – it reaches across the state. As parents we are so grateful to live in an area that supports school choice. Our hope is that this program will grow and thrive rather than be become the next political battleground.
I am also a strong believer in merit based pay for teachers. Reward the ones that are really teaching, this goes far beyond the typical standardized test models. I support the idea of giving administrators and principles a means for rewarding those teachers who do more than teach for the test. And I certainly believe that seniority should NOT preclude a teacher from being admonished for not doing their job. Reward the teachers that are working, get rid of the ones that are not. Again, I am pulling from my own experience with my DD. Her teacher is VERY young, but has done an incredible job with my daughters class. She goes beyond the classroom and truly cares about the success of her students. The results she has achieved with her kids are nothing short of outstanding – I have seen it firsthand. I would assume she is on the low end of the pay scale since she is recently out of college. But she really should be rewarded accordingly for the incredible work she has done.
Another area of concern for me is the programming for gifted and talented students. Of course I would like to think my DD falls in this category, but even if she doesn’t it is still vitally important to me. These young minds may very well be our future leaders or at the least be a vital part of their communities. In my opinion the “No child left behind” policy is doing just that – leaving children behind. Those at the upper end of the spectrum are seemingly left out of the equation and are often not challenged appropriately. A sort of reverse discrimination. It is vital that teachers are able to assess the needs of ALL students and have a means of providing services and guidance to have all children reach their potential. Again, I am drawing on my own first hand observations from my daughter's school. Fortunately my DD's teacher has been great about this and has in essence divided her class into 3 groups in how and what she teaches and in what she expects in return from her students (another reason I believe in merit based pay). But unfortunately I have heard first hand from parents with children in upper grades that the school is failing them in addressing the needs for their children and the teachers are spending the majority of their time making sure those students at the lower end of the spectrum are meeting the minimum requirements. Please don’t misunderstand, I fully appreciate the need to have all students reach the required levels to be successful, BUT, in the process we cannot lose those students with a desire and need to advance to a greater level of learning. Schools and teachers must have the ability and resources to teach to ALL the students.
For these reasons, among others, I will be voting for Rose Fernandez as State Superintendent of Schools on Tuesday. I urge everyone to educate themselves on both candidates to make an informed decision. For more info on Rose and her views on the issues please visit
Let's Change DPI-- » Issues
Most of my friends are all thinking – wow Labmom1 has gone political – which to an extent I guess is true. Moral of the story – don’t mess with my kid – or the mama lion comes out.
OK – end of political ad – go back to enjoying this lovely spring like day
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