Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/348932
Education Issues by Dr. David Garcia WHAT IS BEING SAID ABOUT… Learn more about AEA's recommended candidate for Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction on page 23. Vouchers Arizona has the most robust school choice policies in the country. I believe in school choice so long as that choice is defined as quality choices within the public school system. Empowerment Scholarships are vouchers, and I believe, in opposition to our constitutional obligation to public school students. Instead of giving up on underperforming schools or offering a select group of students a debit card to use at private and parochial schools, the state schools chief should be working to improve and strengthen our public schools. As public schools chief, I will vigorously oppose the funneling of taxpayer dollars out of the public school system. Common Core I am in favor of the Common Core standards. Arizona has had education standards in place for over 20 years. Updating to more rigorous standards is good for our students. Having a high quality assessment to measure those standards is also important. But where I differ with all of my opponents is what we do with results of those tests – how we hold our students and schools accountable to standardized tests. I do not believe standardized tests are an accurate measurement of a student's future academic success, and I will develop a new accountability system that measures what matters. You should also know that unlike my opponents, I have been through this before. I was Associate State Superintendent during the AIMS transition, and I know how to work with the legislature and with education groups to move higher standards forward. I also worked for the U.S. Department of Education and know how to negotiate with the federal government to ensure that Arizona is in control of how we hold our students, teachers and schools accountable. Teacher Quality We must treat our teachers like the professionals they are, paying them commensurate to their abilities and giving them the autonomy they need to create the types of learning environments best suited to their students. Our teachers have been beat down. They have been asked to do more with less. They have been held accountable to standardized tests instead of real-world outcomes. They are tired of having to teach to a test. They are tired of mandate after mandate. But mostly, they are tired of a Superintendent who does not advocate on their behalf, who spends his days stumping on behalf of private schools and declaring that he has "done everything possible" to help our at-risk kids. Teachers need a voice. They are the best indication of whether the policies created at the legislature are working in the classroom. We should not aim to silence them but rather listen and learn. I believe teachers can and should be held accountable to outcomes. However, those outcomes must not be standardized tests but rather real-world outcomes that show what quality teachers are capable of achieving when allowed to do what they were trained to do. " " " Teachers need a voice. I am in favor of the Common Core standards. I will vigorously oppose the funneling of taxpayer dollars out of the public school system. I believe in school choice so long as that choice is defined as quality choices within the public school system.