Issue Position: Education

Issue Position

Providing a good education to our children is the State's paramount duty according to the Washington State Constitution. I believe the first dollar we budget needs to go to education and but not just blindly put those dollars in. We must give teachers and local school districts the tools they need to succeed. That includes lowering classroom sizes, supporting the construction of more schools, addressing the shortage of good teachers and substitutes, allowing access and choice of education including charter schools.

While I think it is important to evaluate our teachers and also our students, we shouldn't be so focused on the evaluations and testing requirements that we forget about actual teaching. Our teachers have so many technical forms, requirements and evaluations to fill out, that they don't have time to actually teach. Our students are being taught to pass tests rather than actually learn the material.

I will focus on lowering classroom sizes, addressing the teacher and substitute shortage, recognizing the need for charter schools, and really try to reform our education system in Washington State with an emphasis on student learning. A rather simple approach for an overly complicated, bureaucratic system.

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