California to Elect Top Education Official — Do you even know who is running?

By Karla Pleitez Howell, Director of Educational Equity, Advancement Project California

This November, in addition to electing a new Governor, Californians will vote for our new State Superintendent of Public Instruction — the top elected official responsible for overseeing our state’s public education system. This person will impact the minds and lives of more than 7 million California children in the K-12 and early care and educations systems. If those children made up the population of a state, it would be the 13th largest state in the United States. Do you even know who is running?

For those of us who care deeply about creating a more just education system that fosters the potential of all California students, it is important to pay attention to the race for the Superintendent office between Tony Thurmond and Marshall Tuck. We need our next Superintendent to focus on ensuring every child is prepared with a strong foundation when they show up for kindergarten. And to maintain those early gains, we need our Superintendent to foster a steady, uninterrupted and consistent educational experience during years of transition from preschool to third grade.

Third-grade reading proficiency is a major predictor of high school graduation. We know that students who struggle with the basics of reading will also struggle with others subjects, such as history, science, and more complex reading comprehension. The next Superintendent can take our state to the next level by ensuring children continue to build on early learning experiences that set them up for success for the third grade. To do this, the next Superintendent must align the early learning and K-12 education systems — that is we must create consistent and uninterrupted supports for our youngest learners.

A starting point to align our systems starts with teachers. Early education teachers currently get far less pay than their K-12 peers. These are teachers that receive special training to create the foundation of learning necessary to excel. The new Superintendent should support increases in teacher pay and provide more opportunities for professional development that foster cross-learning between preschool and early elementary teachers.

To further align our systems we must also look beyond what happens in the classroom. A quality education starts in the classroom and continues at home. For this reason, California schools need programs that support families. Let’s expand promising approaches, such as Educare Long Beach and California, that bring family support programs on to campus. We know when families feel welcome in schools, their children have a higher likelihood of thriving.

Lastly, California needs transparency of data. The new Superintendent must create a data system that reflects how our children, from the early years to 12th grade, are doing in the classroom. An upgraded data system could act like electronic medical records and would allow for the confidential transfer of assessments, progress reports and the confidential sharing of vital information about a child’s heritage, language, and social skills. Teachers and families can use this data to ensure the needs of every California student are met. The people of California can also use the data to see if policies are successful or wasteful.

Yesterday we wrapped the debut of the Birth to 12th Grade Water Cooler in Sacramento, with education partners from the early learning and the K-12 systems coming together with the Superintendent candidates to explore these solutions (#BirthToTwelve).

I invite you to research these candidates, go out to vote in the November and most importantly let’s ensure that the campaign promises we hear are implemented so that every California student can reach their full potential.