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Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas' plan to fix education calls for more funding for teachers, revised curriculum and an end to Common Core.
The 156-page plan, called "AZ Kids Can’t Afford to Wait!," was released at a press conference in Phoenix Thursday.
"Our education policy too often is set in whatever funding is left behind and by the latest fad in pedagogy," Douglas said. "Today I'm introducing my own approach."
Douglas' 156-page plan has nearly four dozen specific proposals, including her previously released request for $400 million more for teacher retention and recruitment. But she said not every prospect – from adding more school police officers to increasing parent involvement in policy making – requires that funding.
"It doesn't hinge on the $400 million," Douglas said in an interview after the press conference. "I hope $400 million is the funding we can get brought to the classroom and to Arizona's teachers."
She also proposed changes in how college students are educated to be teachers and a teacher mentoring program.
”Teachers and parents making a personal impact on a student is how children learn," Douglas said. "It is not the latest fads in standards, curriculum or technology.”
Other proposals include:
- The creation of Education Development Zones where teachers' student loan debt is forgiven and schools and their staff get tax incentives.
- New "culturally inclusive" curriculum that "takes into account the unique stories and struggles of all the people who continue to make Arizona great."
- Revising education standards to include a larger focus on civics, economics and math.
- Less standardized testing. Douglas would like districts to give fewer benchmark tests and instead focus on a year-end state test.
Douglas called again for an end to Arizona's involvement with the Common Core Curriculum standards, which was the basis for her election campaign last year. She said that in its place, the state should establish a "continuous improvement standards process" with emphasis on English language arts and mathematics.
Arizona legislators and Gov. Doug Ducey have also announced proposals to boost education funding in the state. Douglas said she would review the plans to see how they might complement her own.
“I can use the position of superintendent of public instruction to bring these dialogues forward and make sure they move forward as best they can,” Douglas said.
Douglas said her plan is the product of a tour around the state earlier this year during which she listened to parents, educators and community members' ideas about education.
To see what people had to say in Tucson, read this story.
She detailed a second tour, starting with her presentation Thursday at the Phoenix Art Museum, that will let state residents know, "we heard you."
She will visit nine additional communities, ending with Tucson Nov. 19.
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