I am committed to ensuring that every child has access to the same high-quality public education that was made available to me. Our children deserve high-quality education Pre-K through University. My family’s commitment to public education – my father as an elementary school principal in Raytown and my mother working in the district office in Blue Springs – expresses itself in my fierce opposition of school vouchers and support of Missouri ’s teachers. We must set policies that support our teachers so they can teach to the individual child, inspiring them to think critically, creatively, and compassionately, not confine them to teach to a test.
Missouri’s lapse in investment in early childhood education led our state into 51st place (if you include DC) for our child care subsidy, and has us lagging behind the nation in school readiness. Thanks to the hard work of children advocates in Jefferson City, Missouri now ranks 46th. However, we are not offering a quality education system to our children so long as some children begin kindergarten better prepared than their peers. Early education professionals understand that children under the age of six are capable of rapid learning that sets the stage for life-long learning opportunities. By starting early, we can break the cycle of low test scores and high dropout rates – and do it without teaching to a test. When children enter school prepared, success is assured for the vast majority.
Several school districts, including our own Kansas City School District , have taken it on themselves to begin moving toward universal Pre-K. This is promising, but I believe that the state must step up to the plate and fund this essential service for our children.
The education of our children is a community endeavor. I acknowledge that this is not an easy topic to address, but ignoring public education is damaging to our collective community. Our public school district had many challenges, but abandoning these challenges has not always served us well. I will pay attention to, and promote, solutions that help move our communities’ schools forward.