Issue Position: Education

Students deserve to be engaged and empowered to think critically, and the teachers who guide them should be respected and rewarded.

Teacher Shortage
Thousands of public school classrooms in Arizona are without a qualified teacher. And it is no wonder, Arizona ranks 49 in teacher pay. We need to pay teachers more and respect them as professionals who we trust with our future.

Keeping Schools Public
We have too often seen the political establishment prioritize profit over the needs of students. The increasing privatization of our education system is a prime example of this trend. Corrupt corporations now receive public dollars for the schools they run, and increasingly push out students who they do not want. This has led to the increasing segregation of our schools and undermines the concept of a universal and public education system.

Smaller Class Sizes
Our students need and deserve individualized attention if they are going to learn. In 2016, our overcrowded classrooms gave us one of the country's highest student-to-teacher ratios. We need to respect the time of our students in the classroom and respect the profession of teaching by bringing class sizes down.

Teach More, Test Less
A one-size-fits-all approach does not work for students. For too long, we've been overtesting students and not providing them time for unique programs and hands-on learning. We need to encourage more STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) curriculum that fosters creative and critical thinking. We need shared goals like the Progress Meter for how we determine success, and we to hold schools accountable for how they do at teaching every student, which means rethinking our current system of teaching to the test.

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