Issue Position: Education

Issue Position

I had the great fortune, at the invitation of the Mountain View School District, to work with administrators, school board members and faculty as a community & parent representative in the implementation of the EAST program for Mountain View High School. Through the workshops I attended and the visits to other EAST programs across the state, I realized the value of this program not only to the students, but to the community the school serves. EAST (Environmental and Spatial Technology) brings industry standard technology to the classroom in the areas of global and spatial technology (GPS / GIS), architecture, music production, graphic design, web design, engineering, digital photography, virtual reality filming and film-making and more. The students' challenge and learning comes from applying this technology to solve problems that exist in their communities or to just improve their communities one project at a time. This is especially beneficial for rural areas, where this technology doesn't exist, or is too expensive to obtain. For example, instead of the county hiring an engineering firm to use high-level GPS/GIS technology to map out the county roads so they can show the federal government their funding needs to improve those roads, the county can work with the EAST students to get it done for free. The students are learning in real-time, applying their education on the spot. Not only will these students be able to walk into high-paying jobs, they will also be able to come back and live in the rural areas they grew up in and contribute to the local economy. This example is a real situation that our counties face today. It doesn't stop there. EAST is tied to the economic development of an area. Tourism is a big industry for our district. I watched students create web-sites and virtual tours of their local parks, museums and attractions that were connected to regional tourism sites. Their school project will help their local businesses by bringing more tourists to the area.

Rural school districts have many challenges they face, which are very different from urban and suburban areas of our state. One size does not fit all. Our school missed 12 days of school because of snow and ice. The buses couldn't run on our county roads because most are not paved and the county's resources are limited. Simple solutions, like fixing our roads, will benefit our education. Rural schools also face increasing expenses as gas prices rise, as many school children live in very isolated areas. The consolidation mandate has been difficult for our rural school districts and they need a strong voice for them in the state legislature. Having four children in the public school system, it will be one of my top priorities to work with our rural school districts and with the Department of Education.

School mandates should come from the local school boards, communities, parents, and state legislatures, not from the federal government. Legislation and funding should support these goals.
All high school students should receive a high-quality core curriculum to include English, mathematics, science, geography, history, and computer science. I support learn-and-earn programs which can encourage students to earn income as they prepare for the work force while receiving valuable experience. College of the Ozarks is a great example of this.

Accountability and evaluation of performance is the key to reform in education, values are the core of good education.

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the free exercise of religion. I support the right of the individual to pray in public schools.

I support Alternative Certification Programs to increase the number of qualified and caring teachers in our schools. I am a registered volunteer coach with the Arkansas Activities Association, which allows the school to add programs that it might not have been able to offer. A growing number of teachers are choosing teaching as a second career, and they bring with them years of experience in the private sector into the classroom. It is a win-win for schools and communities. Volunteerism, such as mentor programs, senior citizen tutors, parental involvement and business partnerships within the public schools should be encouraged and rewarded.

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