Democrat David Garcia, who is facing Republican Diane Douglas in the race for State Superintendent of Public Instruction, has landed the support of two former Republicans who held the post, Lisa Graham Keegan and Jaime Molera.
The press release from Team Garcia:
Former Republican and Democratic Superintendents of Public Instruction announced their endorsement of Dr. David Garcia as Arizona’s next Superintendent of Public Instruction.
“I am supporting David Garcia for state school superintendent because the state needs an education leader who seeks the best in education for all students, informs his decisions with honest data, and understands integrity in office is everything,” declared Independent education advocate and former state superintendent Lisa Graham Keegan. “I have watched David bring these strengths to his work, and look forward to his leadership.”
“As a strong believer in conservative principles and of the Republican party, and as someone who believes in and is backing the statewide GOP ticket, I am supporting David Garcia because I believe he is the right person for this important job,” said Republican and former state superintendent Jaime Molera.
Molera went on to say, “Arizona does not need someone who will bring extreme and nonsensical views into our K-12 system. David worked as a top advisor to me when I served as state superintendent. I know he has a strong work ethic and will lead based on sound research, not distorted ideological views.”
Dr. Carolyn Warner, Democratic state superintendent from 1974-1986 commented, “Our children are the future of Arizona, and our schools are central to how our children will be their ‘future best.’ David Garcia knows this, and he knows the vital role that his leadership plays in this future.
“I served as Arizona’s Superintendent of Public Instruction for 12 years. I was committed to an education that prepared our children for a life of success. David Garcia has that same commitment. He knows that ‘career and college ready’ isn’t just a slogan. It is an imperative, and I believe that his wisdom, knowledge and experience will help move our schools and our state forward!”
David Garcia responded to the endorsements by saying, “Though elections are partisan, good education policy is not. I’m honored to have the support of both Democratic and Republican education leaders, and I am committed to doing what’s in the best interest of our students, our schools and our state.
“I will work across the aisle with legislators, educators and business leaders to implement policies that put our state in a position to compete nationally and internationally and ensure strong public schools for every student.”
Dr. Garcia is an Arizona native, U.S. Army veteran and product of Mesa Public Schools. The former Associate Superintendent of Public Instruction for Standards and Accountability, Garcia is widely regarded as a national expert on education policy and research. He currently teaches future education leaders at Arizona State University and has two daughters in public schools.
This article appears in Aug 28 – Sep 3, 2014.
Please begin your article stating that Dr. Garcia has received the support of THREE (2) former Arizona State Superintendents of Instruction, 2 of whom just happen to Republicans: Carolyn Warner, Liza Graham Keegan, and Jaime Molera. Thank you.
Probably a good choice, and according to what I have heard, unlike many Democrats and educators, he is not rabidly opposed to charter schools and vouchers.
So where does David Garcia stand on Common Core and high-stakes testing? Haven’t been able to find any information on that. As a liberal, experienced teacher in southern Arizona, I’m hoping he wants to eradicate both!
I find it interesting that there is a strong dislike of Common Core on both the Left and the Right, though for different reasons.
My observation is that the Right dislikes it for the very reason that the Left would like it, and the Left dislikes it for the very reason that the Right would like it.
Any thoughts?
I don’t particularly care what words we use to describe educational standards — currently, CommonCore seems to be it. What I do care about is some sort of consistent academic standards set for all districts, schools, teachers, and students==something that has already been in effect in Arizona for years already and I don’t care what we call them, but all students know/learn/perform them to the best of their ability (which also is NOT the same for all students…. (and no, academic standards are NOT the adopted textbook series, as some would like us to believe) The idea of using academic assessments to judge whether a teacher is effective is somewhat crazy and needs to be tamped down.
I think Keegan’s and Molera’s – both are very conservative – support for David Garcia suggests just how far off the right-wing charts Diana Douglas is. But Garcia supporters should not be victory dancing with this news. Right-wing money from all quarters will back Douglas just as it is backing Ducey.
Keep in mind that at this point in time most have never heard of David Garcia. The challenge remains: educate potential voters and get them to vote.
I think that the support of two very conservative former Superintendents of Public Instruction indicates that their allegiance is to the Chamber of Commerce that desperately wants to push the Common Core standards. If Garcia is, as reported in one of these comments, okay with for-profit charters and even accepting of vouchers/tuition tax credits for religious schools then there is absolutely no reason for any progressive person to support his candidacy. This election is mostly going to be about the Common Core. I have do do a lot more research about it, but the extent to which the Common Core standards are opposed by parent groups and many teachers is a clue that the standards themselves are problematic.
Just voting for a Democrat and hoping that person is a progressive is a bad strategy, especially when it comes to education. When people voted for Obama for president they thought they’d get someone like Linda Darling Hammond as Secretary of Education. Instead they got Arne Duncan and the most reactionary Department of Education of all time…even worse than when William Bennett was the Secretary of Education.
Don’t let the perfect become the enemy of the good. I hope you do research both candidates. If you do, you will find a big difference between Douglas and Garcia, and Garcia is by far the better of the two; for students and for teachers!