Welcome to The Range, David Safier

This is my first post on The Range after writing for six years over at Blog for Arizona. Dan Gibson asked me to make the move — next door, you could say, since both blogs are Tucson based — and I said, “Yes.”

So, an introduction.

I taught high school — English, photography, yearbook advisor — for 30+ years in the Portland, Oregon, area, then moved here ten years ago. I’ve immersed myself in the politics and education of the state, which are inextricably mixed — more so with each passing year. Arizona is a stalking horse for the conservative “education reform” movement, so what happens here is likely to be adopted in other conservative-led states. We’re very much on the national radar. Our charter schools are setting up branches elsewhere, our backdoor vouchers are expanding in unique directions and our meager state education budgets continue to set the bar for how low per-student funding can go. TUSD made national news when the Mexican American Studies controversy was raging (we even made The Daily Show), and it continues to be referred to in newspapers and ed journals.

I’ve written extensively about all those educational issues and more, and plan to do so here as well. I also write about lots of other stuff, and since Dan has given me carte blanche at The Range, I imagine I’ll do the same here.

I’m looking forward to writing for a new and continuing audience of readers. See you soon.

This article appears in Jan 9-15, 2014.