by David Safier
The race for Superintendent of Public Instruction promises to be a bit more high profile in 2010 than it usually is, with education funding and legislation in the news every day. Two Democrats have filed for the position: Penny Kotterman and Jason Williams. Williams ran last time and lost to Tom Horne, who was the incumbent. This time there's no incumbent, which levels the playing field. Kotterman is going after the position for the first time.

I offered both candidates the opportunity to answer identical questions I emailed to them. Kotterman took me up on the offer. One of the people running Williams campaign said Williams chose not to respond at this time. I'm posting Kotterman's complete answers to my questions, a luxury possible on the web. The beginning of the interview is on the front page. You can link to the rest.

I had a chance to meet with Kotterman and found her to be serious, knowledgeable and personable, and someone with a vast and varied resume. She has 30 years of experience in various aspects of public education. She began as a high school English and Journalism teacher (two areas I taught in as well). She went into Special Education and ended up teaching students at all grade levels, K-12.

Kotterman became involved in the AEA (Arizona Education Association) and served as its president, meaning she had experience managing a large organization and interacting regularly with state government, including 2 governors and 3 Superintendents of Public Instruction.

Now, I'll let her speak for herself.

Q: Why are you running for Superintendent of Public Instruction?

I believe it is time to change the conversation about public education. The Superintendent of Public Instruction needs to be an educational leader, armed with a depth of knowledge gained over a lifetime of experience in education, not a politician with an ideological formula gained over a lifetime of running for office. We need to move from polarizing political stances to conversations and solutions about what Arizona students need to be successful in the world they will face. High standards and high expectations for our schools, our teachers and our students are essential to our success. In order to be sure we are not just engaging in rhetoric, we also need to talk about the importance of investing in our schools for the future and providing the resources our children need to be competitive and successful. I believe I have the experience, dedication, passion, skill and knowledge to serve this state as a true educational leader and Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Q: What experience and qualifications do you bring to the position?

I have dedicated my entire career to public education for the last 30 years. I have lived and worked in Arizona since 1984. I began teaching at Manual High School in Peoria, Illinois in 1978 and I was a classroom teacher and teacher mentor for 18 years, teaching special education and English, Language Arts and Reading. While I spent most of my career in 6-8 grades, I have taught students at all grade levels. I hold six teaching certificates in Arizona, including two administrative certificates. During the course of my years in public education I served eight years as Vice President and then President of the Arizona Education Association (AEA). During that time I worked with three Superintendents of Public Instruction and two Governors and served on several appointed policy commissions, task forces and committees for the Arizona Department of Education, the State Board of Education and the Governor’s Office. After my tenure at the AEA, I worked as an independent consultant crafting education policy on topics such as teacher quality, performance based compensation, teacher evaluation, and student achievement and assessment. I have served on national committees related to education issues and presented at a number of national and international education symposiums and conferences in the last 15 years, including England and China. Since 2006 I have worked for the Arizona K-12 Center (Northern Arizona University) as the Associate Director of New Programs and Policy. In this position I developed the foundation of the Master Teacher program, a statewide mentoring program for new teachers. I also develop and manage professional development programs, report on policy related to teacher quality and professional development, and provide guidance and support to our Center and other entities on teacher quality and its impact on student achievement. I understand a very wide range of policy issues impacting children and students from all areas of our state and nation, and have dealt with many of them first hand. My experience in the classroom and my history of successfully engaging education policy makers on complex policy issues gives me the experience, knowledge and skill for this position. I bring tremendous passion, understanding, creativity and innovation to this very important work.