Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman wants to Continue to Work and Help Children and Schools in a Second Term

It has been close to three years since current Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman stunned most Arizona election experts after taking her message across the Grand Canyon State by besting David Schapira for the Democratic Nomination for the position and then winning handily in the November 2018 elections against Frank Riggs.

The Democrat with the second highest votes for statewide office in 2018 (Senator Sinema edged her out by a little more than six thousand votes,) Hoffman has brought a strong team of pro-public education technocrats to 1535 West Jefferson and worked to help children and public schools.

Her achievements as Superintendent include:

• Creating a statewide student council to focus on improving public schools.
• Working to repeal both the No Pro Homo and the English Only Laws.
• Advocating greater funding for public schools, especially special education and full-day kindergarten programs.
• Bringing accountability to the Empowerment Scholarship Program. This move has earned her the wrath of Republicans who prefer the people not to know how parents of the scholarship recipients are using the funds.
• Implementing two rounds of school safety grants which have enabled schools to hire new guidance counselors and school resource officers.
• Championing the modernization of the state’s sex education curriculum guidelines. This is another area where reactionaries have made their scientifically and culturally illiterate views known.
• Visiting school districts across the state that have been largely ignored by previous school superintendents and other state leaders.
• Steering schools through the COVID 19 Pandemic by offering science-based guidance and assistance when possible. This has been challenging given the backtracking of Governor Ducey on recent school safety measures like the wearing of masks and the refusal of the state legislature to fully fund the schools where many students were treated as distance learners this year because of staying home during the pandemic.

 

Superintendent Hoffman graciously took the time to discuss her candidacy for reelection.

The questions and her responses are below.

1) Please tell the readers at least two reasons you are seeking reelection to the office of Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction.

• “I love my job being Superintendent of Public Instruction and being the advocate for students and educators statewide.
• I believe I still have a lot of work to do in this role. I think it will take the whole eight years to achieve everything I want to.”

 

2) To what extent have you accomplished the campaign goals from your first run in your current term? Please explain.

 “I am proud that I have made progress towards some of my goals like working to repeal the English-only law. I am hopeful of the final repeal of the English-only law by November 2022 at the latest. One of the challenges is not being in charge of policy. Also, last year’s legislative session was cut short and some bills I supported did not advance.”

 

3) What have been your three proudest accomplishments from your first term as Superintendent?

• “Expanding the school safety grant program by $20 million in 2019 which added 260 counselor and social worker positions. And then a couple of weeks ago, we announced we are expanding it again by $21.3 million, adding 140 positions with one-time federal aid funds from the American Cares Act.
• Repealing the No Promo Homo policy. This made our schools safer and more inclusive for LGBTQ students.
• During my first 15 months, I prioritized traveling schools in all 15 counties including tribal nations. I visited over 100 schools. I am proud of that because my visits were regarded as historic by some schools in remote areas who had never been visited by the State School Superintendent, and I was able to elevate their accomplishments and challenges to lawmakers when meeting with them.”

 

4) Excluding COVID 19, what have been the three most surprising events or issues in your first term as Superintendent?

• “I was really struck by the digital divide across the state’s public schools and how far behind Arizona was behind. That was shocking to me.
• I was so taken aback by Governor Ducey’s decision to take back the mask mandate in public schools. It was unnecessary to cause that disruption especially given CDC guidelines did not recommend that action.
• The lack of bipartisan support for COVID recovery and fully funding education. The legislature is sitting on the billion-dollar rainy day fund because they underfunded distance learning and enrollment declines. It is surprising to see the legislators not being receptive to helping here. We have started the process of distributing the federal COVID recovery and relief funding to make up the difference, but it is one-time and supplemental. The state needs to act.”

 

5) What are at least three goals you would like to pursue if reelected to a second term as Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction?

• “Educator recruitment and retention. I created an educator and retention team and we have expanded it to include a data analyst. We are aiming to increase the number of certified teachers in the classroom. We have also streamlined some education certification policies so we can more easily recruit special education teachers, including for students with visual or hearing impairment.
• Increases the mental health supports for students and increasing the number of mental health staff and providing teachers with professional development in social-emotional learning
• School Funding and fund underfunded areas like pre k, full-day kindergarten (it is an embarrassment that we still do not have full-day kindergarten,) and special education.”

 

6) Do you think this reelection campaign will be easier or harder than your first one in 2018? Please explain.

“I think it will be easier because by now Arizona has had a chance to get to know me. I have a strong record of doing what is best for kids and schools. Also, I have built up my skills as a candidate and I have already accumulated my Clean Elections funding in five weeks. I will also travel across the state again to deliver my message on what I have done and what I still want to do.”

For more information on Superintendent Kathy Hoffman and her candidacy for reelection, please click on any of the below social media links.

Twitter: @kathyhoffman_az
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/electkathyhoffman