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A New Vision for Education in Idaho

Last Updated on Friday, 27 August 2010 16:01 Written by Olson for Idaho Thursday, 19 August 2010 18:20

By Dr. Stan Olson

Forty-three years ago, as a freshman in college I ran for class President. Luckily, with a very rainy day and an exceptionally low turnout, I prevailed and was elected. This was the last time I ran for office. I am not a politician and have never wanted to be one, but I am running for this office because I believe that with the right kind of leadership in place, together we can transform public education in Idaho to become a national leader. If we do not have qualified, experienced, and focused leadership in place, our children, teachers, businesses, and communities will suffer.

The last four years in public education have been a rudderless ship. We have lacked instructional and operational leadership from the State Superintendent’s office. A real leader in this role must know how kids think, how teachers teach, and what it takes for school districts of all sizes and geographic locations to be successful. We need real, experienced educational leadership at the head of our State Department. Without it, we will never accomplish our goals.

Through my forty-year career as an educator, I have had many experiences and learned many lessons from my successes and my mistakes. However, my tenure in field has afforded me many valuable opportunities to learn and grow as an educator within public schools and as an administrator of public school systems. One of the lessons I have learned along the way is that a strategic plan involving all the stakeholders of our communities can do wonders for the direction of a school system. I have facilitated these discussions many times during my career and I am running for the Office of State Superintendent because I believe that I am the right person to do this in our State. Idaho is a small population state giving us a tremendous opportunity to work together and create a plan for education that will serve the needs of our children and our communities. If I am elected, I will be asking for your input and your involvement in shaping the future of Idaho’s public school systems.

As I travel our state, I remind fellow Idahoans that this particular race involves the well being of children and their learning experience, nothing more. I explain to them that the R and the D that will be present next to the names of candidates on the ballot hold no water in this particular race. This office has been politicized beyond belief over the last four years, and I can promise you that if I am elected, you will not see me standing behind some candidate for office touting their credibility. You will only see me working tirelessly to gather input from each and every person interested in moving education forward, working to improve the learning opportunities for our students.

Our state is struggling to provide and “maintain a general, uniform and thorough system of public schools” as called on by the Idaho Constitution. Together, we can turn this situation around by electing leadership that is qualified and capable of leading our state education system, and supporting each of Idaho’s 115 school districts to become some of the best and brightest in our nation.

AYP RESULTS DO NOT MEAN HEALTHY SCHOOLS

Obsession with AYP undermines real efforts to improve Idaho’s schools

AYP results are in and being reported. That’s the good news. The bad news is, Tom Luna is suggesting that he had something to do with AYP improvement across the state and that the AYP standard really measures a school’s true effectiveness.

“Any school gains in Adequate Yearly Progress over the last four years have come as a result of the hard work of Idaho’s teachers, principals, and students, NOT from the efforts of the current State Superintendent. If anything, Mr. Luna has negatively impacted school improvement efforts by failing to support local school districts and by not having a real plan in place to help schools sustain improvement initiatives.” said Olson

Schools have also been hurt by Luna’s politicization of test scores, inferring that the AYP measure is the standard by which Idaho’s schools should be judged. Olson adds, “We have some schools in the state that are rated in the top 6% nationally who did not make AYP, how can that be?” Educators across the nation view the AYP measure of the No Child Left Behind program to be a “faulty premise” on which to judge schools, and reflect that almost every American school will not make AYP for one reason or another in the future.

Greater emphasis needs to be placed on helping all Idaho school children meet rigorous, nationally recognized standards through consistent support and guidance. That support and guidance is not in place, and has been lacking over the last four years.

Dr. Stan Olson Announces Run for State Superintendent of Public Instruction

(IDAHO) – Boise School District Superintendent, Dr. Stan Olson, announced today that he will run for Idaho State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

“I’ve spent nearly 40 years educating children and young adults and helping them succeed,” said Dr. Olson. “I have a passion for helping children succeed. As a teacher, coach, adjunct professor and superintendent, I cannot imagine a more rewarding and challenging profession. Given the challenges Idaho’s students face today, we need a person who understands real education leadership now more than ever.”