Issue Position: Investing in Our Children

Issue Position

Investing in our children: Every child in our community deserves the opportunity to reach their full potential, and that starts with high quality public education. As every parent knows, there is no such thing as a standardized child. Art, music, science, and plenty of 1:1 attention from professional educators are all crucial if we are to truly invest in our children. I am committed to public education policy that helps all our children succeed.

I support parents' choice to opt out of standardized testing. It is disturbing to realize that many times these mandated tests benefit profit-driven testing companies, rather than best interest of the child. Around the country, parents are choosing for their children not to take standardized tests. Parents have every right to protect their children from overtesting and I am committed to shifting us back to commonsense curriculum.

I value our dedicated professional educators, have seen firsthand their dedication to our children, and believe we should draw much more on their expertise on how best to measure and ensure our children's learning. As a state representative, I would draw from that expertise to be sure that child development and education experts are leading the discussion on proper education policy, rather than being denied a place at the table as they too often are in Michigan's halls of power.

I support fairness in funding our children's education. It is wrong that children in Grand Traverse County get a significantly lower per pupil allotment of funds from the state based on their zip code. I am passionate about ensuring proper funding our local public schools, and will sponsor legislation for per pupil funding equity.

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