Friday, May 8th, 2009...7:23 am
A Penny for Your Schools
I find it amazing that with the current round of budget cuts, any one would want to run the public school system in this state. But, the Democrats now have two candidates for that office with former AEA Vice President Penny Kotterman joining 2006 candidate Jason Williams in the contest:
Dear fellow Democrats,
Recently, I filed my campaign for Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2010. This is an exciting prospect for me, and one I have considered for a number of years. As a long time teacher, mentor and public education advocate, I know that having someone who really understands public education, from the classroom to the policy decisions that impact our kids, our teachers and our schools, is critically important to the success of public education in our state.
These are turbulent times for all of us in public education and in Arizona. This has been a year of uncertainty and unprecedented cuts to public education. That battle still rages. But I believe strong, thoughtful and committed leadership at all levels of government can craft solutions-that together we can be innovative and take the risks necessary to secure the bright future all Arizona children deserve. We CAN change the conversation about PUBLIC education and focus our efforts on supporting our children and our communities. We CAN have high standards and high expectations for our children and our schools, and WE can define accountability in a manner that is based on common sense approaches that honor the uniqueness of each and every child.
I will meet many of you this weekend at the State Committee meeting, and I look forward to travelling throughout the state and meeting the rest of you in the coming months. I have the experience and the qualifications to be Superintendent of Public Instruction, and I know I can run a successful and credible campaign. I look forward to sharing my thoughts with you and hearing yours. I hope you will visit our preliminary website at www.PennyKotterman.com to find out more and volunteer, as well as visit our as well as visit our Facebook forum to contribute your thoughts about what you believe is important about education in Arizona.
I look forward to this challenge!
Sincerely,
Penny A. Kotterman
17 Comments
May 8th, 2009 at 9:43 pm
OUTSTANDING!!! Penny will be a credible and strong voice for our schools, our kids and our party. With all due respect to Jason Williams, she brings experience and a knowledge of how things work in Phoenix that he does not possess. She would also make mincemeat of that arrogant blowhard Huppenthal, who the GOP looks sure to nominate.
May 9th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Penny’s “experience” meme sounds a lot like HRC’s platform last year, and we all saw how well that worked out. The truth is, Penny is absolutely clueless about educational assessments and modern evaluation techniques. I talked to her for about 5 minutes, and she seems like a very sweet person with great intentions, but I don’t want her anywhere near the administration for my kids’ schools.
May 9th, 2009 at 11:27 pm
I’m actually not so sure the GOP will nominate Huppenthal, I read someplace that representative Crandall is also considering running for them.
Not that it much matters. I just hope that the Democrats are smart enough to get both their votes to slash school funding on record and then run a campaign featuring the votes. i. e. “The GOP candidate for superintendent has already damaged your kids schools as a member of the legislature, supporting and pushing for $xxxx.xx in budget cuts to school districts, which resulted in the layoffs of #### teachers, increased class sizes and no new equipment to replace increasingly outdated equipment.
That’s just the damage he did from the outside, are you sure you want to let him do as much damage as he can inside the schools?
May 10th, 2009 at 8:45 am
Huppenthal would wax Crandall. Keep in mind that Huppenthal just got Arpaio’s backing last week. Crandall is also suspected by the red-meat conservatives as not being enough of a true believer. Huppenthal is more aligned with the current voice and direction of the Arizona GOP. The third contender, Dugan, is a protege of Horne and thus also suspect on the right. Strategists may also not want her candidacy because it could force an unneeded review and appraisal of the last eight years.
Kotterman is the best choice for Dems because of her involvement and engagement with the educational issues that come before both the Department of Education and the Legislature. Her work within the AEA and in her own classroom gives her credibility with teachers and parents. She has the most experience as an educator of any candidate for this office in a very long time and is also an effective, polished and knowledgeable advocate for the imterests of public schools. The GOP is set to nominate a politician once again for this critical job. Kotterman’s many years in the trenches will be a stark contrast with the lack of direct educational experience the GOP nominee will present.
Kotterman also trumps Williams in terms of years in the classroom and Arizona politics, although he should be applauded for the scrappy campaign he ran in 2006. She also has more years in Arizona than Williams, who arrived in the state from California shortly before he began his last campaign. Kotterman’s involvement in Arizona education and politics goes back decades.
A Kotterman candidacy gives Democrats a myriad of advantages. The GOP will run an anti-union campaign against her that we can easily characterize as anti-teacher. Once you hear her speak publicly about her passion for and lifelong commitment to schools and kids, you’ll understand why she is our clear choice for this vital office.
May 10th, 2009 at 10:01 am
seems like Rex is working for Kotterman.
May 10th, 2009 at 10:59 am
Adam, Yep – Rex even cited her talking points verbatim. Seems Penny has quite a few people running around saying the exact same things word for word. They sound like a bunch of drones.
I don’t mean to be so down on Penny, I really don’t. I have nothing against her personally, but I don’t think that she is the best candidate (or even a good candidate for this office). Anyone who thinks anti-union equates into anti-teacher in a red libertarian state is just in denial.
May 10th, 2009 at 11:42 am
Zoey- I’ve met and heard Penny speak, smart woman and definitely well meaning, but I wasn’t terribly impressed. We need an overhaul of education in this state, and I think Penny represents an old way of doing things…I support the Union but I feel as if she would conduct business their way, purely for the advancement of the teachers and not for the students. I work in education, and we have recently dealt with the problems of the Union defending completely unqualified teachers and putting their own interests above the students they should be concerned with. (not in all cases, however) Penny has been out of the political loop for quite some time as well, I know she doesn’t know the ins and outs of everything. Shes put together a rag tag team of people to help her…a couple of them I would try and distance myself from.
Jason is younger, has fresher ideas. And headed up Teach for America, a great program. But I could complain about Jason a lot too. Both have their problems, but in this case, who do we think is going to be more committed to our students?
May 10th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
Way to use anti-union talking points on a Democratic blog. Great idea.
May 10th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
Give it a rest, conspiracy theorists.
Just for the record, I am not working for any campaign. I am a high school administrator who met Kotterman when I was still a teacher. No one with my job has time to do anything more than volunteer for a campaign.
The first I heard about her campaign was on this blog, but I am excited because of what I know about her as a person and a leader. If it sounds like I am mouthing her talking points, then maybe that is because I see her potential as both a candidate and our state supe.
May 10th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
Yep,
Sounds like Jason Williams people. Let’s see if the checkmarks are met.
1. Anti-Teachers Union rhetoric masked in viability issues- Check
2. False meme about Jason being an underdog, and the powers that be being against him- Check
3. Her twenty years as a teacher don’t cut nearly as much as Jason’s five. -Check
4. Penny has surrounded herself “with people she should distance herself from”, “scary union people”
nice that you don’t mention there names Adam- check
5. Still have not seen Jason accuse her of being anti-gay but I am sure he will save the Slade Mead treatment for her later. – no check
May 10th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
It was not anti union, as I said I support the Unions. I have relatives in unions, on is a union administrator, and I myself used to be a card carrying member of the UFCW. Rex, I am a district administrator, and I am saying that we have issues (in my district, cannot vouch for others) of the union coming to the defense of teachers (many tenured) who are failing in their profession. I’ve seen it happen in other areas as well. (might just be personal bias, would have done as well to leave it out I suppose, my bad) Did I say anything about Jason being an underdog? My bad, if anything, I would say it might be more even. Jason has more recongnition outside of the education field then Penny, and Penny is poised to pick up more endorsements within the field and within the party. And, Lisa, Penny has been in education for 30 years, beginning back in the midwest (from her own words) As for the people I mentioned, I did not say scary union people, I just said people. I won’t mention “there” names because I know a few of them, but if you are active in the party you would know.
Penny is a smart woman, multi talented and has the background to hold the position, I am just not sure she has the ideas and vision to make sure our students competitive on a world stage, and to provide our students with the skills and tools they need.
But, on that note, I am not sure Jason has the skills. He isn’t from Arizona, and would his experience in mostly Urban settings disenfranchise our suburban-and most importantly-rural students? But from speaking to him and hearing about him, I feel like some of his plans are better suited for the situation we are in, and are going to help students (especially the ones like I serve) be successful. I’ll probably vote Jason in the primary, not totally sure yet, but in the general I will vote for who ever has the nomination. But I guess we will see, eh?
May 11th, 2009 at 10:05 am
Not impressed with Penny nor the AEA – we sure need a democrat in this position but Williams is the better choice in my book.
May 11th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
Teacher’s unions are important because they fight for teacher’s to be paid well. Unfortunately the are not paid well, so I question effectiveness. One of the biggest knock against Teacher’s Unions is that they protect awful teachers from being dismissed. I really don’t know if Penny is the best choice. I wish her the best of luck, and will support her in the General if she wins, but for now, my support goes to Jason Williams. Williams’ vision for public education in Arizona is student oriented not teacher oriented, he places parents and students needs’ over faculty members. My apologies for believing that is the best philosophy. GO Jason!!! Victory in 2010.
May 11th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
I am an AEA member and I am not sure who the best candidate is. I do know it will be a tough decision and I will end up supporting whomever survives the primary. With that being said, I have never defended a poor teacher. I have only ever defended due process. Have there been times that a bad teacher slipped through? Sure, but I equate it with our legal system and that you are innocent until proven guilty. I cannot afford to allow an administrator, who may very well be the incompetent one, to not do his work and then just go ahead and remove a teacher.
To recap: Defend due process and help get rid of bad teachers through that process.
May 11th, 2009 at 9:54 pm
I think Ms. Kotterman has three qualities that make her an attractive candidate. She is articulate and well-spoken, she has strong leadership qualifications, and she is a veteran public school teacher.
Speaking as a 20+ year Arizona teacher and AEA member, Ms. Kotterman’s AEA has not been as progressive or pro-active as I would like it to be. Having said that, electing a professional educator to manage the state’s schools would be a welcome change.
Opponents will utilize the time-honored “Bad Union=Tenured Bad Teacher” myth soon after Ms. Kotterman’s announcement. In addition, some less-than-happy school memories or those “comments from the teacher a parent didn’t want to hear about Susie” will affect this race and people’s opinions in very personal ways.
Most, however, will welcome having two strong candidates for Superintendent of Public Instruction who are also dedicated public school teachers.
May 12th, 2009 at 6:02 am
I want to echo Jessie’s eloquent words in that I will pledge to support either Democratic candidate wholeheartedly in the general election. Jason Williams had my vote last time and he will again if he is selected as our nominee. He did a superb job in 2006 of wresting the nomination from the favorite and also gave the incumbent a run for his money in the general election. I just think that Penny Kotterman brings more assets and experience to the table as our nominee for an office that hasn’t had an effective leader in far too long. It’s sad that some people are using their perceptions about AEA to color their view of Kotterman. I thought we would need to wait until the general election to hear that kind of rhetoric.
Jessie also points to the pervasive myth about teachers’ associations protecting “bad teachers.” As an administrator, that has not been my experience, nor have I heard many of my colleagues make that assertion. As Jack mentioned above, the association will always insist on a respect for agreed-upon procedures that protect teachers against arbitrary actions. However, they are loath to “protect” teachers who are clearly inadequate and need to be out of the classroom.
The problem that often arises when bad teachers stay in their jobs is that administrators didn’t take all the steps, meet the required deadlines and prepare the documentation required to remove those teachers. It is not hard to get rid of a teacher who is incompetent or who engages in unprofessional conduct. On the two occasions so far in my career that I had to undertake this sad duty, I found association representatives called in by the teachers in question to be reasonable and fair.
May 12th, 2009 at 8:34 am
Dog, dog, dog eat dog.