SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
The first Democrat in more than two decades to serve as Arizona's superintendent of public instruction, 33-year-old speech therapist Kathy Hoffman was sworn in on Monday. (Photo: Kathy Hoffman/Facebook)
Sworn in With Hand on Children's Favorite "Too Many Moose," Arizona's New Head of Public Schools Vows to Put Students and Teachers First
"I'm done saying, 'Imagine if.' I am here to say, 'Let's get to work.'"
Jan 07, 2019
After a series of education-related protests and victories last year in Arizona--infamous for outlawing ethnic studies classes and right-wing efforts to push school vouchers--the state's new head of the public school system on Monday took the oath office on a children's book and promised to continue the fight to improve conditions for both students and teachers.
The first Democrat in more than two decades to serve as Arizona's superintendent of public instruction, Kathy Hoffman, a 33-year-old speech therapist, told a local television news reporter that "Too Many Moose!" has "a lot of sentimental value" to her as her students' favorite book, and it also helped them develop their vocabulary and phonics skills.
After she was sworn in at a ceremony at the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix, Hoffman delivered a speech that echoed messages from her campaign stump speech, AZ Central reports.
"I think that the other educators felt the same way I did, that we wanted our voices to be heard and to make sure that our students had a voice in government, and we were tired of waiting around and waiting for someone to speak for us."
--Kathy Hoffman, Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction
"Our public schools go beyond just teaching our students to read or to take a test," Hoffman said. "They help our children to learn even other important skills, including music, science, art, technology, so that our students are not just productive, but well-rounded members of our community."
"Imagine if we elevated the voices of our teachers and let educators lead," she said. "Imagine if we celebrated the diversity within our state and within our schools and treated multilingualism as an asset. Imagine if we worked collaboratively and used research to guide us toward the best (policies for students)."
Vowing to launch an audit of the state Department of Education and to fight for "competitive" pay for all education staff and paid parental leave, Hoffman declared: "Well, guess what? I'm done saying, 'Imagine if.' I am here to say, 'Let's get to work.'"
Her promises follow 2018's #RedforEd walkouts in Arizona that successfully pressured Republican Gov. Doug Ducey to sign a budget bill raising teacher pay and dedicating $138 million more to funding schools. In 2017, the ban on ethnic studies classes was defeated and last year, so was a right-wing initiative, backed by a group with ties to the billionaire Koch Brothers, to privatize Arizona schools.
Teachers not only in Arizona, but also across West Virginia, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Colorado held walkouts and rallies last year to demand greater investment in public education. In the wake of those demonstrations, there was a large spike in educators running for elected office. The Associated Press reports, citing union figures, that "nationwide, an unprecedented 1,800 current and former educators, administrators and support staffers ran for office in 2018, and more than half of them won."
"I feel proud to be part of the movement of educators who decided to run for office," Hoffman told the AP. "I think that the other educators felt the same way I did, that we wanted our voices to be heard and to make sure that our students had a voice in government, and we were tired of waiting around and waiting for someone to speak for us."
In Arizona, not all of 2018's teacher-backed efforts succeeded--ahead of the midterms, the state Supreme Court, which critics have accused Ducey of packing with right-wing judges, struck down the Invest in Education ballot initiative that would have increased taxes on the Arizona's wealthiest residents to raise $690 million in public education spending--but Hoffman said Monday that "we want to do everything we can to prevent another walkout."
While celebrating the outcomes of last year's protests, she concluded, "It was thrilling to see everyone come together for that cause last spring, but now we need to do everything we can to come together to pass policies and solve this together."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
After a series of education-related protests and victories last year in Arizona--infamous for outlawing ethnic studies classes and right-wing efforts to push school vouchers--the state's new head of the public school system on Monday took the oath office on a children's book and promised to continue the fight to improve conditions for both students and teachers.
The first Democrat in more than two decades to serve as Arizona's superintendent of public instruction, Kathy Hoffman, a 33-year-old speech therapist, told a local television news reporter that "Too Many Moose!" has "a lot of sentimental value" to her as her students' favorite book, and it also helped them develop their vocabulary and phonics skills.
After she was sworn in at a ceremony at the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix, Hoffman delivered a speech that echoed messages from her campaign stump speech, AZ Central reports.
"I think that the other educators felt the same way I did, that we wanted our voices to be heard and to make sure that our students had a voice in government, and we were tired of waiting around and waiting for someone to speak for us."
--Kathy Hoffman, Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction
"Our public schools go beyond just teaching our students to read or to take a test," Hoffman said. "They help our children to learn even other important skills, including music, science, art, technology, so that our students are not just productive, but well-rounded members of our community."
"Imagine if we elevated the voices of our teachers and let educators lead," she said. "Imagine if we celebrated the diversity within our state and within our schools and treated multilingualism as an asset. Imagine if we worked collaboratively and used research to guide us toward the best (policies for students)."
Vowing to launch an audit of the state Department of Education and to fight for "competitive" pay for all education staff and paid parental leave, Hoffman declared: "Well, guess what? I'm done saying, 'Imagine if.' I am here to say, 'Let's get to work.'"
Her promises follow 2018's #RedforEd walkouts in Arizona that successfully pressured Republican Gov. Doug Ducey to sign a budget bill raising teacher pay and dedicating $138 million more to funding schools. In 2017, the ban on ethnic studies classes was defeated and last year, so was a right-wing initiative, backed by a group with ties to the billionaire Koch Brothers, to privatize Arizona schools.
Teachers not only in Arizona, but also across West Virginia, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Colorado held walkouts and rallies last year to demand greater investment in public education. In the wake of those demonstrations, there was a large spike in educators running for elected office. The Associated Press reports, citing union figures, that "nationwide, an unprecedented 1,800 current and former educators, administrators and support staffers ran for office in 2018, and more than half of them won."
"I feel proud to be part of the movement of educators who decided to run for office," Hoffman told the AP. "I think that the other educators felt the same way I did, that we wanted our voices to be heard and to make sure that our students had a voice in government, and we were tired of waiting around and waiting for someone to speak for us."
In Arizona, not all of 2018's teacher-backed efforts succeeded--ahead of the midterms, the state Supreme Court, which critics have accused Ducey of packing with right-wing judges, struck down the Invest in Education ballot initiative that would have increased taxes on the Arizona's wealthiest residents to raise $690 million in public education spending--but Hoffman said Monday that "we want to do everything we can to prevent another walkout."
While celebrating the outcomes of last year's protests, she concluded, "It was thrilling to see everyone come together for that cause last spring, but now we need to do everything we can to come together to pass policies and solve this together."
After a series of education-related protests and victories last year in Arizona--infamous for outlawing ethnic studies classes and right-wing efforts to push school vouchers--the state's new head of the public school system on Monday took the oath office on a children's book and promised to continue the fight to improve conditions for both students and teachers.
The first Democrat in more than two decades to serve as Arizona's superintendent of public instruction, Kathy Hoffman, a 33-year-old speech therapist, told a local television news reporter that "Too Many Moose!" has "a lot of sentimental value" to her as her students' favorite book, and it also helped them develop their vocabulary and phonics skills.
After she was sworn in at a ceremony at the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix, Hoffman delivered a speech that echoed messages from her campaign stump speech, AZ Central reports.
"I think that the other educators felt the same way I did, that we wanted our voices to be heard and to make sure that our students had a voice in government, and we were tired of waiting around and waiting for someone to speak for us."
--Kathy Hoffman, Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction
"Our public schools go beyond just teaching our students to read or to take a test," Hoffman said. "They help our children to learn even other important skills, including music, science, art, technology, so that our students are not just productive, but well-rounded members of our community."
"Imagine if we elevated the voices of our teachers and let educators lead," she said. "Imagine if we celebrated the diversity within our state and within our schools and treated multilingualism as an asset. Imagine if we worked collaboratively and used research to guide us toward the best (policies for students)."
Vowing to launch an audit of the state Department of Education and to fight for "competitive" pay for all education staff and paid parental leave, Hoffman declared: "Well, guess what? I'm done saying, 'Imagine if.' I am here to say, 'Let's get to work.'"
Her promises follow 2018's #RedforEd walkouts in Arizona that successfully pressured Republican Gov. Doug Ducey to sign a budget bill raising teacher pay and dedicating $138 million more to funding schools. In 2017, the ban on ethnic studies classes was defeated and last year, so was a right-wing initiative, backed by a group with ties to the billionaire Koch Brothers, to privatize Arizona schools.
Teachers not only in Arizona, but also across West Virginia, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Colorado held walkouts and rallies last year to demand greater investment in public education. In the wake of those demonstrations, there was a large spike in educators running for elected office. The Associated Press reports, citing union figures, that "nationwide, an unprecedented 1,800 current and former educators, administrators and support staffers ran for office in 2018, and more than half of them won."
"I feel proud to be part of the movement of educators who decided to run for office," Hoffman told the AP. "I think that the other educators felt the same way I did, that we wanted our voices to be heard and to make sure that our students had a voice in government, and we were tired of waiting around and waiting for someone to speak for us."
In Arizona, not all of 2018's teacher-backed efforts succeeded--ahead of the midterms, the state Supreme Court, which critics have accused Ducey of packing with right-wing judges, struck down the Invest in Education ballot initiative that would have increased taxes on the Arizona's wealthiest residents to raise $690 million in public education spending--but Hoffman said Monday that "we want to do everything we can to prevent another walkout."
While celebrating the outcomes of last year's protests, she concluded, "It was thrilling to see everyone come together for that cause last spring, but now we need to do everything we can to come together to pass policies and solve this together."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.