Superintendent, thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to chat with us. Education is always a hot-button subject in our state and so it’s an honor to get to hear from the person at the very top of our educational system.
You’ve had a long career in Arizona public service; what first motivated you to get involved in politics and education?
I was practicing law, and I had four children in preschool. I had gone to an excellent public school in a New York suburb, chosen at the time as one of the best in the country. I wanted my children to have an excellent public education. I thought the best way to assure that was to serve on the school board for my district. I served on the school board long enough to hand a diploma to all four of the children, 24 years, 10 years as the board president.
To earn your current term you defeated sitting Superintendent Kathy Hoffman. Ousting an incumbent is never easy; what do you think was the determining factor in that race in what some might have considered an upset victory?
Arizonans tend to vote for incumbents in statewide general elections. When I unseated Supt. Hoffman, it was the first defeat for an incumbent in a statewide election in 50 years. She had been focused on everything except academics: social emotional learning, transsexuals, etc. I ran to get the focus back on academics and that was a message that resonated.
Education in Arizona is often framed as being in crisis: teacher shortages, funding concerns, achievement gaps. Do you believe the public narrative is fair? What’s not being talked about enough?
It is partly true. But we have many excellent schools in Arizona. We are 51st in funding per-pupil out of 50 states and the district of Columbia. But in the national math test we were in the middle. Some schools deserve praise for this.
Often, I might disapprove of some things a district is doing but strongly approve of others. For example, I fought bitterly with The Tucson Unified District over their ethnic studies program that included critical race theory. But I have travelled a number of times to Tucson to bring awards to individual schools in the district for excellent academic outcomes. Also, the District’s program Opening Minds Through the Arts is excellent and I have promoted it to other districts.
In your current term as Superintendent, you’ve made headlines for taking strong stances on curriculum and school oversight. What do you see as your guiding principle when making these decisions?
The guiding principle is to focus on academics. The media likes to focus on controversy, which is understandable because it’s more interesting. But 90 percent of my time and effort and that of the department is in helping the schools improve their academics. We have 15 initiatives to do that, and I am involved in every one, and I’m working hard.
As an example, we send improvement teams, highly qualified teachers and administrators, to help schools. One of their projects was to help the bottom 5 percent, about 90 schools. After we gave that help, 70 percent of the schools were no longer in the bottom 5 percent. Another example is that we adopted the fifth grade of a school in a very poor neighborhood near our office. Weekly, people from our department went to help teachers improve their teaching and to teach some classes. After a year, math scores went up 27percent. This proves that poor students can learn as well as rich students if they are properly taught.
Where do you stand on the role of technology, school choice, and curriculum transparency in the future of Arizona classrooms?
Technology: I am bringing the tools for tomorrow to the schools today. There’s an artificial intelligence program Called Khanmigo that does not replace teachers, it helps them. It gives them the equivalent of two assistants doing the grunt work, so they can focus more on creative teaching. It gives the students 24 hours a day, 365 days a year of tutoring. So, if tests show that students are not learning something, the teacher can tell them to go on Khanmigo and get tutoring. This helps ensure that a student does not go to the next grade having failed to understand a significant amount of what was taught. The Dept paid for 160,000 students to have this. We have a program to greatly expand the number of students that will have this tool available next year.
School choice. I’ve been a strong advocate of school choice since I was in the legislature. In my time there, there was a bill that passed the Senate to limit the growth of charter schools. The house bill did not have that provision. I was the chair of the conference committee to reconcile the two bills, and the first thing I did was to kill the provision that would have limited the growth of charter schools. I thought parents should have as few or as many as they wanted. As a result, when I left office after my first two terms to become Attorney General, Arizona had the highest percentage of students in charter schools of the 50 states. Now I am a strong advocate of Empowerment Scholarship Accounts. My efforts to guard against abuse, so that the program would survive, is what has brought the primary against me.
Critics have accused you of politicizing education, particularly around issues like diversity programs or school library materials. How do you respond to that criticism and where do you draw the line between education policy and political ideology?
I believe the most interesting philosophical divide in our country today is between people like me, who believe in individual merit, and those who would substitute racial entitlements. The problem with racial entitlements is that they do nothing to encourage hard work, conscientiousness, or creativity. If they won out, the United States would become a mediocre nation, and China would be the leader in the world, calling the shots, if you can imagine the world like that. I do not see this fight as political or ideological. I see it as fighting for excellence against mediocrity.
What do you believe Arizona schools are doing right that doesn’t get enough attention?
I believe I addressed this under three above.
Looking back at your time as Attorney General, how did that role shape your understanding of how the law intersects with public education? Do you ever find your legal background influencing your current work?
I believe that being a lawyer is a big advantage as Supt. of schools. To fight for excellence and against mediocrity one has to know how to fight.
Looking back, how has your approach to public service changed from when you first held office to now?
I don’t believe there’s been any change as my goals and methods have remained the same.
What do you do outside of politics? Any books, hobbies, or routines that help you stay grounded or even just distracted from the headlines?
I am a serious amateur classical pianist.
I have soloed with a number of local orchestras such as the Phoenix Philharmonic and the Yuma Orchestra. I had a chamber of music group that met at my house every Sunday for over 20 years. I’ve also been an enthusiast for water skiing. It combines excellent exercise with beautiful surroundings. Arizona has 10 lakes on which one can water ski, and my children have water skied on nine out of the 10.
Finally, when your time in public service eventually comes to an end, how would you like to be remembered by Arizonans? What’s the legacy you hope to leave behind?
I would like People to say “he successfully fought for excellence against mediocrity. “