North Carolina’s next state superintendent should be a teacher
North Carolina voters with an interest in public education will face a crucial 2020 choice both in the March primary and in next November’s general election. Current Superintendent Mark Johnson has announced that he will not seek re-election, as he is running for Lieutenant Governor instead. Five Democrats and one Republican have declared their intention to run for the seat, and it would not be surprising to see more candidates emerge as the filing period approaches.
As a classroom teacher who has been in North Carolina schools for nearly two decades, I can tell you that our state’s educators would most like to be led by someone who understands firsthand what they are going through — a teacher.
Strong employee morale is essential to a thriving public education system. The morale of educators in North Carolina started rolling downhill with the Great Recession and picked up speed when changes to the composition of our state legislature in 2010 opened the door to many education policy initiatives that have harmed our schools. It hasn’t since had much opportunity to improve.
When the relatively unknown Johnson eked out an election victory in 2016, he did bring a bit of teaching experience to the table. However, it wasn’t a resume that inspired a lot of confidence in teachers. Johnson had taught just two years at West Charlotte High School with Teach for America before leaving the profession for law school, reinforcing criticism of TFA as a stepping stone to elsewhere.
Throughout his tenure as state superintendent, Johnson has been deeply unpopular with many North Carolina’s teachers. He’s criticized thousands of educators who have come to Raleigh to call for increased support for public schools the last two Mays. His personalized learning initiatives have marginalized teachers and downplayed the importance of the human connection between teacher and student in the learning process. These and his many other missteps are undoubtedly rooted in a classroom perspective deficit.
At the federal level, education leadership has suffered from the same problem. According to a poll by Education Week, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has the rare honor of being even less popular with teachers than her boss, Donald Trump. Respondents cited her lack of experience working in public schools as the main reason for their dissatisfaction.
If our next superintendent is to inspire confidence in North Carolina’s teachers, he/she needs credentials that demonstrate a firm grasp not just on policy, but on practice. That firsthand understanding of teaching and learning can only be developed one way: through extensive work in the classroom. A leader whose background allows real empathy with teachers will be more inclined to make sound decisions on their behalf and to involve them in those decisions, leading to a level of buy-in on the part of educators that has been sorely missing under Johnson’s leadership.
Of current likely candidates, Democrat Jennifer Mangrum’s experience is the most extensive, with 14 years in a K-12 classroom. Republican Catherine Truitt, an education advisor to former Gov. Pat McCrory, and Democrats Michael Maher and Constance Johnson have also worked as teachers, while none of the remaining interested parties have.
To be the most effective leader possible, our next superintendent is going to need the confidence and support of North Carolina’s 100,000 classroom teachers. A solid teaching resume is the best way to start getting those educators on board.