Recently, the 2022 Kansas Teacher of the Year and regional Kansas Teachers of the Year visited the Statehouse and were asked by legislators to share their thoughts on the state of education in Kansas.
Before I get into what they said, first a little bit about these teachers. They represent all the great teachers throughout our state who have been on the front lines every day, trying to ensure our children get the education they need while also dealing with the worst disruption to education in a century due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The KTOY team is led by 2022 Kansas Teacher of the Year Susanne Stevenson, a fourth-grade teacher with Dodge City USD 443.
The seven regional winners were Amber Carithers, high school English teacher with Hutchinson USD 308; Natalie Johnson-Berry, high school English teacher with Shawnee Mission USD 512; Amanda Ketterling, elementary school Library Media Specialist with Bonner Springs USD 204; Helen (Lisa) Martinez, high school Spanish teacher with Seaman USD 345; Megan O’Neill, fourth-grade teacher with Ottawa USD 290; Kristin Salazar, high school Business and Career Technical Education teacher with Goddard USD 265; and Laurie Thisius, fourth-grade teacher at Cheney USD 268.
Together these teachers have about 120 years of teaching experience, 10 master’s degrees and tons of other awards, responsibilities and expertise. You can read more about them here.
An impressive group of educators, to say the least, so when they had the opportunity to speak to legislators who gathered in front of the Brown v. Board mural in the Statehouse, this, in summary, is what the teachers shared:
— Focusing solely on test scores is a disservice to students;
— Culturally responsive teaching practices are a must as our student population becomes more diverse;
— Kansas needs more teachers of color because kids want to see themselves reflected in their teachers;
— Social and emotional learning is key to helping students progress academically and must be embedded in every school day because if a student is in crisis mode, he or she cannot learn;
— COVID-19 fatigue among teachers is real and many are leaving the profession because of the stress caused by the pandemic and the antagonism from some community members against schools;
— Legislators could help teachers by encouraging people to respect, trust and support them and protect courageous teaching practices.
The KTOY team was honored in both the House and Senate with resolutions and standing ovations from legislators. But proposed legislation that is making its way through the Legislature doesn’t reflect what was on the minds of these great teachers.
Social and emotional learning was lambasted by some during a hearing in the House K-12 Education Budget Committee. One of the main talking points for groups pushing for legislation to use public tax dollars to send some students to private schools focuses on decreased achievement on state tests. Diversity and equity training and teaching about our country’s history of unequal treatment of African-Americans has also come under fire in the Kansas Statehouse.
Based on these developments, it would seem many of our legislators are hearing from people who are focused on ideas that our expert teachers, and a growing number of parents, are telling us are off track. I say a growing number of parents because in the recent hearing on HB 2550 (voucher-type private school aid), scores of parents wrote testimony opposing the bill.
It is up to us as education advocates to make sure our legislators are hearing from those who know the most about what is going on in the classrooms so that any new legislation or laws would be based on the best information available. Some legislators sometimes ask whether KASB really represents boards and boards really represent parents. Let’s try to amplify what our teachers, parents and boards are saying so that we can persevere through this pandemic and not inflict any more damage than what COVID-19 has already done.
To get involved in conversations with your legislators during the 2022 legislative session, members can go here for contact information. And please contact us at KASB if there is anything we can do to help you advocate on behalf of your school and school board.
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