Shannon O'Brien
This is a hopeful time for many students. The future looks bright as graduation approaches and families smile with pride in anticipation of their child walking across that stage. But as a lawmaker, former teacher, and mother of a high school student, I have to admit that I am concerned. Are we doing enough to ensure every student has the opportunities they deserve? That's why I'm running to be your next state superintendent.
Under current state leadership, we have effectively abandoned our schools over the past eight years. Now more than ever, we need effective and capable leadership to regain lost ground. We can and must do better.
Montana should have a Department of Public Instruction that responds to the needs of the Legislature and experts. First and foremost, of course, are the children of Montana. No matter what, you can count on me to put students at the center of every decision we make. Answer your calls and make the calls yourself to get the answers you need. and to work productively with local school boards, state boards, and institutions of higher education to restore the quality public education system promised by the Constitution.
There are serious concerns affecting public education in our state. We must address the teacher shortage crisis without lowering the standards of teaching as a profession. Mental health issues in schools need to be addressed because they not only impact student learning but also student safety. Every child has the right to attend a safe school with competent teachers in the classroom.
The same housing shortages and rising property taxes that are making these times difficult for working Montanans are also making it difficult to commit the resources needed to repair, restore, and reinvent public education for the 21st century. must be recognized.
Trust me to work with both sides to pass and enforce the laws necessary to address these issues. Ask any member of Congress who has served with me in the House or Senate. I'm not going to throw a brick. I'm interested in creating something with them.
We will rebuild the Office of Public Instruction as the resource for support, collaboration, professional growth, and change that it once was. I will use the relationships I have built across the aisle and across the state to reunite Montanans and solve these big problems through respectful, honest, and thoughtful collaboration.
And while the challenges are daunting and the work is hard, we must never forget to celebrate what we do in our public schools and what we have always done. We welcome little, scared 5-year-olds into our kindergartens (and their parents) all the time. We watch this happen and, 13 years later, we watch them walk across the stage filled with the confidence and hope that comes with skill, knowledge, and ability.
As graduates fly mortar boards, parents silently congratulate each other, and the rest of us smile and say, “We did it.” As a state, we made this happen. ”
Those moments are what make the hard work worthwhile. I'm ready to roll up my sleeves. I am honored to serve you and look forward to doing all I can to nurture, develop, and celebrate your children's growth.
