As I continue to acclimate to this new position, I’m finding it exciting and challenging. I’ve come to appreciate all the work Department of Education staff do on a daily basis. We certainly have a great team here.

The legislative session is well under way and keeping us busy. I had the opportunity a couple weeks ago to meet with several principals and superintendents who came to Pierre to provide the House Education Committee an informational briefing on a variety of things happening in their schools. Committee members were clearly engaged by the presentation and asked good questions. Anytime legislators get a chance to interact with educators, it’s a valuable learning opportunity for all involved.

Beyond the legislative session, I want to share with you my goals for the coming year. I accepted this position knowing it would, in all likelihood, be short-term. There will be a new Governor next year, who will likely want to make his or her own appointment to this role. Nonetheless, I have two primary goals for the coming months:

1. To bring a practitioner’s perspective to the department. My entire career has been in K-12 education, and I believe I have a good understanding of what schools are looking for and need from the department.
2. To provide as much flexibility as possible to educators, schools and districts while still ensuring the necessary accountability. I use the example of traveling from Sturgis to Pierre. There are several roads I can choose from, and each route is about the same distance and takes about the same amount of time. It really doesn’t matter which road I take as long as I get to Pierre. As educators, there are also many paths to choose from; we just need to make sure we’re getting students to where they need to be.

I also hope to visit as many schools as possible. Thus far, I have been fortunate to visit the St. Francis Indian School, Todd County, White River and Harrisburg. I want to listen to teachers, administrators and parents to learn what their concerns are. I plan to visit with each of the tribes’ education leaders and make sure I’m listening to their perspective, too.